[1] Happy Birthday, George! George Washington was born on February 11, 1731. But wait, you say, “I always thought his birthday was February 22.” Well, after 1752, it was. When George was born in the Colony of Virginia in 1731, Great Britain still used the Julian calendar. The Julian Calendar had to be replaced because “it did not accurately reflect the time it takes the Earth to circle around the sun.” [2] By 1752, September had only 11 days. In 1752 Great Britain and its colonies adopted the Gregorian Calendar, which added 11 days to the months of January through March, and started the new year on January 1, rather than March 25. This changed George’s birthday to February 22, 1732! George did not seem to care. There are records of him celebrating his birthday on February 11, some years, and on February 22, in other years. Double Dating in Genealogy When you get back to the eighteenth century in your genealogical research, you may begin to encounter double dating. For instanc

We've all been there. Lots of things to do, but ..... Stymied. This feeling signals to me that I need to clear the decks, clear up unresolved issues, and maybe chart the progress so far! I recently viewed a webinar by Blaine Bettinger on the genetic family tree compared to the ancestral tree. On a fan chart, the concept is quite clear, and you can see his images here: https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2009/11/10/qa-everyone-has-two-family-trees-a-genealogical-tree-and-a-genetic-tree/ Pinterest.com Genetic Family Tree I'm listening to a lecture by Tim Jantzen about using autosomal testing for ancestors into the 1700s, and he says, At 10 generations back in time, perhaps only about 12% of one's ancestors are contributors of autosomal DNA to your genome; only about 12 of your 1024 ancestors are your genetic ancestors. [1] I think it is a worthy goal -- paint or otherwise triangulate DNA matches from as many ancestry lines as possible and denote them on a fan chart, and see w

Auburn, Washington  February 2019 Not that anyone wants to be reminded of what is outside your window this weekend, but disasters of one kind or another have impact on our family life.  Thomas MacEntee has graciously shared his   10 Ways to Document Disasters in Genealogy Research How did our ancestors persevere and survive in the face of disaster - natural, manmade and financial - so that we could be here today to tell their stories? Learn how to not only locate your ancestors amidst the rubble but give voice to their stories. 1.  Research historical newspapers. Not every disaster was headline news; read small town “gossip” or “goings on” columns to find more information. And certain misfortunes might not be mentioned so as to not embarrass a family or other reasons. Read between the lines and connect the dots. 2.  Conduct cluster and collateral searches. Using census and other records, look for a spike in deaths in certain locations or on certain dates. Don’t limit yourself to just

Nearly hidden Pioneer Cemetery   Courtesy Google Maps If you are north bound on Auburn Way North, a main thoroughfare in Auburn, south King County, Washington, and stop for a traffic light, you may glimpse a small cemetery to your right at 8th Street NE.  This is the Auburn Pioneer Cemetery, on land donated for that purpose in 1878.  Grave of a Civil War veteran, M. P. Hopkins Courtesy Kristy Lommen "The marker commemorating the Auburn Pioneer Cemetery’s only Civil War veteran is disappointingly vague. It includes no dates, neither birth nor death. The soldier’s name is included, but in abbreviated form. And to add insult to injury, the sparse information that  is   displayed has been mis-transcribed and published incorrectly on several online genealogy sites. Fortunately, the stone does include the fact that Mr. Hopkins served in Company B of the 1st Wisconsin Cavalry—and that single fact was enough information to discover much of his life story."1 Recently the cemetery and

  Courtesy Pixabay Pandemic It was October 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic. The whole country was asked to social distance, wash our hands, wear masks and stay home. Since we were staying home we were all trying to keep busy and were doing cleaning, filing, sorting, etc.  Cleaning the garage This day in October I decided to clean out the garage, something I have needed to do for a long time. On a top shelf way in the back, I found a box marked "old dolls."  I remembered this box is where my old dolls were and the china heads for dolls. I opened the box and yes, there were the old china dolls, but there was more than dolls.  Hidden treasures In the bottom of the box were a lot of my oldest daughter’s baby clothes. I took them all out of the box and into the house, decided to wash them as they were all wrinkled. After washing them and they all looked so much better, I got to thinking, "Do I have any pictures of her in any of these clothes?"  Red Polka Dot Dress

Public Hearing: Washington State Attorney General's Office January 19, 2021, I attended a public hearing sponsored by the Office of Washington State Attorney General, Bob Ferguson, requesting public testimony regarding the proposal by the Public Buildings Reform Board to close the National Archives and Records Administration facility in Seattle, move the records to either California or Missouri, and sell the building. The hearing was held virtually via Zoom. There was a limit of 200 people and the Attorney General’s Office were stunned by the number of people who attempted to join the call. If we were not testifying, we were asked to watch the call on TV W, as they could not accommodate all who wanted to join. Representatives of the Seattle Genealogical Society, the Orcas Island Society, and Sue Sheldon representing the Mason County Society had already testified, and I did not feel I had anything significant to add, so I moved over to TV W to allow more people to join the call. O

Maybe it's cabin fever, maybe its Covid isolation reaction, whatever, I've felt an urge to look at travel and tourism guides! Read any good local histories lately? Maybe you’ve found a glowing biography of your ancestor’s brother in a 19th century mug book. You know the type—”George came to Smithtown with his parents and five brothers and sisters when he was three years old.” Precocious, wasn’t he? If the book had named the parents and siblings, you might have some proof of family connection, albeit secondary. But some editor determined that non-resident parents and siblings were not essential to the story. Local histories provide invaluable tidbits of information. Imagine reading that your ancestor was the first white child born in Houston County, Minnesota, or that the elderly chief of the nearby tribe always found a warm welcome at your family’s home on a snowy night.   A recent search for US tourist travel books at books.google.com revealed some astonishing and invalu