Thursday, January 12, 2012

Unexpected Day of Genealogy

Yesterday was my usual day off and it became filled with genealogy in unexpected ways.

I have been photographing the area farm and small town cemeteries near me.  One of my genealogy resolutions was to digitize the photos and donate them to the local library.  I edit the photos and sort them alphabetically, so it makes sending them to a CD very easy.  I made 3 copies of each of the 4 cemeteries, so there are plenty of backups!  All of the 2,500+ photos have been uploaded to FindAGrave and have already helped a couple researchers.  I dropped off the CD's to the curator of the library's local history collection.  She was happy to receive them and said she often receives requests for cemetery information.  That felt good!

I also spent some time with my 93-year-old very with-it grandmother.  Over the years, she has given me great information about her family of West Prussian and German immigrants who moved to Lansing, Michigan.


Finally, I ended my day with a visit to Fountaindale Library for it's genealogy program on cemeteries and funeral customs.  It was very informative and entertaining.  It was nice to chat with people who do not roll their eyes (family, I am looking at you!) when I launch into a history/cemetery/genealogy commentary.

No traditional research, but all in all, it was a great genealogical day!