Having just returned from a great visit down south (Please see "Winter Escape, days 1 through 30, January 30 through February 28, 2014" on my travel blog, www.rockingthruworld.blogspot.com, for an account) with friends and relatives, I've unpacked and have at last embarked one of my biggest goals: join ancestry.com to research my relatives! I've planned on doing this for years - ever since I heard about the website - but wanted to be able to devote enough time to really 'dig' into our family's past history. (Also see this blog, Wednesday, January 8, 2014, "The Glue of Tradition.")
In a short time this evening, I've found the marriage certificate of the grandfather I never met, my daddy's daddy. When in Florida recently, my brother, Don, and I actually found two photos of him (see "Winter Escape, Day 24"). What a treasure!
I accidentally stumbled on a ship manifest from 1949. I was returning with my mother, dad, and two brothers from Bremerhaven, Germany, on the ship, "Henry Gibbins." It was a troop carrier. The seas were rough and weather dark and gloomy, as I recall. It was October and we landed in New York City, New York.
If you are even mildly interested in your ancestors, I suggest you take the first step: talk to all the older folks in your family, take photos, write dates and names on the back of them. Preserve the living present first!
My new favorite website, www.ancestry.com, is very easy to navigate and full of suggestions, with an easy way to map out your family tree. When I get finished, I hope I have a "Family Forest!"
Actually, it occurred to me that I'm getting a jumpstart on meeting all these relatives of mine in heaven someday! I believe in "The Communion of Saints," and look forward to the 'hereafter!' What about you?
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