Saturday, January 7, 2012

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Your Very Best 2011 Research Adventure

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It's Saturday Night again -- time for some Genealogy Fun (what else is there to do on Saturday Night?)!!

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1) Decide which of your (many?) genealogy research adventures in 2011 was your "very best" (your definition).

2) Tell us about it in a blog post of your own, in a comment to this blog post, in a Status report or comment on Facebook, or in a Stream note on Google Plus.
Here's mine:

I'm going to mention two, because they are so different.

1)  The "Research Adventure" that will really advance my family tree research was finding the link between Elizabeth Horton (Dill) Smith (1794?-1869) and a (probable?) brother James H. Dill (1792-1862 ).  For background, see:

Amanuensis Monday - Insolvency Sale of Land of Alpheus B. Smith (17 January 2011)
James H. Dill in the Vital and Census Records (17 January 2011)
James H. Dill in Newspaper, Cemetery and Book Records (18 January 2011)
Amanuensis Monday - Alpheus B. Smith Probate Papers - Post 2 (24 January 2011)
Amanuensis Monday - James H. Dill's Inquiry in Thomas Dill's Revolutionary War Pension File (4 July 2011)

Reviewing these posts, I can state that I have significant circumstantial evidence that James H. Dill was the brother of Elizabeth Horton Dill, and that they were children of Thomas and Hannah (Horton) Dill of Eastham, Massachusetts.  However, I don't have direct evidence yet of these relationships - there is no document found to date that says "James H. Dill, brother of Elizabeth (Dill) Smith" or "Elizabeth (Dill) Smith was the daughter of Thomas and Hannah (Horton) Dill."  I do have a death record that says she is the daughter of Thomas Dill and Mary Horton (see Elizabeth Horton Dill: A Very Elusive Ancestor).

I will be finding and copying the rest of the Alpheus Smith probate papers, and any land deeds in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, for Alpheus and/or Elizabeth (Dill) Smith, and any other Dill in Norfolk County, on my visit to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City in early February.

If, as I am fairly certain, that Elizabeth (Dill) Smith was the daughter of Thomas and Hannah (Horton) Dill of Eastham, then this opens up a significant branch of my family tree for further research.  I've already done quite a bit of research on these families, but I need to do more.

2)  The true "genealogy adventure" was the two week trip to the Midwest in September, which I compiled in The Seaver Family History Mystery Tour Compendium.  Attending the FGS Conference, visiting the Allen County Public Library, meeting Jasia and her husband, visiting Dodge County and Dane County, Wisconsin, and seeing the Ranslow Smith "Four-Mile Inn" at Old World Wisconsin was a definite adventure that will always be remembered.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/01/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-your-very.html

copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver 2012.

5 comments:

Jim's Girl said...

Randy, my best research adventure of 2011 was confirming the fate of my grandfather's sister who became "a nun in Boston". A number of records pointed me in the right direction, then a private cemetary suggested three different women. Finally, a personal connection through a newly found relative confirmed Julia's fate.

I wrote about the adventure in two blog posts:
http://jimsgirlfamilyhistoryblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/looking-for-julia-moynihan-grandads.html

http://jimsgirlfamilyhistoryblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/thankful-thursday-finding-grandads.html

Dorene from Ohio said...

Randy, My best research adventure of 2011 was finding my paternal grandparents' marriage record in Michigan, via Family Search. Grandpa Steve provided the wrong last name!?! I wrote about it at:

http://graveyardrabbitofsanduskybay.blogspot.com/2011/10/was-grandpa-named-steve-orshoski-or.html

Dr. Bill (William L.) Smith said...

I became aware of who my Danish great-great-grandparents were from a Danish cousin happening upon my regular 'ancestor story' blog while surfing the Internet. I now know a whole branch of my family that was previously a 'black hole' - simply by 'doing what I do." Perhaps, that is why I do it, do you suppose? ;-)
Thanks for the prompt, Randy!

GeniAus said...

Randy, By far my best genealogy adventure for 2011 was travelling halfway round the world by myself to attend Rootstech 2011. A search for Rootstech on geniaus.blogspot.com will dredge up my posts from SLC.

Now I am getting ready for Rootstech 2012 and am similarly excited.

Judy Webster said...

My most enjoyable genealogy research adventures in 2011 were (1) Yorksgen and (2) a genealogy conference on a cruise.