Best 2009 Genea-Moment(s)!

I’m a day late on a Saturday Night Genealogy Fun post (thanks for the topic, Randy Seaver, of Genea-Musings!).

Several of my Best of 2009 moments came from items that fell into my lap so to speak.  After my mother passed away, I found many documents and photos that I hadn’t been looking for, but was very excited to find. 

1. My maternal grandparents’ framed Marriage Certificate, my maternal grandmother’s parents’ marriage certificate and their parents’ marriage certificates!
2. Birth Certificates for my mother and her siblings and my maternal grandparents.
3. My maternal grandparents’ wills (I’d seen these when they had passed away but now have the actual documents and all the letters and court papers through probate.)
4. Very Large Portraits of Ancestors.
5. Address books that gave me some clues about family residences and my grandparents’ friends.

Looking back on my posts in 2009, I’ve picked a few that I consider my “best”:

1. January 24 – Meeting Julia. I was able to learn a little more about my paternal grandmother’s sister via this biography.
2. February 18 – Additional Research Techniques. I highlighted how researching a book on Coshocton marriages enabled me to put some pieces to a family puzzle together.
3. March 2 – Childhood Enemies – Adult BFFs written for the 11th Edition of Smile for the Camera.
4. September 30 – The Box, part one of a 2 part post that concluded with the October 1st post –  The Calendar. This was one of the items I found at the bottom of a trunk at my mom’s house and told the intimate story of my “baby” aunt’s brief life from my grandmother’s perspective.
5. October 17 – Mingling of Families and Murder. This post was very challenging as I tired to untangle how two sides of my family were forever entwined.

I also realized just how helpful others can be.  Not only did a lady take pictures of headstones for me via Find A Grave, but she did some research at her local library and sent me some news clippings.  I also connected with a distant Goul cousin who mailed some very valuable family history information.