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Thursday, August 1, 2013

Gen Zen

The best results often happen when you aren’t even trying....

There is no other way to describe it. It’s the Zen of genealogy. 

But I should back up and explain. During my one year plus of self-imposed exile from active genealogy research, I have become pathetic. My research has become pathetic, not to mention almost nonexistent. 

My research muscles are flabby. And I have come to passively accept the existence of my many brick walls. Not brick walls many generations back, but early brick walls, many at the great-great-grandparent level and even one at the great-grandparent level.

 But still, I flit around aimlessly some evenings. I check out blogs on Feedly. A couple of nights ago I checked my genealogy mail, found a Family Search newsletter that links to new databases on family Search. I saw some databases for Vermont, and thought about checking out the Floyds in these records. Hey, look at all the hits I got.

But I needed to have a better idea of specific locations in Vermont to search. I decided to get that list of the names of the siblings of my great-great grandfather George Floyd, one of those brick walls that I just accept as a permanent part of my family history landscape. I thought I’d try to find a sibling who stayed in Vermont, and start with those locations.

So I looked around in Ancestry, starting with George Floyd’s two sisters. No luck with Harriet - she ended up in Wisconsin. But for Rachel, who married a Wilkins, I had better luck. Searching under both Rachel Floyd and Rachel Wilkins, I turned up a bunch of documents in the Vermont Vital Records database: a record of Rachel’s marriage to Nehemiah Wilkins, death records for a couple of young children, and ... a death record for Rachel.

 Bingo.

I was not looking for this. But I found it, or more accurately, I found them: Rachel’s parents. My great-great grandfather George’s parents: William Floyd and Betsey Wilson. And even a place of birth for Rachel: Monkton (there’s the location!).

 A brick wall came tumbling down, and I wasn’t even trying.

 [One of my favorite Geneabloggers, Cynthia Shenette, has a blog named Heritage Zen. Wise lady.]

[I must also give a huge amount of credit in this endeavor to two very generous Floyd researchers, Rich and Randy, who a couple of years ago got in touch with me and provided some wonderful old Floyd family letters, including that list of George Floyd’s siblings. Those materials and specifically that list made this discovery possible.]

19 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thanks, Bart - if I could just maintain that frame of mind....

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  2. Moments like this propel us through the genealogical doldrums. I am so pleased for you!

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    1. Thank you Susan; except for not enough spare time, it seems my genealogical stars are aligning!

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  3. I also had a brick wall come tumbling down based on finally finding a gg-aunt's death record, which listed her father's place of birth (Townsend, Massachusetts). It solved everything almost immediately. Those are great moments! !! Congrats to you!

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    1. Diane, thank you - what would we do without the siblings? My direct-line relatives have such a talent for either not having death records or having death records without any of the important information.

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  4. I also had a brick wall come tumbling down based on finally finding a gg-aunt's death record, which listed her father's place of birth (Townsend, Massachusetts). It solved everything almost immediately. Those are great moments! !! Congrats to you!

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  5. Remember all your excitement about doing research in Greenville? Maybe those feelings will come back, and you could head to VT. Anyway, I' m very glad for you.

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    1. Barbara - Thank you for your good wishes - we actually have another family vacation planned in Greenville (the whole family loves the place) - and I will be doing some research there and nearby Anderson.

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  6. LOL. Come with me, Greta. Let that feeling of peace and relaxation wash over you. (Hey, if I wasn't all Zen-ny those Polish name misspellings would drive me up the proverbial brick wall.)

    Seriously, I truly believe there are no brick walls in genealogy, only a lack of time and/or looking in the wrong place. Everything is there. We just need to be in the right place to find it. Sometimes a break is good. Release, and let the genealogy happen, Greta. (There's that Zen thing again.)

    Congratulations on the find!

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    1. Thank you, Cynthia - I have always loved the title of your blog. Further evidence that it is important to keep the right frame of mind to keep our research on track!

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  7. This is almost exactly what happened to me last december with one of my brick walls! When it's meant to be, it happens!!! Congratulations!

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    1. Good to know that others have experienced this - and congratulations on your find!

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  8. TOTALLY LOVE! Agree, they will be found when it is time for them to be known. Funny how that works out. Very Zen like!

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    1. Carol - I always thought my early successes were beginner's luck; perhaps they actually happened because I wasn't expecting anything, just snooping around!

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  9. Replies
    1. Thank you, Miriam - Now if I can just duplicate that frame of mind....

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  10. Happy Blogiversary!!

    Regards,

    Grant

    http://thestephensherwoodletters.blogspot.com

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  11. Gen zen! I love it.

    And I love this tip on the Vermont database. I don't have a lot of Vermonters in the family tree, but back there a ways, there are a couple of Chapins...

    Happy belated blogoversary...

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