Journey
Monday, December 23, 2024
I was back on the road again, revisiting one of the institutions that I had visited. I picked up where I left off by reviewing the collection, making copies, and citing my findings. I was in and out of the institution in 2.5 hours.
For the last two and half months, I have been on the road from one institution to another, researching multiple families for the community I am writing about. I had a lot of exciting finds. I went back in history and saw how this community developed by researching old documents. I will take the next two to three weeks to analyze what I have and see what I need to move forward.
Check back with me after New Year. Happy Holiday!
Monday, December 16, 2024
Last week, I cruised to two institutions to get information for my book. I was not disappointed. My first stop was to review a collection of one of the people that will be in my book. Boy! I almost had a heart attack. I found more than I expected. It was a gold mind. Wow!
Cruising to my next institution. I did not get what I was looking for, but I got something that needed to be added to my list of research. This project takes me to four counties in Virginia and about a dozen institutions. When the book comes out, you will see my research sources. Well, let me get back in my car and start cruising. Check back with me next week!
Monday, December 9, 2024
In life, you can always know when the project and the time are right; everything falls into place. My research journey last week for this book was very rewarding. I unexpectedly came across two documents from the 19th century. I was blown away. I hope that this book will reveal information about the community's history that they are not aware of. If the book does that, I feel I have done my job. Next week, I am off to two new institutions. Check back with me on Monday.
Monday, November 25, 2024
Last week, I spent time in the courthouse digging through old maps. Looking at the landscape of the places where the people I am writing about lived. For the time I spent in the Courthouse, I was living in the 19th Century, looking at old friends that I am researching. It was like we were walking together, and they pointed out all the places in their neighborhood and surrounding areas on the map. When you walk with the dead, they are no longer dead. They become alive. The maps take you to places where they walked, and you are living in their space for that moment.
This week is Thanksgiving, so I will not have a post next week. Check out my journey on December 9, 2024.
Monday, November 18, 2024
Again, I had a great time at the Courthouse. Through research, I uncovered documentation on an oral history story about the neighborhood that I am researching. I can now prove through documentation the backstory of the history of two schools in this neighborhood and how these schools came about. I will have a section in my upcoming book about these schools and the story surrounding their early beginnings. Stay tuned for next week.
Monday, November 11, 2024
I returned to the Courthouse last week, and again, I was amazed by how many records I reviewed. So far, I have examined sixty-three records. In researching for this book, I have put flesh onto the deceased people who lived in this community over two hundred years ago. Some of the people in the community I am writing about have a history going back to the 1700s. Through my research, I can put flesh on their old bones and bring them into the 21st century. During their time, their lives can be a lesson for their descendants and others in the 21st century. So, stay tuned; I will be back at the Court House again, looking for the treasury of the lives of the people in this community that built it from the bottom up.
Monday, November 4, 2024
Last week was a very productive week. I visited another courthouse, and the experience was excellent. I had prepared a list of fifty-nine people to review in the courthouse records. This courthouse is in an old building, but the research room in this historic building was clean and very organized. The staff were helpful. After looking around the research room for everything I planned to look at in the courthouse, I worked for three-and-a-half hours without a break. I gathered information on eleven families on my list. I was excited about what I found. The book I am writing will be valuable to the community. I will visit this courthouse for several weeks until I finish gathering information on the families I am writing about. Stay tuned for next week to see what other goodies I have uncovered.
Monday, October 28, 2024
Wow, Wow, Wow! This week made up for the previous week. In the process of writing this book, I am still researching. Last week, I made a fantastic discovery in some courthouse records. I uncovered three families connected to the area I am writing about. These three families go back to the 1700s. Two of these families are related, but they do not know that they are related nor that their relationship goes back to the 1700s. Their descendants grew up in the same community and had no idea they connected that far back in Fairfax, VA. This book is going to reveal their kinship. Check back with me next week in researching and writing my third book.
Monday, October 21, 2024
Last week, I had the opportunity to interview one of the family members I will write about in book #3. I felt like I was talking to an old friend. We had a lot in common. She had some valuable stories to tell me, and I hope that through the research process, I can provide an extra level of insight into her family. Stay tuned for my next posting on October 28th.
Monday, October 14, 2024
I have done a lot of research on my book. But as I started to write, I saw that more research was needed. I packed my research bag and traveled to Richmond, Virginia, to the State Archives. There, I reviewed many microfilm reels on the Counties that I am writing about. Unfortunately, the collection did not yield any positive results. Some of the records I needed were not on microfilm. The other valuable records were unusable due to their poor quality. The images were faded on the microfilm. Check back with me next week for my next step in this process.