Healing the Rift of a Century A cousin reached out to me last week on FindAGrave.com , because I had posted pictures to her grandfather's memorial.  Find a Grave, database and images ( https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/38737708/rolland_stewart-wade : accessed August 23, 2024), memorial page for Rolland Stewart Wade (14 Jun 1898–3 Dec 1962), {{FindAGrave|38737708}}, citing Blue Mountain Memorial Gardens, College Place, Walla Walla County, Washington, USA; Maintained by Blue Mountain Memorial Gardens (contributor 47135041). She had never known her grandfather or anyone from his side of the family, for reasons her father had never wanted to discuss. But now that her parents have passed on, she felt that she was missing a piece of her history, and decided to go looking for some answers. Rolland Wade Her grandfather, Rolland Wade (1898-1962), was an older brother of my great-grandmother, Olive Wade Swenson, whom I was fortunate enough to know as a child. I told her what I knew of Roll

  Tree of Life by lilipilyspirit.deviantart.com Not All Stories Need Words Art can speak to us in photos, plays, poems, skits, dioramas, quilts, songs, photographs, even maps and diagrams.  Family trees are stories, too . When you view a timeline of an ancestor's life, does a story spring to mind? Those who think they can't write, can record their story on their phones, or computers. Both Word and Google Docs have voice transcription power.   Tell Your Own Story The magic moment is when a person realizes that they have a story to tell. Is it one of walking hand in hand down a dusty road with great-grandmother? Whether or nit she told her story, your memory is yours; tell it! Sometimes it is the little moments, such as after the ghost story is told around the campfire, when all the kids suddenly feel the urge to get back to the cabin and out of the dark night. Or the feeling after catching your first fish, proudly walking past the crowd to clean it so you can eat your catch. S

Have you been spoiled by good fortune? Consider Joining Our New Study Group! Courtesy andreas_fischler; Creative Commons 2.0 Sometimes it is really easy to find records on the big genealogy sites, the hints make sense, and we begin to think that research is easy. So easy, that we may forget what to do when the ripe fruit isn't hanging easily in reach. That's when a study group would come in handy ,  to remind us of basic principles of research. Or for beginners on the family history journey to learn those habits and practices from the very best, right at the start. Recent Example I had given up with Seth Willis of Harrison County, Missouri, an ancestor of one of my McBee uncle's DNA matches, until I thought about what to focus on for the new Research Study Group, beginning Wednesday, 14 August . Seth was born early enough that there are no records of parentage, and his probable father's obituary does not mention him. So I created a timeline of facts and sources to se

Generated by Bing Image Creator 2 August 2024 This post is for all of you who do not want to use AI .  If you're hesitant about using AI, you're not alone. Many people are wary of handing their privacy over to a machine. However, AI can be a powerful tool for genealogists, and you may find it more helpful than you first thought. You may have felt the same about spreadsheets and calculators, yet now they are tools in your daily life.  Just as calculators and spreadsheets revolutionized how we handle numbers and budgets, AI chatbots and large language models (LLMs) are transforming our interaction with language and information. So you may eventually use AI to help you do your work in research, document transcription and analysis, writing, research reports, timelines , DNA analysis, emails and other record-keeping. Some can analyze photos and other images or to pull out family connections from a will, and draw a family tree. Of course, you must check the work, as you do your incom

  "Helping You Find & Tell Your Family Stories"; generated by Bing Image Creator July 21 July 2024  We often ask for volunteers; after all, South King County Genealogical Society is an all-volunteer organization. Perhaps we don't focus enough on how we can help YOU . Incorporated in 1984 as "educational in character and  devoted exclusively to furthering genealogical research and interest in family and local history [1], we are here for YOU.  How Can We Help YOU Find and Tell Your Family Stories? Education When asked to suggest what they wanted to present to readers, here are some of the responses from your Board members:  (Barbara Mattoon) " SKCGS offers educational opportunities for a variety of genealogical interests and experience levels." Small sample of our educational offerings. SKCGS.org for details Entry level classes  offered to the community through the King County Library System . The Family Tree Maker User group discusses features of the

Connecting people. Image courtesy of Dreamstime Doing Genealogy When we first start "doing genealogy" we're finding records, noting what we find, and trying to make sense of it all. As time goes on, we may turn into hobbyists, and begin using forms, consulting books, online repositories, and perhaps, building a tree on our computers, online, or both.  Eventually, it grows so much we don't know what we have, or where! This is where all those "genealogy do-over" or "filing Fridays" projects start. Both of those might be useful in your situation, but here is the ruling principle that can bring quality into your work and peace into your heart: genealogy projects using the Genealogical Proof Standard , the GPS . This principle is what professional genealogists use, but it is not for pros only. Fortunately, it's not a secret; it is the key to effective and efficient work for researchers all around the world.  Genealogical Proof Standard GPS Shapes a

 THEIR HOME IN AMERICA Kristoffer Ulleland and Marianne Fitje grew up on neighboring farms in Naustdal.  Norway. They married there in 1888. Norway’s economy was hit hard by a  “depression” in the 1880s and early 1890s.   [ 1  ]   It was not easy to make a living so  Kristoffer and Marianne began to think about going to America. Kristoffer’s  brother, Olai, had emigrated to the Seattle area a few years earlier. He wrote  letters home telling of the availability of land and the abundance of work  available at good wages for those willing to work hard. On April 27, 1890, Kristoffer and Marianne said goodbye to their home and  traveled to Bergen, Norway. They spent a few days there visiting with Marianne’s  sister Helle. On May 3, they left Bergen for England. From England they traveled  by steamship, arriving in Halifax after 13 days on the Atlantic Ocean. They sailed  on down the St. Lawrence to Quebec then traveled across Canada to Vancouver  by train. They continued to Seattle by boat