Refresher Course Good Place To Start

Tuesday, of course, is Independence Day. And today, Sunday, July 2, is a changing-of-the-guard for Heritage Hunting. Donna Potter Phillips is passing the baton (in this instance, the column) to a new writer - me. I don’t know that a comparison can be made between the Revolution that birthed American independence and the evolution of heritage hunting, except they’re both important events. At least I think they are.

Donna has been the single Heritage Hunting author since it began in 1986. She’s my “gene” guru. My mentor. Most of what I know about genealogy comes from her. I succumbed to the wiles of this endless search for aged grandparents after editing a few of her enthusiastic columns for the newspaper.

Donna is the primary cause of my unquenchable search through the ever-expanding root system of my ancestral tree so that I can climb onto its branches.

But I was shy about beginning this new venture. Timidly, I took a Saturday-morning introductory class she taught for the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society. Eventually I joined the society at her urging and enrolled in a full-fledged beginner’s class she taught through Community Colleges of Spokane.

Soon there was no hope of turning back into a regular person, and I enrolled in Donna’s advanced genealogy class. About a dozen struggling genealogists met weekly, trying to resolve the puzzle of our most-difficult “problem ancestor.” During that quarter of lessons, the group meshed so well that we decided to create a monthly study group. That was four years ago, and we’re still studying.

I don’t know how many in the class solved their “rascal” ancestral problem, but I didn’t. I’m certain that my great-grandmother has died by now, but I can’t prove it. She was a “senior citizen” when the 1900 census was canvassed, so wouldn’t you think that she must have died by now? But, I can’t find when and where. We genealogy types like to have precise answers for the who-what-where-when and why of the people in our past.

Not finding Anna Maria Fuller Smith’s final resting place keeps me humble. I fear, in spite of Donna’s guidance and cajoling, I’ll always feel like a beginning genealogist.

Which brings us back to today’s column.

At the paper’s request, Donna began writing Heritage Hunting as though all her readers were beginners. Through the years, she brought us along to a more-advanced level.

But, being the perpetual beginner, I’m going to start my tenure with the column at an introductory level again. Together, we’ll learn or relearn the basics, and I hope we’ll advance as we go along. To all of those who have been unearthing ancestors for eons, bear with us. Refreshers are always good.

To make this an interactive column (a “newspapereze” term), I’d like to have readers suggest column ideas. What would you like to know that I could research (fairly easily) and write about? Want to know the secret of writing a snappy query? Just ask. Want to know why genealogists cannot live without the censuses that have been so maligned this year? Send in your suggestion.

Or, how about how learning how land deeds can be a virtual gold mine?

But, remember: Only ask easy questions as we begin. More complicated ones can come later.

While anticipation of writing this column is exciting, it’s also kind of scary, and I’m asking for your help.

Oh, yes. The connection between the 4th of July and the column’s changing of the guard. Hmmm. Maybe there isn’t one.