Category: "Reach out and Perform Genealogical Acts of Kindness"
Event D: assist another researcher
Diamond
I really don't think there is such a thing as "Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness". I think things are meant to be found when they are ready and sometimes it means you have to wait for just the right event, day, person, or situation to come along.
While I write some of my last entries for this "Summer Games", I'd like to take the time to talk with you about what this means.
Recently at a family reunion, I noticed a fellow genealogist and "cousin" Scott Bill Hirst struggle with his film camera. It suddenly hit me that this was the person who needed my "old" digital camera. That's a random thought, I suppose, but I pulled him aside and told him that I thought it would be a good idea for me to mail it to him. He looked very surprised and wanted to know how much I wanted for it. We settled on a small amount IF he would learn to use it and take some photos of my family graves which are located in the next town to him in Rhode Island AND if he would take photos of family reunions I couldn't go to and share them with me. He got the camera fine and after a few days of struggling (I kept making him read the manual!), he went out and took some pictures and took them to Walmart and put them on CD. He's going to mail them to me this week. This is a "Win-Win" situation.
This morning, as I tried to clean up my desk to get ready to work plus get some groceries, I just opened the tree I have posted at Ancestry.com and picked an ancestor to look at. I couldn't believe it, someone has found the photo of the grave of that ancestor which I posted that we have in common and had taken the line back several generations (with citations). I followed the line and discovered that one ancestor is BURIED IN MY TOWN. I couldn't get there fast enough to photograph the gravestone! Here's the photo of me with the graves behind me.
I have been there many times and taken a lot of photos of this very old graveyard hoping I could find a connection to that place as I feel drawn to it. I wondered why I wanted to live here. I needed to find these now as we are thinking of moving away from here when we retire. See what I mean by the right time and place and not being random at all?
I have emailed the other researcher and am impatiently waiting!
2008 Genea-Bloggers Games
Midge Frazel
Midge Frazel
1 comment:
Great story, Midge! I'm hoping for that type of cemetery connection someday, too.
Your reports on your Genea-Blogger Group Games progress are inspiring. I'm doing well to keep up with the "events" and can't seem to find time to write much about what I'm doing.
Keep up the good work. I've enjoyed reading.
Lisa
Small-leaved Shamrock
A light that shines again
100 Years in America
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