Today I thought to do another round of paper diving within the Parker Family Bible published 1849. There are dozens of letters, newspaper clippings, and notes. My scanner is sooo achingly slow, it really removes the enthusiasm of scanning anything. But the responsibility of acquiring family papers is in their preservation.
Family history, if you have never done it, is painstakingly slow, you can spend years trying to validate one ancestor. Even with the gift of family papers, they have to be categorized and read in ancient 100 year old handwriting. You can spend decades trying to move forward. Knowing this, you may begin to understand how incredibly exciting it is to bump into a piece of paper that has a family genealogy written out for you.
It is a gift from your ancestors. It is work you now don’t have to do, or at the least work that has become incredibly easier to do. It is as if they are beside you, helping.
I found in newly acquired papers today a hand written account of the Bailey family. I had not been able to narrow down this clan. With so many paths to walk, trails to follow, it’s near impossible. But today I hold this paper that clears my way.
Previously,I could track family so far as Sally Bailey who was daughter to Jemima and Daniel Bailey in 1804 and then I got no further. There were too many choices and I was not able to prove anyone as the next generation. Todays gift offers me 7 more generations that take me to 1649 with names and dates. I am researching them tonight.
A great big Thank You to whoever wrote this out for me, decades before they even knew I would be coming.
My line..
Myself> Ruth Balentine b. 1939> Sara Kohler b.> Inez Vinton Allen b.1889> Mary Caroline Page b.1861> (see her name above)
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