Friday, December 31, 2010

New Years Eve 2010

So much has been done, so much to do.... In the past year I have found out more about my ancesters than I thought possible. (And, in one case, more than I ever wanted to know.) I have met cousins I never knew I had, and became closer with some that I knew.

Ancestry is more that finding who you are related to. In a way, its about finding out who you are (mentally and physically) and (sometimes) how it came to be that way. Its about heartbreak. A cousint said to me after a trip to her home town, "Its bad enough seeing yourself fall apart, but to see the place you grew up in fall apart, it makes you feel bad inside..." (The town she grew up in is dying and the population is shrinking.

The hardest thing for me personally it to find the details, the stories that add depth to an individual. I have 6 generations back and every single one of them is very firm as to accuracy. But how many of those people have stories and personal information associated with them? Not many. Ironically enough I have found more on my great great grandfather Heald than any other. Plus I know there is more out there but the data is in Illinois and I am in Florida.

Victories this past year? I found my great great great grandmothers death certificate. Everyone else had the date and location wrong. Death certs on others as well (including my 2x great grandfather proving his middle initial many had that wrong). I hope to get up to Illinois next year, take pics of some headstones (if I can find them), and maybe check out some microfilm from the Chatsworth newspaper.

Happy New year to all and good hunting!

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