Oh, that's why
Oct. 24th, 2004 09:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
twilight33That was my initial reaction to learning the previously unknown reason I have been almost insanely driven to track down family members to make sure they have the same information I do.
Of course, the family I've recently found has vast quantities more, but we've realized together that we all have a lot to share with one another to get the full story. I am still in awe of the fact that a little old lady with a 'No Bush' button on her sweater opened her door to me and excitedly said 'Cousin!' before giving me a huge hug. She didn't look much older than a healthy 70ish, is in far better shape than all my older relatives I've met who were substantially younger than her almost-100 years (no walker, no cane, bounced right up to make me lunch, etc) & corrected me when I got the generations mixed up several times. Listening to her & her daughter talk about '(Great)Uncle Johnny' (my great-great grandfather) was incredible, they both expressed several times how they wish I could have known him.
They gave me a huge armful of information, including copies of some handwritten letters by my 3x great-grandfather between 1855-1860s in gorgeous script handwriting from a quill pen. One of them is directions to the rest of the family on how to get their wagon train from Omaha to the WA Territory in increments measured both by miles from camp to camp (always along water, even if it was just a creek) & total distance from Omaha that makes me feel like an absolute weenie. Could you face weeks of 'from here you travel 200 miles without wood, only as you can find a few willows now and then. We burned buffalo chips (ewwww)... you will find the necessity of having hard bread and dried beef, which you should lay in a good supply of in starting; a few Balonies & pickles too.' Mmmm tasty.
It turns out that despite 15 years of extensive research behind an impressive genealogy book that is 3" thick, I have some key documents that nobody else does. The clincher for me was coming to a part in the book that says "Prior to his (my great-great grandfather's) death, he expressed the hope that some younger person would continue his efforts to keep the records of the family history updated." No one else (to our knowledge) has input everything into genealogy software to freely share, or made recent efforts to reconnect.
I have my work cut out for me, but it's nothing compared to what they faced coming out here in the first place.
Of course, the family I've recently found has vast quantities more, but we've realized together that we all have a lot to share with one another to get the full story. I am still in awe of the fact that a little old lady with a 'No Bush' button on her sweater opened her door to me and excitedly said 'Cousin!' before giving me a huge hug. She didn't look much older than a healthy 70ish, is in far better shape than all my older relatives I've met who were substantially younger than her almost-100 years (no walker, no cane, bounced right up to make me lunch, etc) & corrected me when I got the generations mixed up several times. Listening to her & her daughter talk about '(Great)Uncle Johnny' (my great-great grandfather) was incredible, they both expressed several times how they wish I could have known him.
They gave me a huge armful of information, including copies of some handwritten letters by my 3x great-grandfather between 1855-1860s in gorgeous script handwriting from a quill pen. One of them is directions to the rest of the family on how to get their wagon train from Omaha to the WA Territory in increments measured both by miles from camp to camp (always along water, even if it was just a creek) & total distance from Omaha that makes me feel like an absolute weenie. Could you face weeks of 'from here you travel 200 miles without wood, only as you can find a few willows now and then. We burned buffalo chips (ewwww)... you will find the necessity of having hard bread and dried beef, which you should lay in a good supply of in starting; a few Balonies & pickles too.' Mmmm tasty.
It turns out that despite 15 years of extensive research behind an impressive genealogy book that is 3" thick, I have some key documents that nobody else does. The clincher for me was coming to a part in the book that says "Prior to his (my great-great grandfather's) death, he expressed the hope that some younger person would continue his efforts to keep the records of the family history updated." No one else (to our knowledge) has input everything into genealogy software to freely share, or made recent efforts to reconnect.
I have my work cut out for me, but it's nothing compared to what they faced coming out here in the first place.
