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the Decker Journey

mark of Jan Broersen Decker

My Journey

August 2009

Ah, the end of August, bringing with it the end of another summer.  Labor Day just around the corner (three days ago, now).  And once again it is time for a chance to breathe, and relax.

To sum up, I've made separate trips to Detroit, Seattle, Salt Lake City and San Francisco (single trip), Denver, and Ludington.  OK, so those in Michigan may not count so much, but all-in-all it means I have been on the go.  Combined with the trip to Myrtle Beach in February, and the upcoming trip to New York for the Decker Reunion, it keeps me busy, entertained, informed, and expecting some new adventures.  But, as of yet, my dream trip still eludes me.  Punta Cana.  (It's in the Dominican Republic, and from all the stories has one of the best beaches anywhere.)

So, in between all this I am still teaching and assigning classes, participating in committees, working on assignments, grading, presenting, and generally trying to fit a lot in.  And every once in a while... I make time for genealogy.  A visit to a library, cemetery, or a county building here and there, alongside the hours spent online here & there looking for information on certain people.

As I prepare to go to New York (with the details still pending), and knowing that my time will be limited in between the courses that I still need to be here to teach, I need to go back in and see what kinds of information I need to be looking for while I am there.  Bottom line for research, I will probably only have one day, and that is a Sunday, and everyplace I might want to visit will be closed - except the cemeteries.  Might have a bit of time on Saturday - will see.  I am believing that I would like to visit the Port Jervis, New York area to do some Decker research there, as that is also near New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and an area where many Deckers settled, descendents (I believe) of both Jan Broersen and Jan Gerritson.  And in Port Jervis there is a must see site:  Fort Decker.  I've seen the Decker house and the Decker barn, so now I believe it is time to see the fort.  It's only four weeks away.

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