Okay, so I wasn't going to post again tonight and I'll get to a more useful one tomorrow. I had to tell a funny story. As I was writing my last post on this newly formed blog a school friend Facebooked me replying to my comments that I'm addicted to genealogy. David related that he discovered his 22nd g-grandfather was Chaucer.
Well, guess who my husband's 21st g-grandfather is? Yep, Chaucer.
Anyhow, I guess my point is connections can be found in all sorts of places. Resources are everywhere. Social networking can even be a resource now.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
So, how do you get started researching your genealogy?
Well, first step is talking with one of your most valuable resources - your family.
Genealogy started for me at about the age of 4 at a family reunion in Hartford, Connecticut. My mother's 7th great-grandfather was George Stocking, one of the founders of Hartford. The Stocking family is large and we had a massive family reunion there in 1986. I remember the exact moment I became enthralled with genealogy:
My family went to the Ancient Burying Ground in Hartford to visit the graves of our ancestors dating back to the 1640s. Not only did we find their beautiful old graves nestled in between the modern buildings of a bustling city, we also found the Founders Monument.
If you are a Stocking descendant or want more information about the founders of Hartford, Connecticut here are some good links:
http://www.foundersofhartford.org/sites/
http://www.cslib.org/foundhtfd.htm
I may have been only four but a learned some valuable lessons.
1. Start with your family. You'll be surprised with what you find. In my case there was an entire database. My uncle was instrumental in the computer programming to put together the book.
2. Nothing beats actually being at the physical location.
Next post I'll expand more on using family members as primary sources.
The photograph to the right is a picture of my maternal grandparents, Helen (Kacvinsky)Stocking and Andrew Stocking at the Stocking reunion in Hartford in 1986.
Genealogy started for me at about the age of 4 at a family reunion in Hartford, Connecticut. My mother's 7th great-grandfather was George Stocking, one of the founders of Hartford. The Stocking family is large and we had a massive family reunion there in 1986. I remember the exact moment I became enthralled with genealogy:
My family went to the Ancient Burying Ground in Hartford to visit the graves of our ancestors dating back to the 1640s. Not only did we find their beautiful old graves nestled in between the modern buildings of a bustling city, we also found the Founders Monument. If you are a Stocking descendant or want more information about the founders of Hartford, Connecticut here are some good links:
http://www.foundersofhartford.org/sites/
http://www.cslib.org/foundhtfd.htm
I may have been only four but a learned some valuable lessons. 1. Start with your family. You'll be surprised with what you find. In my case there was an entire database. My uncle was instrumental in the computer programming to put together the book.
2. Nothing beats actually being at the physical location.
Next post I'll expand more on using family members as primary sources.
The photograph to the right is a picture of my maternal grandparents, Helen (Kacvinsky)Stocking and Andrew Stocking at the Stocking reunion in Hartford in 1986.
What's a Chronic Genealogist you say?
Me, for starters. Genealogy is one of those things that once you start you can't stop. As soon as you experience the first moment that your family history comes alive or an ancestor's life stories reveal bits of who you are to you, or you have the opportunity to stand at your ancestor's graves and honor them then you are hooked.
For me genealogy is like a chronic disease. As a child I was exposed to the bug and it slowly captured my attention. Now it is all-consuming. I typically work about 50-60 hours a work at my "day job," i.e. the one that pays me. I also put in about 20-30 hours per week on my personal genealogical pursuits.
The truth is I'm still an amateur. There are people that have spent lifetimes and families that have spent generations together on research. I can't quite say why it consumes me other than the drive to know who I am on a deeper level. It is almost instinctual.
At any rate, I don't want to get hung up on me in this blog. The other blog does that just fine all on its own.
Here I want to help the newbies. I want to examine research methods, resources, tricks of the trade, that sort of thing. Of course I'll use my family histories as examples, but not for self-involved reasons. (If you do want to know more about me, as boring as I am, just hop on over to my other, heavily ego-centric blog finewhoaboutyou?
Well that is enough of an introduction. Let's get started...
For me genealogy is like a chronic disease. As a child I was exposed to the bug and it slowly captured my attention. Now it is all-consuming. I typically work about 50-60 hours a work at my "day job," i.e. the one that pays me. I also put in about 20-30 hours per week on my personal genealogical pursuits.
The truth is I'm still an amateur. There are people that have spent lifetimes and families that have spent generations together on research. I can't quite say why it consumes me other than the drive to know who I am on a deeper level. It is almost instinctual.
At any rate, I don't want to get hung up on me in this blog. The other blog does that just fine all on its own.
Here I want to help the newbies. I want to examine research methods, resources, tricks of the trade, that sort of thing. Of course I'll use my family histories as examples, but not for self-involved reasons. (If you do want to know more about me, as boring as I am, just hop on over to my other, heavily ego-centric blog finewhoaboutyou?
Well that is enough of an introduction. Let's get started...
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