Many of my genealogy friends agree...we have to do the genealogy happy dance whenever we find a new lead/discover/document. Everytime we find it, we are usually jumping for joy. Do you remember the Christmas special where Charlie Brown is waiting for the "crew" of his Christmas play only to find them dancing? That's what my genealogy happy dances look like!
Seriously, I spent a few moments at the library today discussing with the librarians the newest genealogy databases. Have you seen them? I am consonantly amazed at the information out there!
The best advice I can give about genealogy databases is to always look at the page before and the page after.
Today I discovered that my gr-granduncle died in Kobe, Japan. Had I not checked the page before and after, I would have missed the leter sent by the US Department State to the local newspaper in Connecticut. But the best part was that there was also a listing for his son who died in 1935. I was able to find a wealth of information about my "cousin" including his Russian wife's name and the cemetery where the family was buried...just by looking at the pages before and after. In addition there was a letter from my gr-grandaunt asking for more information about the cousin's death and how she saw his obit in the local newspaper...the same newspaper that listed his dad's death 21 years earlier. Of course Google has the newspaper online but not those editions. Regardless,I hit the genealogy jackpot today!
Genealogy databases never ceases to amaze me. I can't wait to see what is next!
