I’m Overwhelmed but On Track

First thing first, I have to say a big thank you to Jennifer over at The Erudite Genealogist. She wrote up an awesome entry giving everyone advice on what to take with you on a research trip. In fact, I’m going to be digging into the spare room closet this week and making sure I have an empty scrapbook case on wheels to get started! So again, THANK YOU!

Now that I have some great advice to follow, it’s time to break into the nitty gritty work. That work has been what has kept me from blogging. Those darn Mays ancestors are driving me crazy but I’m slowly getting them entered into my file. I found that I’m not focusing so much on finding any new directions, I’m just trying to verify what I have with the resources I currently have. When I’m not driving myself crazy there, I’m trying to set up a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet to organize the research I want to do on location.

As I get my information together, I’ll keep you updated on my progress. Most likely I’ll have more questions, so I’ll probably ask those as they come. Right now I’m not sure of the exact dates of this traveling. I just know I’ll be in Upstate New York for the 4th of July weekend. The plan is to leave time after the holiday for heading to New Jersey for a little research. Plans always change though so there might be a separate trip to New Jersey needed.

I’m also going to Ohio to visit family this summer because it’s our turn to make the drive. I want to get out a little and visit the Brown County cemeteries where my Webb ancestors are buried. I’m unsure of where Reuben H Webb from Orange County, VA is buried but I hope to figure it out and visit his grave also. I know his son, my 3rd great grandfather, is buried in Kentucky in an abandoned, derelict graveyard. So I hope the same isn’t true for his father.

Reuben was living with one of his sons in 1850. I believe he died shortly after the census. The family was living in White Oak, Highland County, Ohio at the time of the census. I believe James’ wife was born and raised there. Next door to James and Reuben is Alice Webb-Bell. Alice was foreign to me until I found her son Starling living with another of her brother’s in 1880. Then as I tracked back, I found her and later found a mention of her name associated with Reuben. Acc0rding to Reuben T Webb’s biography, his father was forced to move several times after circumstances caused him to lose his property. My question would be did Reuben die in Highland County or Brown County, where the family was living in 1860? This is something I am going to try and find out before I head to Ohio.

Sorry to get off subject, I do that often. So I have several lists going, one for births, deaths, and marriages. Another for cemeteries. I’m also going to start making an obituary list. Looking at the local newspapers is something I haven’t had the opportunity to do before (Ancestry.com’s collection is severely limited), so I’ll be really excited to get to check those out.