New Treasure Trove

Well, my visit with Cousin K was very exciting and everything I had hoped for. I now have my Great Aunt E’s research notes along with all the original photos she used for her publication The Smart Aleck…and more.

Even better, I have photos of family that I have never seen. Photos of a young Ohlrick and Margaretha (Hinkle) Kucks, Sumner and Carrie (Emery) Gage, George and Elizabeth (Bullis) DeJean…all ancestors I have previously written about.

In her notes Great Aunt E made the same connections and proposed the same theories independent of mine. In some cases, she had maiden names I had not found, and in other cases I had parental and maiden names that she did not record. These are all feel good moments for me as I always felt her research skills were more advanced than mine. She did, after all, conduct genealogy research pre-internet boom.

Cousin K was fabulous. I saw familiar family mannerisms in her facial expressions and speech. She is infectiously happy and inquisitive. We visited for many hours over several days and compared stories of family history (we are both recipients of secondhand family stories). We shared details of our own immediate families. And she graciously provided me with the paperwork needed to transfer Great Aunt E’s Ancestry account to me for management (Great Aunt E took the Ancestry DNA test in its early iteration – the new DNA matches abound).

Cousin K shares an equal interest in history as me and Uncle M. I have my love of genealogical history and its correlation to U.S. and World history, Uncle M is fascinated with military campaign-related history, and Cousin K examines the more esoteric aspects of historical customs, groups, and events. Put the three of us together in a room and we are sure to put everyone else to sleep while we talk energetically.

Sigh…more information to digest, and methodically scan and file. But it’s a sigh of content.