Well, we made it!
Sorry that I have not posted since last week, but I had family needs
arise that caused me not to be able to write like I wanted to. Not a problem, let’s play catch up now shall
we?
After much discussion we left last Friday night. Why
drive it all in one day (Virginia to Indiana) if you don’t have to. Left home on Friday evening and drove to the half-way
point, Charleston, West Virginia. That made
a much nicer drive as we arrived into my hometown just after lunch time on
Saturday. The next 4 days where a whirl
wind of family visits, library hops, and history opportunities for me and my
kids.
Sunday I actually drug the whole family around Martin
County visiting 5 different cemeteries. It should have been 7, but I was nice
and didn’t make them backtrack to the 2 we accidently skipped. The boys thought this was fascinating. We found ancestors that were Revolutionary
war Soldiers, War of 1812 Soldiers, and Civil War Soldiers. I showed the boy the “howling cat” tomb,
which, incidentally, is a lot smaller than I remember it! Seeing these markers for myself was a moving experience. Yes, I had seen them in other people’s
pictures and on find-a-grave, but there is nothing, NOTHING, like seeing these
stones for yourself.
Monday was Daviess County day. The morning was spent driving though Oak Grove Cemetery looking for my father’s ancestors. We didn’t make it to the second cemetery, St.
John’s, as we spent 4 hours at the first one.
Amazingly the caretaker was there mowing. He rode over after he saw us wandering around
(we knew where some of the markers are) and asked if he could help. After talking to us for a few minutes he went
and retrieved the “dead books” from his home.
One was the index, by last name, of every stone in the cemetery which
appears to be updated every 10 years.
The other was the burial registry of all internments after 1955. He wouldn’t let me take images of these pages
(I asked…3 times) but I did get to see my grandparents’ entries and several
aunts, uncles, and cousins entries.
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| GRC Memorial Vincennes, IN |
After the hot and humid walk through the graveyard my
dad, my boys, and I went to the local library.
This is where I made a couple great finds. First off, lots of local indexes, records,
and resources for multiple counties that I needed. Most amazing of all was a typed up family
history of the Brothers family, which was done by a local resident. It looks amazing because, you know, it
contains citations and footnotes! I have
not made it through the 150 page document, yet, but it looks like it gives me
good sources and leads for 4 generations I didn’t know about! This helps with my mother’s line, and made
the family dinner with her cousins that night very interesting.
Tuesday was Knox County day, and the only thing I wanted
to get on my whole trip, the Eliza Jane Manuscript. For those of you have read my blog on and off
you may recognize this name. Eliza Jane
was the baby sister of my great-grandfather.
She was the family historian that my grandmother received all her
information through. In the genealogy library in Vincennes, Indiana there is a
typed copy of her research journals that a cousin of mine created. I skimmed it while I photocopied it and I can’t
wait to devour it later. Lots and lots
of good things!
We took the boys over to the George Rogers Clark Memorial
also. They loved it, and I have to say
it always takes my breath away. If you
get to go make sure you watch the video and have the ranger on duty take you
inside the monument. The murals inside
are breath taking. Plus, how else can
you learn about the amazing capture of Fort Sackville during the Revolutionary
War?
Wednesday was the drive from Southern Indiana to Fort
Wayne. My parents, the boys, and I registered
quickly that afternoon and explored a bit.
They were all tired from the trip so I sent them back to the hotel while
I stuck around the conference center. I
enjoyed meeting up with some fellow IDG people and being talked into writing a
lot more. I know, more, can you believe
it?
We all went over to the opening night social and had a
good time talking. I meet quite a few
people, heard some interesting things, received good advice, and laughed so
much! The down side was that my kids did
not get to bed (because I made them go) until after 10pm. This was not a good thing as they were up at
7am.
Thursday, today, my first full day at the conference, and
there is a lot of stuff! We missed the
keynote but it was more important for me to get my kids up and fed than it was
to rush them here. All 5 of us wandered
around the exhibit hall and quickly checked out of the vendors. I received my honorable mention certificate in
Category II from the ISFHWE and had my picture taken. (WHOOT!) Next we wandered over to Family Tree Magazine
where I met Diana Haddad and Allison Dolan in person. It is always great to meet people in the
flesh after you have talked to them over email and phone in the past.
My parents decided to take the DNA track today. Dad said it was so he could understand what I
was doing better. Mom went with him even
though she already knew all this. She is
a doctor after all. The boys attended 2
lectures with me. They were well
behaved, I was thrilled.
First up was Tom Jones’s “Planning and Executing Efficient
and Effective Research: A Case Study.” Even with the technical difficulties
around the projector, it was a great presentation. I enjoyed just sitting and listening to him
present the family history, the evidence, and taking us step-by-step through
the process. It reminds me a lot of his
new book. Which, I absolutely love. I had planned to have him sign a copy of my Mastering the Genealogical Proof, but I
forgot it in the hotel room. Good thing
I have 2 more days.
After lunch I took the boys to the BCG Certification seminar. This is something I really want to do. I can’t explain it, almost like I want to
prove I can do it. Also, in my gut I
feel like this can give the “new kid” some credibility. I may be completely off base here, but I did
learn a lot that will help me make that decision later.
The boys did fine until about 4pm when they completely
crashed and burned. 8 hours in a
conference is pretty good for any small person you have to admit. We were killing time in the exhibit hall waiting
for my parents and the final straw was the brother on brother brawl at The Irish
Ancestral Research Association. You have
to admit, that is kind of funny considering their ancestry. However I had one in tears and the other fit
to be tied after I grounded them from TV and video games for the night. Luckily the grandparents showed up just then
and whisked them away.
So here I sit, in the media hub, getting ready to go
wander around the booths again and waiting for the door prize drawings. Feeling like I should go grab a drink too,
after all someone has to come back and get me in a few hours.
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