It seems we arrived yesterday, but our two weeks are up and so we say goodbye to Salt Lake City and the Family History Library. YGGG #2 and I have had a marvelous time, not just in the library but walking and exploring the city. It is a beautiful time to visit Salt Lake City. The days have been slightly cooler than normal, but comfortable. The flowers are showing off their colors and our breaks from the cranking of microfilm or reading books have been enjoyable.
We have learned about ancestors and learned about the living. People from all walks of life come here to do research. That is best understood when you visit floor B-1, the International floor, at the library. There the Spanish, Swedes, Norwegians, French, Germans and others are all in a cluster and chatter. The mission? Discover and learn about our roots and beginnings.
I have had several people ask me if I'm having good luck. Of course! I consider negative searches as good luck ... I won't go there again so I'll move on to another source or possibility.
One question comes to mind. When doing your research, do you stop and think about what you are seeing? As I cranked microfilm yesterday in German records, my thoughts were on the people going to the church to get married or having their infant baptized, then returning to their homes. They were living, breathing people at the time. As ancestors we tend to isolate them and think of them as something special. To us they are special, but when they were alive, they were among many others just as ordinary people. Spend a little time thinking about your ancestors. You'll learn more than what is on the printed page.
Adios Salt Lake City ... turning Lil' Red east this morning. See you again sometime.
You Go Genealogy Girl #1 Ruby
I often think that too...when our ancestors were living, they were living in the present...not the past. I enjoyed your post and am so happy that you had a wonderful 2 weeks in SLC!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had a great trip, and i agree--when i was looking at microfilm records from my ancestors' home town in Alsace, i tried to imagine them in the church, for their wedding, their babies' baptisms, their funerals --and the people who wrote all this down (pretty hard to read, btw!). But I did this in Chicago with records from SLC Utah. I don't know if you have such a place near your home, but here in Chicago, we can have records sent to an library affiliated with the Mormons' records in SLC and then peruse them close to home. I'll be posting about this soon. Congrats on a successful trip!
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