As said before, I love learning -- always have.
And... while I'm growing a bit weary of my small physical
universe, my home is comfortable, and I am grateful for heat and light and no
earthquakes or hurricanes.
I am also very grateful for the internet, which connects me
to FamilySearch, Ancestry, and other databases -- and allows my continuing
curiosity walking room. I go down rabbit holes, and explore for friends,
but also have used this time to get much more schooling.
Currently I am enrolled in Pro-Gen, an esteemed on-line
genealogy course, which seeks to teach the many aspects of a working
genealogist's life, both the business side and the "book-learning"
research side. Every month includes projects, and last month’s project was
a research report.
A genealogical research report concerns itself with determining
relationships, as in "Who is the father of 'x'", "Is 'x' the
brother of 'y'? or separating people who share the same name, as in "was
Isaac Jacobs, merchant, b. 1847 or Isaac Jacobs, carpenter, b. 1850, the
husband of Polly Thomas, b. 1853?
But… since the assignment was “a research report” there
was a bit of latitude in choosing the subject.
I used the opportunity to spend time on a question that has been sitting
(literally) on my shelf for at least 15 years. My report investigated a set of documents found decades ago
by my mother, who lived in Virginia. She was an avid estate and garage
sale attendee, had a 10 year old’s curiosity with the cash to satisfy, and much followed
her home. During one visit, she showed me a bag of "stuff," and asked if I would
like it. I would.
The bag was full of wonders – a book covered in green velvet, a small leather covered "pocketbook," 2 postcards,
etchings, a folded speech, and a single chapbook journal with notes from a
whaling voyage. Researching for the
report linked all but the journal with Leroy MiltonYale.
He was a physician, the son of a physician, and noted as a pediatrician. He was also a proficient amateur etcher, who started the New-York Etching Club and was its first President 1877-1879.
As said, research was able to attach all but the journal into the timeline of Yale’s
life, and all the pieces fit without pushing. The journal did not fit. There is no account of adventurous travel in Yale’s life, but against that, the 2-3 year period during which this
voyage took place (1886-1888/89) is only lightly sketched in the public accounts of Yale’s
life.
Another
tidbit. His mother’s brother was Richard Luce, a mariner (read whaler),
who lived in Leroy’s household when Leroy was young. However, the journal carries comments that the
author was a greenhorn, which could hardly have been whaler Richard Luce, and the journal includes drawings, which could tie the journal to Leroy. And if not Leroy, what prompted the attachment to Leroy artifacts for over 150 years?
Am I curious? Absolutely!
Plan to
look into NUCMC, the New Bedford Whaling Museum, and ? Any and all suggestions gratefully received and
will be acknowledged should this make the public stage. Email is RossGen360@outlook.com.
Do return. Updates about this... and writing about much else. As said by another, "Genealogy is fun."
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on other shores: Neither 2019 or 2020 had many posts; I was doing a lot of family tending. My mother started declining Sept 2018, moved close to us in December 2018, and died in April 2020. We are near the end of tending the paperwork of her estate, but there is much to do before settling the paperwork of her family history legacy, 100’s of pictures, some labeled, some not – and notes from her research trips and letters with Ross genealogists across the country. For those of you on or anticipating this journey, peace and light. As estate paperwork eases, my posts will be more regular.