My Journey:

One trip down, one to go.  Having spent ten days riding around the state of New York, it is kind of sad to come back to work.  I've collected lots of information in the form of state records, newspaper articles, burials, census, etc.  But there is one thing that overrides it all for me.  I've been there.  I've probably mentioned it somewhere in here, but as I keep going through and gathering information on these places that my ancestors (and their descendents, my distant cousins) have lived, I really want to see the places for myself.  I hadn't been to Ellisburg in Jefferson County, New York.  But as I kept entering that location for aunts, uncles, and cousins of my great grandfather, I knew that I would have to get there someday.  And ... now I have.  Now I have a better sense of the place, just like I do for Kingston, Shawangunk, and Newfane.  And now I may really appreciate the reference in the obituary of my great grandfather as having been born "near Syracuse" although he was born near Buffalo (Newfane), which is nowhere near Syracuse.  He did have relatives there for a number of years, and that area is probably what stuck because he was orphaned at a young age.

Now... for my next big trip... I get to spend three days in Minneapolis, as I will walk the stage in August to officially recognize the completion of my PhD.  I didn't bother with commencement when I received my master's degree, but this time is different.  I can't go up any higher.  I'll celebrate it every chance I get.

last modified July 10, 2008

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