The Quest

This spring was my every-other-year genealogy trip with my mother.  When we were in Virginia a couple of years ago, we kept seeing that our Masons and related families had moved to South Carolina and we wanted to know why. For mother's side, we had discovered some time ago that one of her lines (Buser) was among the Swiss German immigrants who were encouraged to immigrate to settle Saxe Gotha in South Carolina. So... we set out to learn more about these things, as well as the many other family lines who came through this area back in the 1700s and on. Mom and I on our first research day at the South Carolina State Library As has become my practice, I blogged each day of the trip, so I will cross-link those posts here rather than repeating myself: Day 1 - Travel Day through the Shenandoah Valley Day 2 - Fun with Books Day 3 - The State Archives and Mysteries Days 4 and 5 - Land and Museum Visits We spent our travel time collecting information, not necessarily processing it. So at t...

Since I was born in a town called Shamrock, I've always imagined Irish blood running strong through my veins. In actuality, my DNA only shows about 3% Irish, while my mothers boasts 37%. Nonetheless, when a seminar about Irish Genealogy popped up in a list of recommended events on Facebook, my ears (eyes?) perked up. Last Sunday, I spent the afternoon with members of the Troy Irish Genealogical Society (TIGS) learning about resources for researching your Irish ancestry. Before I headed to the East Greenbush Library for the TIGS meeting, I searched my family tree for all of the surnames and dates related to Ireland in my family tree. There were numerous Gays, a couple of Fullertons, a McGill, Sharp, Giddens... a Flowers on my dad's side... and a few peripheral people (i.e. not my direct lineage). In general, all of these connections were born in Ireland in the 17th and 18th centuries (dates ranged from 1678 to 1791), and died in various places in the United States... thus ide...