On Saturday, my husband Tony and I visited the Los Angeles Public Library. It was the only place I could find a book that would provide the proof I needed that Tony is descended from three Mayflower passengers.
After a two hour drive, and some very helpful librarians, I got my hands on the book. It was kept in a locked room – it's apparently that rare. As I pored over the various pedigrees, I realized the book had what I had hoped for – proof of my husband's Mayflower ancestors. But I found something else in the book I was not expecting to find. I found a photograph of my husband's great great grandparents. It had been taken when they were in their sixties, sometime before 1889, but honestly, in the picture they looked like they were in their nineties. (I don't think people aged well in the 1800s.) Still, it was quite a find.
After I made all the copies I needed, including a couple copies of the photograph, I began to browse through the stacks and found the following book: A Portrait and Biographical Record of Allen and Van Wert Counties, Ohio. Since hundreds of my ancestors lived in Allen and Van Wert Counties, I decided to take a peek. The book was written nearly 100 years ago, and some of its pages were crumbling, so I carefully worked my way through the pages for names I recognized. I found three which gave me more information and names associated with some of my ancestors, though I ran out of time to search any further.
At home, I looked up the Ohio book on WorldCat and found that it's also in the collection at a nearby library, on microfilm, so I'll be heading there soon.
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