I decided in 1992 to move my family to Illinois enabling me to go to college and spend time with family.   My Mother's First Cousin and her family lived just south of Jacksonville, Illinois.  (Jacksonville's where the college was.) Donna and I were second cousins. Donna had already started researching the Harvey-Whitaker clans which we had in common.  She had her mother as number 1 in her family's tree.  I put my mother as number ! in mine. 

 

Once I started, researching, I was hooked. At first the research was willy-nilly.  If the person came from the right area, we took notes and kept looking. We used a lot of notebook paper and kept sharpening our pencils. Donna did the driving; she knew where we were going - being a local. I took notes. This was an adventure.

 

The adventure included hiking trough overgrown cemeteries, going through dusty books at the libraries, visiting city halls, county clerks and the state archives. We would dig and dig deeper as we found links.  Aunt Gladys held a wealth of information for the amateur genealogist/sleuths.  We laughed until we cried at some of her memories.  Some even were a tad bit embarrassing.  The latter ones we agreed not to reveal while the family was alive out of respect. 

 

One thing for sure, we ended up with a whole lot of paper in the end. That is probably one of the important things to remember. After all, 30 years later the stack still partially exists and it's still haunting me. More on that later. For now, just know, my work is nowhere near being done. I have notebooks full of information, pictures to add and yes -- those piles of notes to keep or toss. Either way, I have plenty to keep me busy.

 

Next time: How to Begin with NO.1