This week I will celebrate another birthday. On Saturday I will have lunch at my favorite restaurant, Mimi's, with family members who would otherwise not be caught dead there. Not everyone shares my enjoyment of the French-American ambiance.
Time really flies sometimes. It's been a year now since I started my trip down family history lane. What began as an effort to compile information for Sara's DAR application has become a search for the different branches. I've learned a lot about my family. I've also learned a lot about the genealogy industry.
I started out by making a hand drawn family tree with the information I had from Mom going back to my great grandparents on both sides, as well as my maternal great grandmother "Little Grandma" Susan Elizabeth Reed, who married Quinline (aka Quentin) Sullins. Then I installed the free program I got with my Gateway laptop a few years ago. Family Tree Maker 2011 has been a great organizing tool for me. I could, however, do without Ancestry.com's green leafs all over the place, since I'm not a subscriber to them or any other paid provider. I know it could have made things easier, but I prefer to do the searching online without paying someone else. Call me stubborn, but call me persistent. I have found great enjoyment in combing over the Web.
Anyway, getting back to that tree, It has certainly grown. After a year of searching and manual entry into the program, I have added over 4,500 people to my tree so far. I have discovered relationships with two presidents--Garfield on Dad's side, Truman on Mom's side. Side note: my aunt told Mom that she wouldn't have been allowed to marry my mom's brother if the Truman connection had been known, even though the common ancestor goes back 200 years. Go figure. I've found Mormon pioneers. along with Salem witches--AND their accusers AND their defenders--Salem was a small town. I have found ministers and soldiers (and other members of the military) who have fought in every war since before the Revolution. I have discovered and had email relationships with cousins I didn't even know existed before I began this wonderful journey. It has changed me in ways I never conceived a year ago.
And the journey continues...
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