When I first started my family research, a few moons, OK, many moons ago, most of Man's grandfather's story (my beloved Archie, he has taken me on quite the journey, I do love that man!) was one huge mystery.
Over the months and years I have dug a bit here and there, and unearthed tidbits here and there. When I started this life changing hobby, we did not even know Archie's real birth name. We had suspicions, family whisperings that our surname really was not our surname. Well, those suspicions alone will send any addicted researcher into a tizy, and my tizy is still ongoing, some 20 plus years later.
After a few months of research and the discovery of the real surname, I found 12 pages tucked in the back of a family surname book. The compiler could not tie the lineage to her main body of work. I have never found a connection either. But, that compiler in her one name search had 12 pages of Man's family, briefly stated, but, a wonderful outline to work from. Yes, I thank her daily, without her, I don't believe I would have put it together in 20 years. Instead in 20 years I took her 12 pages and it now is well over 800 pages if printed in a narrative style report. (I am afraid to find out how many, after about 800 pages I stopped running the reports and checking. LOL)
I then set out to prove the 12 pages, document it, and fill in a tremendous amount of holes. I am still filling in holes all these years later.
One of the first holes I wanted to fill was to find documentation surrounding the parents of Man's grandfather Archie, Wallace Henry Lashbrook and Letta (Lettie) Amelia Clifford. On a research trip to Allen County Public Library in Ft. Wayne, Indiana I set out to discover their marriage. I knew she had been living in Floyd County Iowa (thanks to my census research). My master plan was pull index books for Floyd County and then proceed to surrounding counties. I hit paydirt on the first try, I found Wallace and Lettie in a Floyd County index compiled book. I will never forget the thrill, it was HUGE! Yea, a bit of dancing, and hooting and hollaring went in, in the middle of the library. Well, quiet hooting and hollaring!
Later I obtained a copy of that marriage record, it is one of my favorites. Wallace and Lettie were not hiding from me!
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4 comments:
Can't get better proof than a marriage record. And, thanks to that compiler who put the unplaced family at the end of the book...good thing you thought to look there. Good work!
Great job. You know what really gives me a thrill --- the dates -- be it 1878, 1778, 1678, or whatever --- just the thrill of seeing the document written so many years ago.
Don't you love to do Genealogy Happy Dances?? I'm doing a big one this week, and plan to blog about it soon!
Woo Hoo!!
Great work Carol! Thanks to the compiler for tucking away those pages. The work of eight hundred pages certainly speaks to your own dedication and hard work. That marriage record is wonderful! I can understand why it is your favorite.
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