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As we know, there's nothing like actually going there, walking where they walked, seeing where they lived, and looking up the records in person. Often it's impossible because you're so far away, there's not enough time, it's too expensive.
But some people here have done it or are planning to do it. Can we share our experiences?
My upcoming event that I am all excited about is a trip to Vermont to track down the elusive Phineas Wright.
I need his marriage record. The little town he lived in doesn't have the records online, their town clerk doesn't have the records that far back, so I'm stuck. Oh-The DAR has him as married to Esther and then it says that their records are not to be used as sources. I know he married Esther but I need the actual record.
I called the Historical Society and they told me about a Wright family in town that has family bibles! I emailed them but it turns out their line broke off before Phineas was born. The encouraging part is that the librarians at a neighboring town told me there are two books on the family and one librarian is supposed to be very helpful with genealogy.
So once the weather warms up, I'm taking off for a few days of adventure to the green hills of Vermont--in search of dear old Phineas.
Anyone else? I can't be the only one going on a genealogy adventure.
I've never gone far to explore my ancestral origins. When I lived in England, I visited one of the towns that one of my ancestors was from, it was just outside the city where I live at the time so it wasn't far. I went to a pub there that existed when my ancestors live there, and I went to the neighborhood where I think their farm was located.
I am from the suburbs of Philly where I also have a lot of ancestry, so whenever I am there with my parents (who still live there), I visit places - houses, cemeteries, etc.
I've never gone far to explore my ancestral origins. When I lived in England, I visited one of the towns that one of my ancestors was from, it was just outside the city where I live at the time so it wasn't far. I went to a pub there that existed when my ancestors live there, and I went to the neighborhood where I think their farm was located.
I am from the suburbs of Philly where I also have a lot of ancestry, so whenever I am there with my parents (who still live there), I visit places - houses, cemeteries, etc.
You are fortunate to have lived in both countries. And to have ancestors in Williamsburg too. One of my dreams is to go to Colonial Williamsburg; I went to nearby Yorktown last year but didn't have enough time to see Williamsburg.
I did go with a genealogy group to York, England 16 years ago. Didn't do any actual genealogy but a "cousin" took me around to see the places they lived, the churches where they were married, and the cemeteries. He even found me a B&B to stay and it was in the little village where they had lived for centuries.
It was all quite emotional, well that is an understatement.
My research trips have generally been limited to a 3-state area, but the one that I will remember the most was only 3 hours away. After arriving in Philadelphia in 1767, our family immigrant (my 4th great grandfather) headed south and settled in the old Ninety-Six District of SC. He opened a tavern and inn at the intersection of two Colonial trading routes. The small town that grew up from this settlement still carries his name. A member of the local historical society was gracious enough to show me around, including the old church cemetery at the end of a long, single-lane dirt road. Nature is quickly reclaiming the cemetery, but I could still read most of the inscriptions on the markers of my 4th great grandparents. He also drove me by the location of the old tavern. The trading paths are now paved roads leading to neighborhoods, but the original stonework making up the tavern’s entrance gate at the edge of the trading route is still standing and used as part of the fence surrounding the home now located on the old tavern grounds. Touching those stones was a moving experience, and brought home why I spend all these hours tracing my family.
I did one about ten years ago to the Hudson Valley and found graves and a 300+ year old family house that is now a museum. Some of those towns still resemble what they were like generations ago and they kept good records and took care of cemeteries. We saw a lot of pavement and my daughter was not much impressed.
I'd like to take a trip to County Kerry in Ireland since I have some unknown cousins there but I don't know enough on localities and parishes but there should be records. Another would be along the Baltic coast of Poland west of Gdansk -- formerly part of Germany (Pomerania) until 1945. Records would be hard to find and German cemeteries and structures mostly gone. I'd need a guide and translator.
I would absolutely love to... and hope to some day. Unfortunately I live in California and my ancestry pretty much starts in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas and heads east from there... so would be quite the road trip. I love road trips though so really want to some day.
I would like to visit a few places where my husband's ancestors lived, since finding information about them online has been difficult.
I am fortunate that most of my family's more recent ancestors were in Georgia and within a couple of hours drive from where I currently live. I have made one road trip to SC - with a cousin I met through Ancestry.com. Finding her tree was like striking the mother lode! She does meticulous documentation and we went to SC to look for deeds and court documents.
Edited to add: I walked a few cemeteries in CT and found a few graves of ancestors, but I was with my MIL and a sister in law who are not into genealogy so I did not get to do any real research.
I would like to visit a few places where my husband's ancestors lived, since finding information about them online has been difficult.
I am fortunate that most of my family's more recent ancestors were in Georgia and within a couple of hours drive from where I currently live. I have made one road trip to SC - with a cousin I met through Ancestry.com. Finding her tree was like striking the mother lode! She does meticulous documentation and we went to SC to look for deeds and court documents.
Edited to add: I walked a few cemeteries in CT and found a few graves of ancestors, but I was with my MIL and a sister in law who are not into genealogy so I did not get to do any real research.
At least your drives to the places are not all that far. That's great about meeting a cousin through Ancestry.com who enjoys genealogy and you met her as well and she had a lot of info to share. I'd like to meet some of my distant cousins who are also interested in genealogy. Right now, all my contacts via Ancestry have been casual and infrequent at most.
I'd like to plan a genealogy roadtrip, but I am probably at least a few years from now easily. Long drives, traveling costs and taking the time off from work to do it are not in the cards right now for me.
Just a suggestion... Look up your destination on Google Earth before you drive three hours to find next to nothing. We went looking for a small town that was home to my wife's great grandmother. When we got there we found a couple mobile homes, some overgrown charcoal ovens in ruins and, luckily, an old church and cemetery. No town anywhere but some old weed covered foundations. There were a couple family gravestones. Be prepared to be disappointed.
As we know, there's nothing like actually going there, walking where they walked, seeing where they lived, and looking up the records in person. Often it's impossible because you're so far away, there's not enough time, it's too expensive.
But some people here have done it or are planning to do it. Can we share our experiences?
My upcoming event that I am all excited about is a trip to Vermont to track down the elusive Phineas Wright.
I need his marriage record. The little town he lived in doesn't have the records online, their town clerk doesn't have the records that far back, so I'm stuck. Oh-The DAR has him as married to Esther and then it says that their records are not to be used as sources. I know he married Esther but I need the actual record.
I called the Historical Society and they told me about a Wright family in town that has family bibles! I emailed them but it turns out their line broke off before Phineas was born. The encouraging part is that the librarians at a neighboring town told me there are two books on the family and one librarian is supposed to be very helpful with genealogy.
So once the weather warms up, I'm taking off for a few days of adventure to the green hills of Vermont--in search of dear old Phineas.
Anyone else? I can't be the only one going on a genealogy adventure.
I've only done one research road trip, to TN and KY, but I had JUST started researching and really didn't know what to look for. I found a lot of info anyway. I visited my 4th gr grandfathers farm in TN and it is still owned by family but has been turned into a 'tourist trap' these days. He had the first place in the area and the second in the state. The town a few miles away was started by, and named for, his son in law. He gave the son in law the land because he didn't like him much and wanted him 'far away'. lol That town is Rogersville, TN. My gr gr grandparents went to KY in the late 1700s where HE started the first feud in KY. Clay County, KY was founded because they needed a county seat to hold a trial. Court was held at the home of a man my gr gr grandmother eventually married after his wife died and my gr gr grandfather was killed in that house while testifying in court. A result of The Cattle Wars. I enjoyed reading his father's Will because I learned a LOT from it. I want to go back and do MUCH more research and I still have plenty of 'cousins' left in KY as well.
I want to go to New England as well. My family didn't come over on the Mayflower but they weren't far behind. Maternal family. Paternal family, I'm not sure when they came but they were there in mid 1700s. Some born in CT and my gr grandfather born in MA. Unfortunately I don't know what cities/towns/counties they lived in and the last name was fairly common so hard to make connections. My paternal lines range from New England (grandmother's family) to VA/NC/TN/KY and then all points West. So I have New England connections on both sides of the family.
I also want to go to England, Scotland and Ireland. I can look up our family 'castle' online. It's now a museum and, of course, it's haunted. lol In Scotland my family was somehow connected to Robert the Bruce and what's weird is that both my birth family and my stepmom's family were friends and neighbors back then too.
Amissville, VA was named for a brother of one of my ancestors. Why they added a second S to the name, I don't know. It seems there were four brothers. Two stayed in VA, one went to NC and one went to Wales. When I was a kid my granddad told me our family was from Wales but they weren't.
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