Beware! Genealogy is habit-forming.
Once you begin seeking your ancestors, you won't be able to rest, because as soon as you find one elusive uncle or grandmother, you discover new connections.
I started out trying to discover where and when my mother's father had died (young, was all I knew) and who the Katie who addressed Nellie Holmes as "Mother" really was. As far as I knew my maternal grandmother had only one sister and two brothers (turns out they were four of fifteen). Now, thirty-odd years later, my family file numbers in the hundreds, and there are still mysteries to be solved.
I am more-or-less actively researching these surnames:
HOLMES, LYON, BREEDLOVE, BENNETT, WRIGHT, KING, LARRIMER, SANDERS, WATSON, JOHNSON
Nearly all of them are pretty common, so it's a challenge.
If we have any of them in common, I'd love to trade info. Write to me.
I've traced my Holmes line back to William Holmes, born in 1760, where I hit a blank wall. He was in Montgomery County, Ohio, in 1800 and probably as late as 1816, but where he came from is still a mystery. There are several family trees published here and there on the Web that may or may not be his. Most of them say he came from Ireland. I'd love to see the records that support that, because they might even take us back another generation or two.
Neil's parents, Neils Christian Marinas Andersen Glad and Lina Hansen, both emigrated to the United States. His father's family is well documented, but not his mother's. I've found the ship she came to the US on, but that's about as far back as I've gone.
Five Thousand Ways to Earn a Living
Did you ever wonder what your ancestor REALLY did for a living? Are you looking for a different way for your hero/heroine to earn a living? What does a Barilla Manufacturer build? Does a mangle keeper keep the keys to the local instruments of torture?
Here's your chance to discover the truth. A delightful British gentleman has compiled hundreds of trades from parish registers and census sheets in England and graciously offered to share it, as long as the whole thing isn't published on the Web.
Warning: the list is not mobile-friendly.
Write to me and I will provide you with the definition of up to five trades at once.