My sister and I did this research and in the process found a 3rd cousin that I grew extremely close to. We had a wonderful relationship for 14 years. She died last year at the age of 93. She had done all the research on my daddy's side of the family; there wasn't anything else to do! I used to go see her about twice a mo. I was there when her husband died. She eventually moved to the Dallas area and I continued to go see her and take her to lunch and then she got past that point and I felt such an awful loss when she died. I miss her so much. She was so funny and I did myself a treat when I'd visit her or call her on the phone.

One of the most interesting things we did was obtain copies of wills. They were so interesting and beautifully written. They're fairly easy to get from court houses. I highly recommend trying for those.

Vannie,

You are so right about wills, they are a wealth of information with names of family members including the women, who seem to be invisible in many early records (like the census before 1850). It is interesting to see what people felt was important enough to list as possessions.

I am sorry your 3rd cousin died. I can only imagine how much you must miss a "found treasure" that you then knew and had a friendship with for 14 years.

Elizabeth

Elizabeth,
I have been working on my Dad's side of the family tree for a couple of years now.(Mom's is done) I have FINALLY solved some of my mysteries. I also have a PILE of computer printouts, info, etc. I must admit that I could literally spend the rest of my life doing this, except of late I have lost my drive as Dad just passed away 2 weeks ago. Anyway...... I just bought a large binder and filled it with tabs and pocket folders and each "family" info goes in its' own section. I also put a copy of the pedigree chart in the front of each section and highlight that family so it's easier to track. I also have started to write up a memoir of my life and family things so that when I am gone it will be easier for the next generation. I am only 45 but I seem to be the only family member interested in the history. Guess I was born in the wrong century. LOL

Ancestry.com is where I found much of my info and where I am posting the tree online. I still have to get copies of birth,marriage,and death certificates to complete my info. I never thought of getting the wills. Hmmm

BTW, I am new here so I hope I haven't just "chimed in" inappropriately.......

A few of the wills we got had the names of the slaves listed and who got which slave. They went on to say that the slaves were to be treated w/ respect and treated kindly. I know they did treat them well, b/c after the Civil War was over, the slaves stayed on at the family homes (I hesitate to use the word "plantation"). One of the slaves' daughters conceived 6 children w/ a brother of my grandmothers. My sister and I met one of them (Leo) and spent the afternoon w/ him. He told us lots of stories. It was a wonderful experience for us, and my youngest daughter was with us, and I was so glad she got to meet him. I was proud to be "kin" to him. He, of course, has since died, b/c this was 20-25 years ago.

yvonnekate - Welcome! And no, I don't think you were born in the wrong century. Genealogy is just now coming into its own for people who are not members of the nobility!
As you have found, there is now so much information online that it is much more possible to successfully research your ancestors and do it quickly.
Like you, Ancestry.com is my first go-to. Once I find someone in a census record it is often easy to get some basic facts about them and their family over a period of decades, and then go from there - I love that! I use it along with many other sites I have found by Googling. Narrowing in on local Historical organizations/genealogy organizations has been lucrative for me too. Many of these have local archives and a network of like minded people - some of whom may turn out to be cousins!
I make a point of sharing with my grown children my latest findings about our ancestors. They didn't show much interest in my "reports" at first, but that is changing as they hear more and more. I know it makes me feel completely different about myself to know something about my roots and to find out what my ancestors were doing during the Revolution, the Civil war, the depression, etc. and I know it is valuable information for my children to know about themselves too. It is amazing and terrible how the family stories can be lost in a generation or two. Many people have no idea who they inherited their genes from - what a loss. Because really, everyone living on the earth today had to have had some truly amazing ancestors to have survived storms and plague and famine and who-knows-what!
Everyone in our family knows DH and I are the keepers of the family record, but I was surprised last year when our niece (DH's sister's daughter) contacted us to get family history for a class project. Another niece (my sister's daughter) has also started doing genealogy. So, their may be someone in the younger generation to carry on. :)
I've gone on and on , so I'll comment on the rest of your interesting post later!
Elizabeth

Vannie,
The issue of slavery is painful and one that we are, unfortunately, likely to encounter in genealogy research.. I felt a huge relief each time I checked a census record and found no slaves - a fact I proudly reported to the rest of the family! My ancestors were landowners living in North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland for the most part. When "the West" opened up they moved with the Quaker migration to (now) West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, etc. Some even were likely involved in the Underground Railroad. However, I did know that is was likely that there were some slave owners, and sure enough I have found some amongst my family. I feel bad about that, but I cannot carry the guilt and shame for their actions anymore than I think a person who had ancestors who were in slavery should carry any shame.

Knowing our family history does not mean we have to justify our ancestors actions or conditions, although we should learn a lesson from what we know. The good thing about society today is that we are allowed, maybe required, to be responsible for ourselves and our own lives, but we do not have to carry the misery and mistakes of those who came before us. I guess it comes down to: is it better to know the truth or hide from it and pretend it didnÂt happen? I think knowing is better, both the good things and the bad things.

I'm glad you got to meet your kin Leo, and talk to him, even for an afternoon. You should write down his stories if you have not done it already!