Thirteen Families
My mother and I recently returned from an amazing genealogy trip through the south (see my travel blog for details). As we were driving home, we counted up 13 family lines that we touched on...
Thomas, Brevard, Jetton, McKnight, Robinson, Deering/Dearing, Gideon/Giddens, Dickey, Crow, Vandiver, Cox, Russell (on Dad's side), and Clack (for Cheri). I might even be missing one.
One of the exceptional things about this latest venture (besides finding SO MUCH good information) was the amount of help we received from expert genealogists. The cousins we were meeting up with are experts in their own right, but we encountered genealogy librarians, DAR representatives, local experts, and volunteers of genealogical societies that were beyond generous with their time and expertise.
One thing I realized is: I want to be them. I want to be the person who goes out of their way to pull piles of files for people in order to connect them with their family.
I don't know what will come of my genealogy research in our family. So far, I have yet to have any younger family members show an interest in it. And since Kef and I don't have children, I don't have a direct lineage to bequeath it to. So, what if my true genealogical legacy is to help other people who DO have heirs? What if I can help those families find their roots for future generations?
Since our trip, I've wondered whether I might be able to remove the word "amateur" from my profile description and become a professional genealogist. Who knows... but it's still stewing in my mind.
In the meantime, I have work to do on our own family. I have leads to follow up on. One of these is that it seems more than one of my ancestors donated land for their community to build a church. There's something about standing on family land that is touching to me. I'd like to know where those churches were/are in order to do just that. Stand where our forefathers stood. We got to visit one of them on our return trip through the corner of South Carolina. It is still there - Neals Creek Baptist Church - which was donated by the Vandivers. The others we have yet to find are New Bethel Baptist Church and Elam Baptist Church in Henry County, Georgia (Dearing donations).
Thomas, Brevard, Jetton, McKnight, Robinson, Deering/Dearing, Gideon/Giddens, Dickey, Crow, Vandiver, Cox, Russell (on Dad's side), and Clack (for Cheri). I might even be missing one.
One of the exceptional things about this latest venture (besides finding SO MUCH good information) was the amount of help we received from expert genealogists. The cousins we were meeting up with are experts in their own right, but we encountered genealogy librarians, DAR representatives, local experts, and volunteers of genealogical societies that were beyond generous with their time and expertise.
One thing I realized is: I want to be them. I want to be the person who goes out of their way to pull piles of files for people in order to connect them with their family.
I don't know what will come of my genealogy research in our family. So far, I have yet to have any younger family members show an interest in it. And since Kef and I don't have children, I don't have a direct lineage to bequeath it to. So, what if my true genealogical legacy is to help other people who DO have heirs? What if I can help those families find their roots for future generations?
Since our trip, I've wondered whether I might be able to remove the word "amateur" from my profile description and become a professional genealogist. Who knows... but it's still stewing in my mind.
In the meantime, I have work to do on our own family. I have leads to follow up on. One of these is that it seems more than one of my ancestors donated land for their community to build a church. There's something about standing on family land that is touching to me. I'd like to know where those churches were/are in order to do just that. Stand where our forefathers stood. We got to visit one of them on our return trip through the corner of South Carolina. It is still there - Neals Creek Baptist Church - which was donated by the Vandivers. The others we have yet to find are New Bethel Baptist Church and Elam Baptist Church in Henry County, Georgia (Dearing donations).
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| Vandiver land today - Neals Creek |
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