I really must change this blog template — I hate having to assign titles to my posts…
This weekend I went to the public library to check out their genealogy collection. There was one book in particular that I wanted to look at but the information in it was not as useful as I hoped. However, I do have a sense now of their holdings so I’ll probably plan to go back sometime next month to look at microfilm of census records. While I can access them online, I need to use the actual records b/c there are some family members that I will need to scroll through pages and pages to find as I’m not having any luck in Ancestry. (Ancestry takes a long time to view records page by page).
While at the library I picked up a copy of a genealogy book for African-Americans. Can’t think of the name right now, but though from 1999 it is pretty informative. On the research end, I continue to make progress! I have found someone to take pictures of relative tombstones in NY and also someone to take pictures in North Carolina. I am deeply appreciative when people can help like this! I am doing my best to give back as well.
Over the weekend I worked more on Kalonji’s maternal line — oh my goodness — I found so much information! This part of his family has been in the Evansville, IN area for at least the last 60 years or so. I found a database of obituaries from the Evansville area papers that a funeral director created as a personal project years ago. It was put online in the mid 1990’s and I just couldn’t believe how much information I was able to find out from it. This is exactly the kind of project I’d love to be able to do one day (yeah right! like I ever have time). But, I was very impressed with it. I also learned from Kalonji’s mother that she has an ancestor who was a slave and she heard stories of how this woman had lost toes from the cold and working out in the fields. I too have a maternal ancestor who was a slave and lost toes due to cold. I was surprised to hear this same thing again but from Kalonji’s family.
And, a note about my side of the family — my 3G grandfather Rufus, had 13 children. Between them all, these 13 children had about 70+ children. Can you imagine being one of Rufus’ grandchildren and having like 70 COUSINS!!!! How would you keep up with each other? And, the wild part is that they all had to know each other — they grew up in the same town and lived in close proximity. That is just so crazy to me. I have a total of 8 first cousins. Goes to show how we as a society are having fewer and fewer children these days.