My Favorite Project

Only once have I had a project that made me love working--that kept me curious and enthusiastic through long, tedious hours.  Somehow, I've not ever told many people about my favorite project.  You see, most people don't seem to care at all about genealogical research.

So how in the world did I discover an unusual joy in such solitary work, seated in front of a computer for eight to twelve hours a day?

Ann Boleyn (father's side)

It was the evening of my grandfather's visitation when I first got my hands on a piece of extensive genealogical research.  (I had been quizzing him for some time concerning his time in World War II and recording the details of every distant relative that he could remember.  Their lives--both the everydayness of the births, the deaths, the marriages, and the more extraordinary event of three generations named Andrew Jackson because they were farmer Democrats.)  A distant cousin gave me ten generations worth of research she had done.  I was thrilled!

By the time we reached home, I had read the whole document and found an error in the chronology.  And so the next morning was the beginning of my project to correct the record.  I determined to complete the project in honor of my grandfather.  The next morning, I sat down in front of the computer armed only with a single web address and began my search.  It took me a full week to retrace her findings, then I began the more intensive process of searching further back.

Pocohantas (mother's side)

Never had I been so focused.  Never since have I been so focused.  My zeal and focus for the project produced measurable results.  Over a period of approximately six months, I researched approximately one thousand years worth of genealogical data on my dad's side of the family and another four hundred years worth of data on my mother's side.  This has been my greatest accomplishment so far.

Yet the sense of accomplishment gained was only a bonus because the true joy lay in the research itself.  Every detail--a date, the precise spelling of a name, especially the discovery of twins--each detail thrilled my soul.  I should clarify that the details themselves did not thrill me, but the people did.  Thousands of years worth of people--once-living people!--kept me company during those long hours at the computer.