Travel plans, genealogy and compromises

Once we decided to include a visit to Wales and Devon in our UK itinerary, I had great plans to spend time doing research and further work on my genealogy.  In my mind, I was drawing up lists of questions to be answered and directories to be consulted. I wanted answers to those questions that kept me up at night... like when and why did my great-grandfather, Thomas Huxtable Ball, leave South Wales for Leeds, and what may have pushed or pulled him to Yorkshire?  I really could have spent the whole of the four days allotted for Cardiff trolling through local library and archives resources.

Our initials plans also included a day trip to Filleigh, Devon to see where my 3x great-grandfather, John Ball, had his tailor shop. My North American sense of 'drive anywhere' and straight line travel took a beating once we rented a car in Cardiff.   My husband did admirably driving a right hand stick shift, but we spent a couple of hours lost in various places - albeit in the lovely Welsh countryside. We decided to enjoy the journey rather than race about keeping to a timetable. The 3+ hour trek (each way) to Filleigh went by the wayside in favour of exploring more of Cardiff and nearby Caerphilly.

In the end, I realized that making this a research trip would not be fair to my husband and daughter, who don't share my fervent interest in genealogy and ancestor hunting. After all, this was their summer vacation too. Instead, we decided to make this trip about connecting - with family, with the land of my ancestors and the beautiful country that is Wales. 

In retrospect, the research trip is a journey for another day and my mother would be the ideal travel companion - now that has me thinking...

Genealogical ADHD... I think I have it

As you can probably tell from my relative silence on the blogging front that I haven't been very productive on the genealogy research lately. I hate to admit that it's true ... work has been mad, have had some rather complex research queries at work, gave five presentations within a month, planned and booked summer holidays (which will include time in Cardiff to meet my third cousins, who I have met through my research), and am in the process of organizing a genealogy fair.  Time seems to be going by at a frantic pace.

I have done bits of research, but I think that I've been suffering from a bout of genealogical ADHD - bouncing from one branch to the other without fully committing to finishing the job at hand. To say that my attention has been scattered is an understatement.  I know that my lack of discipline reflects my tired inner genealogist and self.

My happy place

With an upcoming 2 day weekend, I am going to retreat to my happy place, sit in the sunshine, relax and assess the state of my research. I've come across a lot of interesting bits and pieces and will tell you about them shortly. I promise.

Cheers,
K.

Rootstech and Research

Life has been very busy lately - especially with my workplace under construction and a move of collections and staff into temporary quarters. And it hasn't left much time for family history research and keeping up with various social media.

Nevertheless, I've been trying to get ready for RootsTech too. RootsTech is a popular and well attended genealogy conference in Salt Lake City Utah, which offers genealogy enthusiasts the chance to learn about the newest developments in technology, resources and family history preservation. I am fortunate to have my attendance funded by my employer and have added a few days of rest and research in Salt Lake City. RootsTech promises to be exciting and I am looking forward to meeting some of my genealogy blogging heroes like Jill Ball, Amy Coffin and Thomas MacEntee.

While I don't anticipate that I will be able to find all the answers to my research queries, I am very much looking forward to exploring the Family History Library, absorbing the spirit and enjoy of genealogy's mecca that is Salt Lake City. The trip will doubly special because I am sharing the experience with my Mom, who is coming to the conference too. So, time to get that suitcase packed...

I will keep in touch over the blog to let you know of interesting finds and conference events (that is, of course, I can figure out how to use my new smartphone. Nothing like adopting new technology on the eve of a conference!)

Cheers, K.

Reflecting on genealogy and milestones

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As I head towards a milestone birthday later this month (I'll not say which, but I haven't been able to claim '29 and holding' in decades), I have been thinking about how much genealogy has shaped and continues to shape my world - both professional and personal.

As I get older, the meaning of family and home has taken on different, yet stronger meanings for me. Having moved around a lot while growing up, I don't have a strong sense of home as physical place. However, I do feel attachment to many places - where I have lived, where my parents lived and where our ancestors lived too. Learning and understanding how these places have shaped or influenced me or my family is a big part of my interests and research nowadays. My own family means more to me than anything in this world - helping to connect them to our collective past and connecting with our extended family is a privilege and honour.

Genealogy has given me a way to root myself in many ways - to places, people and events which I had never considered before. Personally, I've also found that my precious spare seems to be devoted to genealogy and family history research. I look forward to attending RootsTech with my mother in March and sharing with her new discoveries about the field and the technical wizardry that makes this field so interesting (and challenging too, to say the least). Life seems to be speeding along nowadays - perhaps that is a sign of my age, too.

Professionally, I spend my days helping others find their homes, places and families - a journey which I am honoured to share with them. Nothing feels better than helping someone to make the connection between a long lost relative or ancestor. Conversely, I can understand that frustration of brickwalls and those research avenues which bear little in terms of concrete results. They are all part of the process.

As much as I look back to my own and my family's pasts, I am also looking forward to the future - shared with family, friends and genealogy colleagues.

Cheers, K.

Devon Family History Society

First off, I want to apologize for my lack of posts recently. I've been battling bronchitis for the past month and am now finally starting to feel like I'm back in the land of the living. I will endeavour to be more diligent with the frequency of my posts.

I was happy to receive my copy of the Devon Family Historian in the mail today. Its appearance was a wonderful reminder that family history or genealogy societies are a great resource in terms of expertise, local-on-the-ground information and support. While I haven't come across Ball family researchers working on my particular branch of the family, I have been helped by so many DFHS members via their e-mail (also known as 'mailing') list, website and the volunteers who staff their resource library called the "Tree House" in Exeter.

As I settle in to enjoy my copy of the Devon Family Historian, I would encourage researchers to join the local family history or genealogy society in the geographic area where their ancestors lived. You can really tap into great people, resources and local knowledge that you may not be able to access as a non-member, so far removed from your ancestors' county, state, province or country.

Cheers, K.