Do you know the best part about genealogy? I’ll tell you in a few moments, but first think about this. Before digitization, many of the genealogists went from county to county in order to find records at the courthouse in order to find the correct documentation to prove this or that. Could you imagine doing that? Well, I have a cousin that I found through Ancestry, Renae, that has done just that. Things just weren’t making sense to what she was hearing when she was younger or what her still-living octarian mother remembered. So, instead of just accepting what she was finding online, she traveled to Kentucky to make sure.
While in Kentucky, she visited with her Uncle who used to be the county clerk and he got her access to the vault. In doing so, she was able to find the actual paper records of marriages of our Great Grandfather which opened up a bunch of interesting tidbits. Some of the information she found her mother did not personally agree with as she knew him when… other information we have to accept as it is there in black and white. Now it’s time to look back over documentation that has been digitized, pictures that have been put on others and perhaps even work on the tree again to fix what is wrong.
So, what do you think I like the most about genealogy? It’s pretty simple for me. I like to know from whom I came from, what “my people” did, but most of all, I hope to be remembered one day just as I am trying to remember my ancestors.
