Generously Sharing Resources Generated with Bing Image Creator AI, 21 September 2024 It all started with some extra time after one of our first virtual meetings. That day, few people wanted to leave the call and during the following discussion generous book-lovers offered to do look-ups in their treasured volumes. Before we ended, someone suggested meeting again specifically to offer and ask for lookups in various books already on our shelves.  A search of our Society@skcgs.groups.io finds the first message posted about offered books:  Marilyn Schunke's Book . Two great things grew out of this collaboration—our monthly Genealogy Chat , and our  Books: Pleasure, Learning, Lookups wiki page. If you have books to share, please add to that page! and feel free to ask for lookups as well. Don't forget that we have two public book collections too. Most of our books are shelved at Auburn KCLS Library at 1102 Auburn Way South, Auburn, Washington and a smaller one is housed at the Ke

  Thanks to Twisted Twigs on Gnarled Branches via Facebook Organizing is a bunch of four letter words--sort, list, file, scan, copy, move. . .and a few others not to be uttered in polite society. Of those words, "List" should be one of your first actions.  Take an inventory of what you have and at least mentally remember where it is located now.  You might be surprised what you have in your file boxes and bookshelves.  Recently I spotted a book on my bookshelf that I could have used a few times myself and could have shared with others. A few years ago I prepared a presentation about the rectangular land survey system by which federal lands were allocated under various land grant acts including the Homestead Act of 1862. In the course of the presentation and several times in my own research I have encountered reference to Military Bounty Warrants. While I roughly know what they are, I have felt I needed to learn more about them but have never made the time to do so. What'

SOCIETY ACTIVITIES The September General Meeting featured the presentation of a Washington State Genealogical Society Outstanding Volunteer award to our long-time member, Katie Hanzeli.  The award highlighted the many areas in which she has served and continues to serve SKCGS.  Lori Lee Sauber presented a method of organizing genealogical research using project management methodology.   The advantage of this method of organization is that it is easily customized to meet the needs of any researcher.   She urged using a version of this method to avoid “abandoned” genealogy projects   It also helps keep the researcher on track to complete a project by a self-imposed or outside imposed deadline.   As a result of her presentation, I have revisited Trello.   It is easy to set up the project board. You receive positive reinforcement when you move the task card to the “Completed” column. We welcomed one returning member, Pat Noecker, and three new members at the September 21 me

By MaryLynn Strickland In my early days of researching online (from 2001), I made contact with people far and wide through message boards (remember those?)  Once in a while I would encounter someone who inserted her entire family file into a message that went on and on. . . and on.  But usually people would ask, or offer, to share a GEDCOM. What was that?  From the FamilySearch Wiki, it is the acronym for GEenealogical Data COMmunications.  GEDCOM is a data structure created by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for storing and exchanging genealogical information so that many different computer programs can use it.  It is identified by the file type “.ged”. (Stay with me here; this technical part is brief!). “The GEDCOM Standard is a technical document written for computer programmers, system developers, and technically sophisticated users.”  The GEDCOM Standard Release 5.5, 2 January 1996 [Revised 10 January 1996]. Copyright © 1987, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1995 by The