In the beginning,,,,,,
Greetings!
In the beginning,,,, kind of sounds like the beginning of the bible, LOL. But seriously all genealogists have a beginning when they first decided to start researching their family history. Sometimes we are blessed with a lot of information to start with but most often we are not. I think most people start after they lose their parents and suddenly realize they do not know much about their family history and want to know more. I am no exception.
I had asked questions when I was a kid, but really did not get very clear answers. After my parents passed, my mom in 1993 and my dad in 94 I started searching. I knew a little more about my dad's side than my mom's but not much. Luckily, my dad's side, Aber, was not a very common name and it was a little easier to trace. Mom's on the other hand, Parker, was going to be a huge challenge! The other challenge I faced was I now lived 1000 miles from home and did not have a computer yet. (Gosh I am so grateful for my computer now, LOL)
I had no idea how to get started so I went to the local genealogical society for some guidance and advice. I knew of course their records would not have anything on my family so far away but I was hoping they could give me some ideas how to find records from another state without physically going there. I also decided to start with my dad's family because the name was not common and at least I knew a little bit about them.
The man who ran the society at the time, George Wilder, was so very helpful. He gave me a lot of ideas and tips to try. Then he told me he was going to visit a friend in Wisconsin or Michigan, (can't remember which now) who also ran a genealogy society and he might be able to help as well. When he got back he called and I met him at the library. When I walked in he had the biggest smile I had ever seen on anyone's face and a huge stack of papers sitting in front of him. He had hit the mother load!! His friend had a lot of research on the Aber family. Back in the 60s and 70s there was an Aber family bulletin that was published quarterly and his friend had copies of it. Wow! From the information I had given him, they were able to trace my paternal line back to the late 1600s. Can you imagine??!! Holy cow!!
Of course there were several gaps in the branches of siblings and such that became my job to find. This was however a huge help in getting me started. I was encouraged to keep digging!!
My mom's side the Parkers was a different story. The only thing I knew was my grandparent's names and where they were buried. I had no idea if they were from that area originally or had moved there. I did not know parents or siblings names. Basically, I knew nothing. Worse yet, my grandmother's maiden name was Smith. Smith!!! Smith is the most common name in the universe!! This was not going to be easy, but I love a good challenge!!
My father's mother was a Conklin(g). More common than Aber but not as bad as Smith or Parker, at least in my opinion.
The first few years of research went pretty slow for me and then I got a computer in 1998. That helped quite a bit. But still, it was slow going at first. I only worked on my research once in a while when I had some spare time. Life was crazy busy. I went through a divorce in 99. I lived in 3 different states all within 1 year. I barely had time to eat and sleep, never mind do any research. The bulk of my research has really been over the last 8 years or so. I will tell you more about it in my next post.
Until next time,,,,,,
In the beginning,,,, kind of sounds like the beginning of the bible, LOL. But seriously all genealogists have a beginning when they first decided to start researching their family history. Sometimes we are blessed with a lot of information to start with but most often we are not. I think most people start after they lose their parents and suddenly realize they do not know much about their family history and want to know more. I am no exception.
I had asked questions when I was a kid, but really did not get very clear answers. After my parents passed, my mom in 1993 and my dad in 94 I started searching. I knew a little more about my dad's side than my mom's but not much. Luckily, my dad's side, Aber, was not a very common name and it was a little easier to trace. Mom's on the other hand, Parker, was going to be a huge challenge! The other challenge I faced was I now lived 1000 miles from home and did not have a computer yet. (Gosh I am so grateful for my computer now, LOL)
I had no idea how to get started so I went to the local genealogical society for some guidance and advice. I knew of course their records would not have anything on my family so far away but I was hoping they could give me some ideas how to find records from another state without physically going there. I also decided to start with my dad's family because the name was not common and at least I knew a little bit about them.
The man who ran the society at the time, George Wilder, was so very helpful. He gave me a lot of ideas and tips to try. Then he told me he was going to visit a friend in Wisconsin or Michigan, (can't remember which now) who also ran a genealogy society and he might be able to help as well. When he got back he called and I met him at the library. When I walked in he had the biggest smile I had ever seen on anyone's face and a huge stack of papers sitting in front of him. He had hit the mother load!! His friend had a lot of research on the Aber family. Back in the 60s and 70s there was an Aber family bulletin that was published quarterly and his friend had copies of it. Wow! From the information I had given him, they were able to trace my paternal line back to the late 1600s. Can you imagine??!! Holy cow!!
Of course there were several gaps in the branches of siblings and such that became my job to find. This was however a huge help in getting me started. I was encouraged to keep digging!!
My mom's side the Parkers was a different story. The only thing I knew was my grandparent's names and where they were buried. I had no idea if they were from that area originally or had moved there. I did not know parents or siblings names. Basically, I knew nothing. Worse yet, my grandmother's maiden name was Smith. Smith!!! Smith is the most common name in the universe!! This was not going to be easy, but I love a good challenge!!
My father's mother was a Conklin(g). More common than Aber but not as bad as Smith or Parker, at least in my opinion.
The first few years of research went pretty slow for me and then I got a computer in 1998. That helped quite a bit. But still, it was slow going at first. I only worked on my research once in a while when I had some spare time. Life was crazy busy. I went through a divorce in 99. I lived in 3 different states all within 1 year. I barely had time to eat and sleep, never mind do any research. The bulk of my research has really been over the last 8 years or so. I will tell you more about it in my next post.
Until next time,,,,,,
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