DIGGING DEEPER

Well here we are again.  Still digging.  I push away from the computer, done with a project and on to another, like fixing dinner, throwing a load of wash in the dryer, and so on.  But my mind is still thinking, thinking about the ancestor I was just looking for. 

There is so much on the computer now, Ancestry puts something new on their web site each day, and so does Cyndi's List.  But there is still that brick wall.  I've been looking in cemeteries for the graves of my ancestors.  Their final resting place.  Most don't have head stones because they were too poor to afford one.  Their children went about their lives always thinking and wanting to put a stone there for their parent but, life happens.  It doesn't get done.

Then there are the genealogists that walk the cemeteries, take notes, make sure they have the grave listed in the right row, right lot, then put it on the web for all to see, and maybe find their ancestor.  But if your ancestor is buried in that cemetery and doesn't have a stone, well, you see where I'm going here.

That's when you engage the help of a genealogist in that state, county, and cemetery to look it up in the library for you.  Most libraries have a genealogy department.  Some small, like the one my husband and I found in Madison, NH.  It wasn't any larger than a six hundred square foot house but we found where my husband's great, great, grandmother was buried.  You would be surprised at that one person who lived in the area that wrote a small book on the history of the town.  There you have it.  Sometimes you have to go visit the area you are researching but what better way to take a vacation.  See the sights, walk the same fields your ancestors walked.

Until then.......................

THOSE ELUSIVE ANCESTORS

Another day of looking for those elusive ancestors.  I've been through every cemetery on line in the counties they lived in.  I know not every grave is listed as most people that put the information on line walks through the cemetery and makes note of the grave stone, name, and dates.  But if your ancestor didn't have a stone it was not recorded. 

Now mind you our ancestors didn't start out being elusive.  No they, like us, went about their daily lives.  Going to work, cleaning house, raising children, farming, and moving about.  Yes, moving about.  If they would have stayed in one place, died in one place, and was buried in the local cemetery it would have made our job a lot easier.  Life is not that easy!

You say I'm being picky, well probably so.  Sometimes you run into brick walls and you have to think outside the box.  Hard to do for most of us because we were taught to color inside the lines.  Life isn't like that.  Circumstances happen, people move, take vacations, visit relatives, and just live their lives.  They didn't know there would be a relative down the road that wanted to know more about them.

I'm tying to put together as much information as I can so I won't go running about with no direction when I make my trip to the Pacific Northwest.  Yes, I'm on a mission to find the graves of my great, great, grandfather and his daughter.  I've narrowed it down, made all my notes, and I'm ready.  If all else fails go to the town, county, and state where your ancestor lived.  Check with the library.  Most libraries have a small genealogy section and someone is always willing to help you.  You'll be surprised with all the new friends you make.

Until then..................

KEEP ON LOOKING

Well my sister has given me an assignment.  Try to find information on her daughter's father.  All she has is a place of birth, date of birth, and parents.  Sometimes it's easier if you're looking for someone that was born one hundred years ago, not sixty years ago.  Not only is it sixty years ago but it's a very common name! 

I've looked through the census for that state and county and I think I found who I'm looking for, but.  This is not easy.  Guess I'll have to keep you informed about this one.  Maybe you are having trouble with this also. 

Now on to another dilemma.  I've been asked to help someone find his parents.  He was adopted, and through DNA we are related.  We are 2nd and 3rd cousins.  Oh yes, it was a closed adoption.

Now this could really get interesting as I really don't know who my biological father is either.  So you see what I'm up against.  Plus I've never dealt with adoptions.   What a challenge, but then I like challenges. 

Another one I will have to keep you informed on. 

Now the Green side of the family is going quite well.  I've found all the children of Nathaniel, where they lived, and where most of them died.  I haven't found where Nathaniel died yet though.  I have an idea but until I get that piece of paper in hand and know where he is buried, I do not know.  Got to have that paper trail, otherwise you have no way to prove what you are saying.

So until then...................

NEW GENEALOGY INFORMATION

It's been like a flood gate of information lately.  What it boils down to is do not give up.  Keep looking and eventually you will find the information you are looking for.  Slow and steady, each day at a time.

More and more people are looking to ancestry.com for their information but they forget about other important places to look.  Other than packing your suitcase, gasing up the car, and heading to where your ancestor lived, there is that age old way of seeking information.  Writing a letter.  Yes, paper, pen, envelope, and a stamp.

Of course there is an easier way.  Go to google, find the county your ancestor lived in, and start looking in their archives.  You would be surprised what you will find.  I have found the cemeteries where they were buried which also gave me dates.  From that you can write to the County Records and get a death certificate.

Sometimes the information you are looking for is not on that website but there is usually a contact person listed.  By that I mean you will find someone's name that is willing to look for information for you.  I've made new friends and found ancestors this way.

Which takes me back to my new information.  I am one step closer to my great, great, grandfather's daughter.  All roads now lead to her.  I can't believe I finally found her. 

I have traveled and lived all over the United States and now when I find out where my ancestors lived I'm amazed.  Amazed because some of them lived in the same states, counties, and some even in the same town.  I wished I had started looking for these ancestors sooner, perhaps I would have been able to meet them.  Then again that is probably wishful thinking.

Well I'm off to locate more ancestors.  Nose to the ground, sniffing out the scent, eyes and ears open.

Until then.................

SPRING IS HERE

It's the first of May, it's been a hot April, so you'd think today would be a bit warm.  Maybe even a drop or two of rain.  The sky is over cast with clouds rolling by frequently.  Let me see now, April showers bring May flowers.  March was supposed to be windy.  If it comes in like a lion it goes out like a lamb, and vice versa.  Wrong!  This year everything is topsy turvy.

But it must be spring.  I put the hummingbird feeder outside my window and my little friend is back drinking like there is no tomorrow.  Every time I start to type I see his little wings fluttering while he is taking a sip of sweet nectar. 

Then why am I cold.  I even went to my closet and exchanged my capri pants for levis, my light t-shirt for a long sleeved shirt plus a sweater.  The temperature dropped over night and I'm freezing.  Like I said the weather has gone crazy.  Tornados upon tornados have hit so many states in the south.  Earthquakes, tidal waves, raging wild fires.  Rivers in the midwest have expanded their banks until farms and whole towns are under water. 

Well my friends my yard work is done so I'm going to stay inside and get my writing and researching caught up.  I'm not sure if I ever get caught up but I do give it the old heave ho and try.

Until then.....................