BCG Skillbuilding at NGS 2026
Karen Stanbary® on "Ordinary Women Lived Extraordinary Lives"
Please welcome guest blogger - Michelle Chiachiere, CG®
In the opening moments of her lecture “Ordinary Women Lived Extraordinary Lives,” Karen Stanbary CG®, CGG® shared that “hazy women often appear behind men” – a compelling visual for the challenge facing a family historian seeking to uncover a woman’s story.
Over the course of her lecture, Stanbary cleared the haze from four generations of women in her family tree, unveiling “a tale of resiliency.” Each woman’s profile was revealing, drawn from documentary research and in-depth social and historical context, allowing us to follow Stanbary as she walked side-by-side with her ancestors.
It soon became clear Stanbary was asking us to do more than just join her on this Skillbuilding session’s journey; she was asking, could each of us, too, turn research in passenger lists and land records, censuses and vital records, into engaging story? By the end of the session, her journey by her ancestors’ side complete, Stanbary shared a final note, emboldening us: “You can do it, too.”
Michelle Chiachiere, CG® is a Seattle-based professional genealogist and has been certified since 2025.