Genealogy Lesson

Elkmont, Alabama

Weather: low 46 degrees, high 55 degrees, cloudy, rain

The rain started before midnight last night, and as I write the blog tonight, is still falling. It was a miserable day to be outside, so we stayed at home, dry and warm.

Carolyn has been working with her genealogy stuff for about 20 years. She has been trying to get me involved, since most of the missing stuff involves my family. She has not had any problems tracing her family on her father's side all the way back to the 1200s in Scotland, and her mother's side back to the 1600s in Virginia. My mother's side is not hard to trace either, with much information available on them. My father's side is another story. She has been able to go back to my great-grandfather, and that's it. It's almost like earlier generations came here by flying saucer.

Today, I sat down with her in front of the computer as she explained the program she uses, and how she tracks down leads. I have to say this genealogy stuff is a lot of work. And, a lot of stuff to remember. As might be expected, she is very protective of the information she has gathered. A lot of work went in to it, and I would not want to be the one who messed it up. I haven't been turned loose to look by myself yet, and I don't think I'm ready to be. But, I still think I can be some help, as my mind thinks differently than hers. For example, she was trying to find the place where one of my ancestors was buried in Texas. Now, I didn't know any were buried there, but I suggested getting in touch with the local newspaper there to see if an obituary had been published for this ancestor. So, I sat down and wrote an e-mail to the newspaper asking that question. I don't know if it will do any good, but if it does, one more piece of the puzzle will fall in to place.

The genealogy stuff wore me out, so I took a short nap in the middle of the afternoon, plus another one this morning. Hey, when I'm not sleeping well at night, I'll take the sleep where I can get it.

After my nap, I watched Florida defeat Vanderbilt in college basketball for the SEC championship. Florida was obviously the better team, but the game was played at Vanderbilt, which is a tough place to win.

The rain is supposed to end tonight, so we're planning to get out and look at the beautiful blooming trees and shrubs. Pictures to follow.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Chattanooga, Tennessee: City Of Lights

Not all who wander are lost.