Question of the Week: Do you have any genealogy trips planned for the summer?

Question

Do you have any genealogy trips planned for the summer?

I'm hoping to go back to Iowa for a few weeks at some point.  My grandparents have so much history in that area and there's still so much I want to see and check out!

How about you?

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Comments

Not a trip per se but my older sister is coming to my house and we are gonna discuss what she remembers about our family. I can't wait!!!!

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Mine is not really a "trip" either.  But I've resolved to visit the Family Search Center at the local LDS (it's 5 miles from my house!!) and see what resources are available. I got started working online, but it seems silly not to use free, locally available resources and free assistance.

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Hi yes I have a big trip in September going to Madeira Portugal hoping to be able to trace my grandfather's family Protuguess Ancestry is very confusing.  I will also be in Amsterdam going to see what History I can find about the Dutch East India Company (VOC) .  Greetings from Northern Utah. 

PS: I see there's a Nathan Lord from Kittery Maine Family 1717th reunion in Maine this year but we won't be making that trip. 

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@Betty That's awesome! Do you have questions ready to ask her?

@Pamela I'd definitely encourage you to go!  They do have all kinds of free resources and the folks that volunteer at them are usually very friendly and helpful.

@Roslyn Wow, Portugal and Amsterdam!  How exciting. I hope you can find out all kinds of neat stuff.

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Eowyn, my family has a list of questions in a booklet that we just fill in. It's very comprehensive. Both of the grandmothers filled one out.

I'm all set.

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That's cool!

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I am going to Highclere castle in September. They have  a WW 1 event there. I have a ancestor who was a red cross nurse who worked there briefly. Not sure I will find out anymore about her (have written short history about her) but will be interesting visit I think.

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I'm planning to go to GRIPitt, with stops on the way there and back to visit family, gather spit and cheek swabs for DNA testing. Maybe scan some pictures.

Answer 1

This summer, I plan on two trips. One is the check on the cemeteries of my Catawba River families (Gaston and Mecklenburg counties, NC) with my genealogist brother. The other is to meet up with a third cousin, the one who smashed my Underwood brick wall last year. We’ll meet up in Mt. Holly, NC, for us to drive around pointing out things that each of us know. I’m really looking forward to this (as long as I keep up with the mowing and other chores!).

Comments

Ah yes. We must finish our chores first. :)

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Nice, Pip! That's so cool that you'll get to connect with your cousin and see what you can share with each other.

Answer 2

I plan to go to my cousins (8 in one family) annual family camp out in Central New York. I’m really looking forward to meeting a (half) first cousin who will be traveling from California; she and my first cousin found each other working on genealogy, and she didn’t think she had family on her father’s side...now she has many. The three of us will probably discuss our research. While I am there I will probably return to the area where I grew up to see if I can find more information about ancestors (from at least 4 families) who settled in that area between 1810 and 1820.

Comments

Hello from central New York!

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Exciting! I always think it's so awesome when someone thinks they have no family and then find out they actually do. :)

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Our mystery to discuss is the DNA match about equally to the two of us who share both grandparents and the one who shares just grandfather. The matching person hasn’t done much genealogy research, but her grandfather was supposedly illegitimate. Now there is a family mystery!

I’m looking forward to meeting with the town historian where 4 of my ancestor families settled in the early 1800s.

Answer 3

Yes , visiting Hancock County Historical Society museum and research facility. Researching: French, Creole and Free People of Color circa 1722-1820.

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C'est Bon Magnifique ..

Comments

Bon Magnifique indeed!

Answer 4

Two trips to genealogy institutes. Just finished IGHR Class 4 (Tom Jones's writing course) and later this month to GRIP to take a course on documentation. Still debating a trip to New York for research.

Comments

Excellent! How was the IGHR class?

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The IGHR class was really great. Tom Jones is an excellent teacher and he had a little help from a few others like John Coletta. I can highly recommend his writing class. He'll be retiring in a couple years. I kind of miss the Samford University location but the people in Athens are doing a good job.

GRIP is coming up in a little over a week. I thought I was doing documentation but it is actually on writing Genealogical Proof Statements and related arguments. My family needs lots of those to make sense of things :-)

Answer 5

In the next two weeks, I'm flying out to Salt Lake City to visit a relative. NOT coincidentally I will, of course, spend some time at the Family History Library to look up some info not readily available elsewhere - some original pubs, deeds and wills, etc.

Comments

If you are a genealogist and in Salt Lake City, it would be a crime NOT to go to the Family History Library! :)

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=) You got THAT right, Eowyn!

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Oh, I am so jealous. I would love to take that trip with you. Have a great time.

Answer 6

Yes, I’m going to England this summer and plan to rent a car for the day to drive to Warwickshire to see to see the churches and towns of my ancestors the Hickling, Bradbury, Harvey, and Neale families who lived in Exham, Bedworth, Foleshill, Black Bank, Collycroft, Coventry,etc  They settled in Lisbon, Ohio in the 1800’s.

Comments

I just got back from England, doing the same thing. I am a direct ancestor of the NEVILLES. My 15th great grandmother was Alice Neville (sister of CECILY NEVILLE) THE MOTHER OF RICHARD NEVILLE..THE KING MAKER'S MOTHER. The Neville's are direct ancestors of JOHN OF GAUNT (KING EDWARD III) John of Gaunt's father..This was my second trip to England for research..If you should find out that you are related to the Kings of England, most of them and their wives are buried in WESTMINSTER ABBEY ..Everyday at 3 pm, the hold a special prayer service in the ABBEY in the area that is raised and "Edward The Confessor" is buried. Only a few are aloud to this SPECIAL PRAYER SERVICE, so if you are in the ABBEY at 3 pm, get in line at the place EDWARD THE CONFESSOR is buried and attend the service. I got to join the service last trip in 2016. Enjoy your trip. Judy

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Also, for anyone going to England, looking for ancestors, you might want to visit the NATIONAL ARCHIVES,  in South of London in RICHMOND..You will need to go to their website and register. The ARCHIVES holds all the people in the UK's information and they have VERY STRICK rules..But this is where you can find original documents. You can go online and access them online..

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Coventry is amazing!

Answer 7

I don't have any big trips planned but I do hope to visit at least a couple of the half dozen cemeteries within about a 2 hour drive of my house that have the graves of some of my ancestors and their other relatives.

I learned not long ago that my great-grandmothers parents are buried in a cemetery that is right next to the neighborhood where my parents were living six years ago. My dad had no idea either.

Comments

Oh wow!  I had a similar experience with my mother's grandparents not too long ago.  We had no idea they were buried so close.

Answer 8

I've been working on a genealogy tour to Nova Scotia, Canada for several months. I'll be visiting the Port Hastings Museum and Archives (Cape Breton, Nova Scotia) to investigate the MacQuarrie family who settled there in 1826. Then down to Bridgetown in the Annapolis Valley, and Dalhousie West to visit the old Gibson Lake cemetery and former Jackson homestead.

But the most exciting part of this trip involves connecting with two Wikitree collaborators -- Eugene and Jim. They have been very generous in their contributions to the MacQuarrie and Jackson families, and it will be amazing to finally meet face to face.

Comments

Hope you have a great time, with good weather and make lots of wonderful connections and perhaps have the opportunity to attend a ceilidh or two (or three) with your research pals.  I ❤️ Nova Scotia.

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Awesome! I love it when WikiTreers get a chance to meet face to face!

Answer 9

Yes! Super excited to be travelling out of the Texas heat to upstate New York in search of cooler weather and ancestors. My family lived in and around Schnectady during the American Revolution. So much history there. Cannot wait.

Comments

That sounds like fun. I hope to get to upstate New York in the next few years myself. It's not as long a trip from Michigan - especially if you go through Ontario. My Fuller ancestors moved to central upstate New York in the early 1800's and to western upstate New York in the mid-1800's, before moving on to Michigan (and staying).

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Much nicer weather up there for sure. There is definitely a lot to see and do and find! I hope it's a great trip for ya.

Answer 10

I am hoping to visit Steinbach and Kunheide in Germany, the towns where my ancestors lived before emigrating to the US (information I only learned last year). I don’t know if I’ll be able to learn any new information, as my ancestors left in the 1880s, but I’m trying to arrange to meet a local archivist.  In the end, I’ll just be excited to see the places!

Comments

Nice! If nothing else, you'll get to learn first hand about the areas they came from.

Answer 11

I am actually going end of the month to a family reunion in Ohio! And hope to meet a few cousins prior to that reunion of another side of the family. :) Plus, plans to meet NJ (who ends up being a cousin too!) while I"m up there. :)

Comments

How fun!

Answer 12

Travelling from Denver to Albany, NY at the end of October to participate in the NYG&B research project at the NY State Archives. Hope to find out about more my 2xgreat grandfather William Tracy, an Irish immigrant who was a stone-cutter and, according to family lore, worked on the NY State Capitol Building in Albany. He worked in marble so maybe he created some of those wonderful marble faces that adorn the building.

Comments

Wow, how neat would that be if he did!  Lots of WikiTreers heading to New York this summer!

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My thoughts too as I am perusing this thread.  I'll try to have good weather
for everyone while you are here.

Answer 13

In a couple of months my husband and I are planning a trip to Wisconsin. While there we will attend his family reunion and I hope to meet one of his cousins  that has done a lot of research on his dads family (Katuin). I also hope to get out to other parts of Wisconsin and do some more research on my family (Whitney and Johnson). After that it will be off to New York. I hope to get to Ellisburg, New York. For me it is a mystery about my great great grandfather (Whitney), I hope to find some information that will help resolve the mystery. The trip is going to be a lot of fun.

Comments

Neat! I have ancestors from Wisconsin. Mainly Fort Atkinson.  I was just saying in the comment above how we seem to have a lot of WikiTreers going to New York this summer!

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Lots of Whitneys in the area.  If you are not familiar with the area, the Flower Memorial Library in Watertown, New York has a great genealogy room.  It would be the largest local resource for you.

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Thank you for the information. That is going to be quite helpful, because I'm not familiar with the area.

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My husbands family is from the area around the Wisconsin Dells. Both of my mom's parents have ancestors from Wisconsin. The last couple of years I have been researching in Jackson County. This year I hope to get to Farmington, St. Croix County and Dodge County.

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@Sharon  Check out the hours the library  and the genealogy room are open on the computer.  If you have trouble, let me know on my profile, and I will look them up for you.   Time is usually at a premium so I suggest if you
find yourself with a LOT of extra time you might check out the six town
small museum in Adams.  I will get some information on it if you wish but have not found it to be organized enough to able to get a favorable impression that
you will be able to find things.  Truth be told, I've tried to get in twice when I was there within the time frames advertised, waited up to an hour into the time of opening, and left.  After a conversation about  copies of
an old newspaper, I knew it wasn't sure I would have been able to find anything anyway. It is small and dependent on volunteers so we have to give  them A for all the effort and availability they have.

Answer 14

I am headed to Northern Ireland for 2 weeks (in less than 10 days!). THe first week will be spent in Belfast on a research trip led by NEHGS. The second week, I will spend plodding around the townlands of my ancestors, looking for clues and meeting a potential cousin. A fellow genealogist who grew up in the same area (long ago transplanted to Canada) is joining me for this trip. So it will be double fun!

This is my second trip. I found out later, after my first trip, that the McBurney family still owns their farm some 200 year later. A woman responded to a letter I wrote to the family last year, and we are looking forward to meeting each other in a couple weeks! I am still working on figuring out the relationship to this family and my 3rd great-grandmother. Early 19th century is tough research in Ireland.

I hope to visit more local graveyards, although I don't expect to find much as the graves tend to turn over as space runs out or the markers have long since disappeared or become too weathered to read easily.

I had only recently broken through the Massey brick wall and was just beginning my research in Ireland 3 years ago. I am excited to go back for a second pass knowing all this additional information I've put together over the last 3 years, and to have a travel companion researching neighboring/related families to be able to compare notes.

Comments

I am going to Belfast in August to look for relatives from the 1750s. Hoping to get assistance from the Family Ulster organization. There are few records from that time, but maybe graves to be found.

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Wow! That all sounds very exciting.

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Hi Linda

I think I may have sent a comment a week or two ago, but not sure. My family goes back to Margaret Burney, I believe her father was John McBurney and his father Patrick MacBurney. They were all from the Carnmoney, Ballyutoag, Belfast area. I was over in Carnmoney April this year. Would love to hear if you made contact with the Burney family and found any Information. I do have a lot of copies of family tree's relating to the Burney family I'm more than happy to share with you.

Regards Graeme Dunne (New Zealand)

Answer 15

I am going on my annual trip back to Maine.  We stay at Great Pond, but my family pioneered the Winslow/Waterville area about 15 minutes from there.   My family still owns the home built by my great grandfather in Waterville (c. 1879).  A little visiting, camping and always genealogy.

Elizabeth Benowitz

Comments

Nice! I have ancestors from Maine, Appledore and the Isles of Shoals.

Answer 16

A cousin on my mother's side has requested that we organize a group outing, for any interested relatives who want to go around our area and visit the cemeteries where a lot of our relatives and ancestors are buried. To get started, I've started a list of the relatives who can be found in each cemetery, posted it to our family Facebook group just before Memorial Day. Now to pick a date.

It seems like such a good idea, I'm thinking of picking a different day and doing the same for my father's side.

Comments

Wow, I love that idea!

Answer 17

After years of longing for the chance, I'll be traveling to Scotland to visit a number of sites related to the Dalrymples of Stair. This includes a stop in the town of Dalrymple itself, which is believed to be how the spelling of the name was established.

Specific sites include:

• Stair House - The birthplace of John Dalrymple, 1st Earl of Stair
• Baldoon Castle - Allegedly haunted by Janet Dalrymple, daughter of James Dalrymple
• Castle Kennedy/Lochinch Castle - The family seat, located in Stranraer
• Hailes Castle - The ruins of the castle owned by David Dalrymple of Hailes, who later moved to Newhailes
• Newhailes - See above :)
• Tantallon Castle - Purchased by Hew Dalrymple, Lord of North Berwick, in 1699 from the Marquis of Douglas.

We'll also be passing through Glencoe, which is the sight of the infamous Glencoe Massacre of 38 members of Clan MacDonald, allegedly ordered and at least sanctioned, by John Dalrymple.

Comments

That sounds absolutely amazing.

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That sounds wonderful. I hope to take my children next year and Glencoe is high on the list.

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I'm also exploring the history of the Scottish Covenanters, especially those in the Galloway, Wigtownshire and Dumfrieshire. It seems there are several Dalrymples in addition to Sir John of Stair mentioned in some capacity. If you enjoy Scottish history, I definitely recommend looking at the Covenanters, which is in some ways is Scotland's Spanish Inquisition.

Answer 18

This summer we will be visiting the North Sea Island of Foehr, Germany, just south of Denmark, where I have many generations of ancestors.  It will be my fourth visit, and I have two goals:

1, To share with my son the place where ~1/8 of his paternal DNA came from

2. To find information about our ancestors in the archives of the Frisian Museum in Wyck-auf-Foehr

Comments

That's neat that you'll be able to share that with your son.

Answer 19

Yes! To Ireland with my son to visit:

Kinsale prison, where our ancestor Silas WHEELER was held during the American War of Independence.

Cork, Bishop’s Mill and Lands, where our ancestor Ann BORODELL owned a house.

Longford, where our CAMPBELLs were from.

County Mayo, the home of my son’s maternal direct male line, MULHERRIN.

No specific research planned, but there’s a good chance that something intriguing will arise.

Answer 20

I went off on adventures to research my ancestors this spring, first to West Virginia  and then to southern Kansas/northern Oklahoma.