Did you celebrate what you learned last year and make a plan for what you want to learn next?

I did go back and review some of my old findings on a family that I have been challenged by for years. I found answers to why they may have moved from Tennessee to Illinois and how they were able to make the move. Evidence that my male ancestor worked as part of the “Guards Right” and the payoff was in land that he later sold providing money to move to Illinois. I also found evidence that there was more than one woman with the name Agnes Penquite and the other one is in the quaker records not mine.

While I was watching yet another football game, I googled, “Were there any Quakers in the Ostrander-Hartzell Families” which is another line of my family. My sister is convinced that there were stories. AI came up with no quakers, however, there is a large Ostrander Family Association page that claims the name is unique enough that we are all related. There is a book that their researchers have been working on and evidence that takes everything back to 1600s. About that time Ohio lost to Indiana (football not 1600s) and I didn’t read further but I sent the link to myself and can’t wait to dig into this. Maybe a group to join.

One thing I am learning is to be open minded about the possibilities. Don’t assume you know something and head down that trail as if it were true. Think about all of the possibilities and then prove them true or false. I have been trying AI as it can pull things together and then I can decide fact or fiction or find a resource that I may not have found yet.

Another thing I am learning is that there are no shortcuts. Or I should say the only shortcut is to do things thoroughly in the first place. Don’t skip over possibilities or potential documents because you don’t think they will help. LOOK AT THEM! Decide if an answer is to be found correct or not based on the facts that it provides not wishful thinking. Family history is not easy, and it isn’t quick.

I get frustrated and wonder if I have gone far enough. I haven’t found anything new for a long time…I must be done. Then I remember my beginning lessons in genealogy, “why am I doing this work?” Is my “why” still relevant? Have I completed the task to the satisfaction of my “why”? If the answer is yes, it is time to find another “why” or a new hobby. If the answer is no, what am I missing? What steps have I skipped? What do I do now or where do I get help?

Let’s see where all that takes us! So far it hasn’t led to any breakthroughs but that could be from 10 hours caring for a toddler and then 2 days later 12 hours with him. But I can sing the Bluey song and the opening of the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and the Hot Dog Song.

Just one new finding might do the trick!

Heidi Geise, education@hqrl.com