Working on my family trees

I guess yesterday’s work on creating a Write Your Life Story class got me revved up again on genealogy. That’s a project that I come and go with. It is so much easier now that a lot of the documentation can be found online (as long as you’re careful and know what you’re looking at).

This morning I found lots of Census information. I found my mother in the 1930 Census – haven’t checked the newest one. She also should be in the 1920 Census, but I haven’t found that yet. Also, found plenty of her family, back to the 1850Census. So I documented a lot of stuff I already knew. Also found some death certificates and a couple of birth and marriage records.

And I haven’t really looked today for my father’s family. It’s a much more unusual name so is easier to follow back. I think I’ve got it back to the 1600s, when the immigrant came over as an indentured servant (he fought on the wrong side of a war in Scotland). It includes a Revolutionary War soldier, but I’m doing more checking.

It makes me feel good to be connected so far back. I’d like to find out when my mother’s family arrived. That could be difficult – Jackson, Hamilton and Websters. The other thing I like is how connected genealogy makes us to almost everyone in the world.