Tuesday, January 17, 2012

What exactly is genealogy?

Genealogy is a hobby. It can be a passion. At times it can be extremely rewarding. Other times, extremely frustrating. But most of all it can be expensive. Expensive to the point where some people just throw up their hands and quit. But don't let this scare you because we have decided to hit the open road in an effort to find the most economical way to research families, visit repositories, cemeteries, court houses and hopefully take in a few conferences along the way.

Allow me to introduce myself. I have been interested in my family history for 50 plus years. My Aunt Daisy, my dad's older sister, had a keen interest in genealogy and she was determined to pass this on to her family members.  She did this by "escorting" us up and down the Ohio River, visiting old houses and cemeteries along the way. I was a teenager when I made my first journey back into time in Clermont and Brown Counties and crossed the Ohio River on a ferry to Augusta, Kentucky. It made the impression that Aunt Daisy wanted and it stuck like glue from then on. 

I am one of the fortunate ones who witnessed what it was like fifty years ago to do genealogical research and I also witnessed the eventual transition into online research. Fortunately my ancestors settled in Clermont County, Ohio, where no courthouses ever burned and no one ever threw anything away!! In addition, my aunt and my dad knew their grandparents and spent many hours listening to family stories which built a solid foundation on which to build sound family research. As a result, when my husband and I became empty nesters, I had a wealth of information available to me when it became my time to take over where Aunt Daisy had left off.


As we all continue on this journey through Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C., I will share the information that I am looking for and any brick walls I hope to break through so that you can compare it to your genealogical research and maybe pick up some ideas. And we will do all of this with one goal in mind -- to be as frugal as genealogy will allow.


On Friday, February 3, 2012 the new season of Who Do You Think You Are will premiere. It looks like this is going to be a great year. Be sure to watch or record the episodes because I will probably refer to moments on the show that I find particularly interesting.


Next: How to get your research up and running for next to nothing. $

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