Digging

Yesterday morning was a rare treat. I spent the morning in the genealogy department at the library surrounded by family history books and my trusty Pinky.

I'm working on gathering my documentation for my DAR application, and did find some more specific place names and times yesterday that should help with that process. Of course, I kept heading off on rabbit trails. It's almost impossible for me not to! I love history, and my favorite part about family history is the way that you can see the larger historical events play out in a family or community.

As I worked on my Harrod history yesterday--my great-grandmother was Alta Jane Harrod Ruhl (in the picture with my great-grandfather)--I kept getting pulled into peripheral lines reading about soldiers and pioneers. It's so cool when disparate family lines criss-cross and I find that my fifth great-grandfather on my father's side, Levi Harrod, who fought in the revolution, and his brothers knew my first cousin nine times removed on my mom's side, Daniel Boone.

I found my husband's grandmothers maiden name, Garriott, intermingled with some Harrods in southern Indiana and several other names that are significant in my research, giving me more rabbit trails to follow.

Bethany and I are going to Salt Lake City at the end of the month for a convention, but I am hoping to be able to squeeze out a little bit of time to visit the Family History Library, although I don't have any illusions that I'll actually have time to get any research done.