My Voyage into the World of Genealogy
I first became interested in genealogy in the 1980s when my father gave me a packet of records that his sister had used to apply for membership in the DAR. Those records mildly piqued my interest in my ancestors, but I didn't know where to begin to search, and the how-to books available at the time made the process seem so complicated, that I didn't follow through.
In the late 1990s I discovered Ancestry.com. With a dial-up connection and the un-indexed 1920 census, my obsession with finding a relative, any relative, began. I would open a census page, wash dishes, and voila! 15 or 20 minutes later a census image would appear on my screen. I spent hours scouring vital records indexes and census records.
Although I knew about the Family History Center in Oakland, I found the idea of researching there somewhat intimidating and didn't think I would find my Indiana relatives there. In 1999, during an interview, a prospective employee told me about researching her African-American roots at the FHC. There I found friendly volunteers who showed me the ropes and taught me how to use the Soundex system. Soundex proved useful for finding family in the 1900 census. This was helpful since my family name choices were a very common surname on my mother's paternal side or a less common, but more often than not, misspelled surname on her maternal side.
Since moving back to Indiana I have made several trips to the FHL in Salt Lake City, but I have also discovered that the local library and historical museum contain a plethora of useful information. The Allen County Public Library, said to have the second largest genealogy collection in the U.S., is only an hour away. My car always wants to head west, but since discovering how much information can be gleaned from local libraries, I intend to spend more time traveling east to Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut where my paternal ancestors came from.
Until recently I followed mostly direct ancestor lines. However, as I discovered more details of their lives and their stories became more personal, I began to branch out. I want to know who these people were and what they felt.
The search never ends. There is always one more detail to research, one more mystery to solve, and one more skeleton behind the closet door waiting to be discovered.
Shyster Lawyers and Horse's Patoots
Growing up, I spent a lot of time with my maternal grandmother. She often talked about "Shyster Lawyers and Horse's Patoots," an expression which may have referred to some attorney's and family members involved in a family feud. For the last couple of years I have thought of this phrase often. This blog seemed like the perfect opportunity to use it and I dedicate the title, if not the content to Grandma Martin.
I don't personally know any shyster lawyers, but I know of several horse's patoots, both past and present, and you may meet some of them here.
