Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Genealogy Happy Dances and/or Genea-gasms!

The subject of the next Carnival of Genealogy is "Genealogy Happy Dances - the Joy of Genealogy. Almost everyone has experienced it. Tell us about the first time, or the last time, or the best time. What event, what document, what special find has caused you to stand up and cheer, to go crazy with joy?"

I made up my own name for this moment in time - I call it "The Magic of Genealogy Moment" or a "Genea-gasm." I wish I could remember all of the moments of joy and near-ecstasy I've experienced while pursuing my elusive ancestors. For sure, the "magic moments" include:

* The 1993 trip to England - researching, visiting the family church, and learning why James Richman came to America in 1855.

* The 1999 trip to Norway - seeing beautiful Voss and visiting the family farms that Linda's ancestors lived on.

* Finding the treasures in my mother's closet - my find when cleaning out my mother's closet after she died.

* Finding the Union Case with Isaac and Lucretia (Smith) Seaver - I had never seen this before it was found in my Aunt Geraldine's collection and passed to me after her death in 2007.

* Finding the box of forgotten treasures in the garage in late 2006 - this included many things from my childhood and Della's Journal for 1929, which I transcribed week-by-week in 2007.

What? Only one entry? Ooops. It said first time (I really can't remember), last time (not recently), or best time (ah, there have been more than four). This is sort of like remembering old girlfriends... they say the memory is the second thing to go, and I can't remember the first. I hope it isn't genea-gasms.

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