I have a confession to make. Over the past few months, I’ve acquired a bit of an obsession about our family history. It all started with a trunk of old photos and an old family tree that I inherited when Dad passed. I recognized a few people, but the rest were a mystery! Who were they? What were they like? How did they fit into my ancestry?
I set out to find out what I could with a 14-day free subscription to Ancestry.com. Ha! 14 days?? I would sit in front of the computer all day filling in what information I did know, and searching for records in their database. I’m pretty sure that I was hooked the minute that I pulled up my first Census form. There it was in black and white. A scanned copy of an actual census form from 1880… Precinct J, Seward, Seward County, Nebraska, USA… handwritten when my great grandfather Fred was 4 years old. There were his parents, William & Elve! And who was this Melvin S Wait, age 11, who is listed as “son” to William & Elve? He’s not on my family tree. That’s odd. And in the entry right above theirs were Elve’s parents Samuel and Paulina Long. Amazing.
When Scott came home from work, I would give him an update of what I found that day. My sister would get phone calls and emails about it. This week, I finally got smart! I’ll write a blog! That way I can tell everyone at once what it was that I found as it happens. People who want to follow along will follow… people who couldn’t care less didn’t have to hear about it! Perfect! Ooh! And if I have a photo that I need to have identified, I can post it here and people can leave comments as to who they think it is!
What I really want to do with this blog and with my research is to really find out what my ancestors were like… beyond the data. What was life like back then? Why did Fred & Uella move to Oregon that time? Why did Freddie die at the tender age of 23? Why was my Dad born in Colorado and why can’t I find anything on him?
I also want to use this as a forum to introduce different members of my family to the rest of you! I’ve met some real characters at our reunions and think you would like them, too. Maybe it will inspire you to attend one of our reunions at some point. For the record, they are every other year on the even years. The location changes according to who is hosting it or where we feel like going.
Wait Reunion 2010:
Coos Bay, Oregon – July 9-11, 2010
Contact me for more information or join us on Facebook!
Anyway! I’m really glad that you’re here!
Cousin Kathy
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