Using Vacations for Genealogy
Using your vacations for Family History can be very rewarding. Preparing ahead of time for your trip can save you time, gas and money. The following are things you can do before your trip.
Call ahead and verify library, court houses, cemeteries, etc. hours of operations and locations. Don’t forget lunch hours especially in small towns where there may be only one worker. I recall a friend who drove 2 hours to find the cemetery was private land and was located within a locked fence. She had to call ahead to make arrangements to visit the cemetery of her ancestors.
Take copies, not originals of your records (pedigrees, family group sheets, pictures, land deeds). Take blank family group sheets and pedigrees with you on trips to be filled out by relatives you visit.
Have good maps of the area you are visiting. Perhaps a map is available of what the area looked like during your ancestor’s time period. What county lines may have changed over the years?
Go with a plan. It is a good idea to focus on one family, but also be open minded. Most families lived in the same areas and traveled together. But, at the same time trying to research too many surnames can be overwhelming.
If you can get information at your local genealogy library or family history center, don’t spend time on your vacation looking up that particular information. Use your time wisely on things you can only get where you are visiting. Find out the weather situation and dress accordingly. Is the area flat or hilly? Wear shoes that are comfortable; can they get dirty if the cemetery is muddy? What type of transportation is there and do you have access to where you need to go?
Vacations are also family time. Getting the kids involved can be fun and a good learning time. Young children can help look for headstones by reading the surnames. We should also use this time to talk about our ancestor and how to show respect at the cemetery. Have the children look for pictures or inscriptions. Putting flowers on the graves can be a special time also. Learn ahead of time how to do Headstone rubbings and teach this to your kids. Make a time line with your child at one end of the line and the ancestor you are researching at the other end. What has happened in the world between the two time periods?
On the trip, let the kids look for signs telling the counties, store names, lakes, parks or any other landmarks. Were any of them in existence at the time of your ancestor? Someone once told me during a vacation the mosquitoes were horrific. This made him wonder if they were around when his ancestors lived there. What did they go through?
Let the kids take pictures, label them and write stories. Don’t forget to put dates, names and locations. Years down the line, who knows, maybe 100 years from then, your descendants may looking at your vacationing journal!
Taking advantage of the resources available where you will be traveling will be useful if you plan wisely. Genealogy vacations can be rewarding if one is prepared.
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Our Family Tree Record Book $17.95 A special keepsake for a special time in history, DK’s Family Tree Record Book provides a unique way to both celebrate and preserve family history for generations to come. The perfect gift for parents, grandparents, or anyone who wants to record their family’s genealogy, history, and traditions into the coming millennium, the Family Tree Record Book features fill-in family trees, space for photos … |
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Recollections: A Scrapbook and Guide of Creating Your Own Family Album $20.00 Inspired by the Metcalfe Family Album–the remarkable chronicle of six generations told through each woman’s mementos, recipes, crafts, letters, and journal entries—and offered in response to frequent demand, Recollections is a complete kit to help anyone create a family album to pass on through the generations. The album has a sturdy cloth spine and 100 pages of archival-quality paper to st… |
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Avery Blank Manifold Tag $58.99 0% 15380 3.12″ 500 / Box 6.25″ 6.25″ Length x 3.12″ Width Each manila tag bears two detachable top sheets, each with carbon paper attached so your notes on the top page are reproduced on both the second sheet and the tag itself. Attach the tag to the relevant item in your inventory and file the information away in two separate places to ensure that your data is safe. Each tag and its top sheets are identically numbered in red for easy reference. The reinforced eyelets are extremely sturdy. Tags are numbered consecutively from 1 to 500. Avery Avery Dennison Blank Manifold Tag Eyelet Manila Marking Tag No Number Number 1 to 500 www.avery.com |
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Posting/Ledger Tray Metal Tab Index for 6×9 sheets, A-Z /numerical/Blank Inserts $37.99 Durable index set created for use with Master® posting trays. Tabs are made of metal to last longer. Sturdy pressboard. Includes blank, A-Z and 1-100 inserts. File Guides Type: Top Tab Ledger Posting Guides; Blank/Pre-Printed: 1-100, A-Z, Blank; For Card/Sheet Size: 6 x 9; Guide Size: 6 x 9. |
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Posting/Ledger Tray Metal Tab Index for 8-1/2×11 sheets, A-Z and Blank Inserts $49.99 Durable index set created for use with Master® posting trays. Tabs are made of metal to last longer. Sturdy pressboard. Includes blank, A-Z and 1-100 inserts. File Guides Type: Top Tab Ledger Posting Guides; Blank/Pre-Printed: 1-100, A-Z, Blank; For Card/Sheet Size: 8 1/2 x 11; Guide Size: 8 1/2 x 11. |
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Bob Blank – The Blank Generation $9.49 Bob Blank – The Blank Generation |
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Going Blank Again $7.98 From the sounds of the cloistered, chaotic opener, “Leave Them All Behind,” Going Blank Again sounds like it could be headed down the same Nowhere path. Guitars as far as the ear can hear — not much different from the effect gained after riding a sit-and-spin for eight straight minutes — are just as dizzying as the prior record’s opener. But rather than sink into a thick underbelly of melancholy, Going Blank Again offers sunshiney melodies and gleaming, bold production. All the band’s elements are more pliable, and overall it’s pretty cheery. In fact, some of the album could be loosely classified as power pop. Bouncy tunes like “Twisterella,” “Not Fazed,” “Mouse Trap,” and “Time of Her Time” each share more than a thing or two in common with the likes of Teenage Fanclub, but with more layered vocals and less-cutting guitars. Though Ride’s guitars don’t bite as much, there are loads of them everywhere; the band doesn’t completely sacrifice their love of reverberating noise, but it’s more done in the name of pop than to merely cause a blistering racket. Though the lyrics often read as overtly simple or obtuse (a common Ride foible), Mark Gardener’s and Andy Bell’s voices are too pretty to let this shortcoming mar things. They create enough of a mood with their proper instruments, and their sighing and random vocal intonations are undeniably lovely. No longer do they hide shortcomings with sheets of distortion, and there’s a lot more focus and confidence on display throughout. Don’t let a Ride fan tell you otherwise: Going Blank Again is anything but empty. [Going Blank Again was remastered and reissued by Ignition U.K. in 2001. Four B-sides are added; the only B-side from this era not included is an alternate version of "Chrome Waves."] ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi Performers: Andy Bell – Guitar, Vocals; Loz Colbert – Drums; Mark Gardener – Guitar, Vocals; Steve Queralt – Bass |
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Blank Chipboard Assortment(Pack Of 37) $106 172 de ceremoniamp;#233; chipboards. Includes 172 punchouts on 12″ x 12″ chipboard sheets, including words, icons, frame and photo corners, labels and flourishes. (6 sheets) sizes vary…. |
