GENEALOGY TODAY (June 2010)
Every time I surf the internet on Ancestry or Google, looking for something on our families, I marvel at all the information available to me. There are countless other families who have posted their family trees and are willing to share. I just discovered Google Rare Books and it blows my mind that they are planning to digitize all the rare books in various university libraries to make them available for everyone. And this is not only in English but includes other languages as well. So is this good or bad?
I can’t forget the genealogy trips to Salt Lake City, the definitive library for all information because of the Mormons’ belief in their ancestors. They are digitizing all their records! One trip with a friend from San Antonio, another to Brigham Young University where we couldn’t drink coffee on the premises, and another with the Mormons to England where I unearthed the Cranes’ home base. Even with this month’s family, the Meekers, I took a trip to the Houston Clayton Library and there I found the Meeker book, now also on the internet. However, my trip to Houston was full of discovery about my other families.
It brings to mind my trips to find historic material that I couldn’t find without visiting the area or the country. For example, I traveled to Ochtrup, Germany in order to find much of the family material for the Schueneman book and in the process met Ulrich Holscher who has helped me immeasurably and still does today. Would I have ever found him or the data without the trip?
Also, through a county genealogical society’s bulletin, I found a second cousin in Santa Barbara, CA who flew to San Antonio and together we drove to Flora to look for more information on the Frees and the Durlands. What fun it was to know her, and what a great trip we had. We shared information during the years until she passed away, and I miss her lots. A memory to cherish!
When Christopher Northrup married Esther in Philadelphia, after the wedding I stayed to meet a distant cousin of the Frees that I had contacted through a query she had placed in a bulletin looking for descendants of Abraham Free. If I had not been in Philadelphia I would not have found her. Even my niece Margo House, when I visited her in Connecticut, drove me back to West Chester County in Pennsylvania to gather more information on the Frees. We had such a great time.
Joan, Janet, and I took a trip to Watertown, Wisconsin to look up the Wiggenhorns, a trip that I may have foregone by checking the internet. Joan also went with me to the Chicago Historical Society with Alice Kauss to spend the day checking for information which I know is now on the internet. Trips full of great experiences with great company.
Even when I visited San Diego, Suzanne and I spent a day at the cemetery trying to find Grandma Minnie’s brother who was buried there. The office was closed but Suzanne, who would not be deterred from our mission, found the groundskeeper and he showed us the area where August Kuhnert was buried. This was a fun day with my daughter.
I’m reminded of all these trips because now, with the internet, probably none of them would have happened. They were not only informative and so helpful, but they were inspiring and most enjoyable. So, I’m wondering, how much is the internet going to replace? Yes, I can find whatever I’m looking for, but it can never be a substitute for all the pleasure, surprise, and fulfillment these trips have brought me.
I can’t forget the genealogy trips to Salt Lake City, the definitive library for all information because of the Mormons’ belief in their ancestors. They are digitizing all their records! One trip with a friend from San Antonio, another to Brigham Young University where we couldn’t drink coffee on the premises, and another with the Mormons to England where I unearthed the Cranes’ home base. Even with this month’s family, the Meekers, I took a trip to the Houston Clayton Library and there I found the Meeker book, now also on the internet. However, my trip to Houston was full of discovery about my other families.
It brings to mind my trips to find historic material that I couldn’t find without visiting the area or the country. For example, I traveled to Ochtrup, Germany in order to find much of the family material for the Schueneman book and in the process met Ulrich Holscher who has helped me immeasurably and still does today. Would I have ever found him or the data without the trip?
Also, through a county genealogical society’s bulletin, I found a second cousin in Santa Barbara, CA who flew to San Antonio and together we drove to Flora to look for more information on the Frees and the Durlands. What fun it was to know her, and what a great trip we had. We shared information during the years until she passed away, and I miss her lots. A memory to cherish!
When Christopher Northrup married Esther in Philadelphia, after the wedding I stayed to meet a distant cousin of the Frees that I had contacted through a query she had placed in a bulletin looking for descendants of Abraham Free. If I had not been in Philadelphia I would not have found her. Even my niece Margo House, when I visited her in Connecticut, drove me back to West Chester County in Pennsylvania to gather more information on the Frees. We had such a great time.
Joan, Janet, and I took a trip to Watertown, Wisconsin to look up the Wiggenhorns, a trip that I may have foregone by checking the internet. Joan also went with me to the Chicago Historical Society with Alice Kauss to spend the day checking for information which I know is now on the internet. Trips full of great experiences with great company.
Even when I visited San Diego, Suzanne and I spent a day at the cemetery trying to find Grandma Minnie’s brother who was buried there. The office was closed but Suzanne, who would not be deterred from our mission, found the groundskeeper and he showed us the area where August Kuhnert was buried. This was a fun day with my daughter.
I’m reminded of all these trips because now, with the internet, probably none of them would have happened. They were not only informative and so helpful, but they were inspiring and most enjoyable. So, I’m wondering, how much is the internet going to replace? Yes, I can find whatever I’m looking for, but it can never be a substitute for all the pleasure, surprise, and fulfillment these trips have brought me.