Mom and I went down to Marion, Ohio yesterday to visit her cousin and do some genealogy research. It was rather emotional for me. It might sound silly, but after spending so much time trying to find out more about these people, I start to feel connected to them, compelled to find the stories that need to be told.

It has really been bothering me that I can’t find out information on the Briggs branch of our family. Correction: it HAD been bothering me. I’m not really any closer to knowing the crucial information on my great great grandmother, but I was given several huge gifts yesterday.

One was two pages of notes, written by my late great Aunt Grace, a woman I never had the pleasure of meeting. My mom’s cousin sent me home with about six large envelopes containing papers, most of which relate to her father’s side of her family, which is no relation. BUT… in the last envelope, at the bottom of the stack were the two pages that not only provided me with what I truly believe to be the name of my great great grandmother, Adelia Eberts, but also an accounting of each one of her children. Including (and this is the important part) the MARRIED names of her other two daughters. For months, I’ve been trying to find information on Laura Briggs. I now know that she married George Vogelman and moved to California where she had two children, a son named Jack and a daughter named Vela.

But this, perhaps, was an even greater treasure:

This is my great grandmother, Emma Briggs. I think she has a look in her eyes of someone who had better not be taken lightly. And I like it.

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Well, it’s official. I will NOT be able to attend BlogHer ‘08. I can’t justify the expense. I’m ok with it, and yet I’m not.

I’m not ok with it because there are people speaking that I wanted to see. I can’t even bear to look at what the schedule is because I don’t want to kick myself for missing certain sessions.

On the other hand, this wouldn’t be my first year, and yet… I didn’t really bond with anyone. I made a couple of friends, yes, but not to the extent that others seem to have. It’s totally my issue. I don’t do well in large crowds like that. I’m usually not comfortable at parties, preferring instead to socialize with good friends in smaller groups.

I do plan on hitting up one or more of the Reach sessions later in the fall, though. Armed with my Kimmer, I know it’ll be a good time. It’s always easier for me to be my charming, witty self when I’m accompanied by someone I adore who is even more charming and witty. Now, if we could just get Kat blogging…

Last week, I had a great conversation with my aunt who has been researching my dad’s side of the family tree for years. I told her about the problems I’ve been encountering trying to find my elusive great great grandmother and she said, “You’ve encountered what we call a brick wall.” And she gave me a couple of suggestions and told me to forward her some information and she’d see if she could dig anything up. The suggestions included a couple of books which will no doubt point me in the right direction of the records I need. I’ve already requested them from OhioLink. I also found a source of newspapers from the area during that time and I’ve been painstakingly going through them one by one to see if any mention is made of her death. My aunt thinks I’m probably correct in my assumption that she died in childbirth.

She made me feel better about what I’ve felt is a rather late blooming interest in genealogy. I only have one grandparent left (on my dad’s side) and she has Alzheimer’s. My aunt pointed out that I developed my interest 15 years ahead of hers and that she had no grandparents living when she started researching. Furthermore, my grandmother who is still living? Her father died when she was four. So, my aunt started off with pretty much the same lack of information. And she has learned a LOT.

Since I was feeling all empowered, I got the nerve up to make a phone call to my mom’s cousin. Her mother took care of my great grandmother (Emma) before she died and I made the call hoping that perhaps the cousin would know the name of Emma’s elusive mother. She doesn’t offhand, but she does have a bunch of papers and photos that she’s going to dig up for me. Apparently, someone has done some research on that line before and she has the information. Potential gold mine of knowledge? I am crossing my fingers!

In any event, the cousin was so friendly and so genuinely happy to hear from me that it doesn’t matter. I’ve made contact with a family member that I never knew and with whom my mom and uncles have lost touch. Reconnecting is one of the reasons I started this project in the first place.

It’s going to be an interesting summer!

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Today’s mail brought the death certificate I ordered from the fine folks at Pennsylvania Vital Statistics. I had a rather amusing conversation with one of those fine folks the other day, in fact. She’d left a voicemail for me on Monday and when I called her back on Tuesday, she had no clue why she’d called me. Apparently, she figured out whatever question she’d had. I made a point of thanking her and her colleagues for providing me and my colleagues with so much amusement over the whole “Death_by_fax” file name. She said, “Sometimes, you have to be creative.” I like her.

Anyway, the death certificate both confirmed what I was thinking and further confused me. This person is definitely my great, great uncle. My great great grandfather’s name was definitely John Briggs, as it has been found on all three death certificates of his children that I’ve located. But my hope of finally learning my great great grandmother’s full name was not to be. All that’s listed is her last name: Eberts. So, we have one death certificate that says “Adelia Ebert,” one that says “Elizabeth Ebbers” and one that says only “Eberts.”

*sigh*

Time to hit up some of the places on my list to visit… the answers I’m seeking are out there somewhere….

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