Me and @Evernote are busting out the ultimate nerd chops. It has involved microfiche. #family #history

I’ve been researching family history lately and am fascinated by all that I am learning about the brave people who came before me. I had no idea how significant many of my ancestors were in the early makings of America. I braced myself before starting the research, scared that I’d find some horrible things (slavery, connections to the holocaust, etc.) and I have found none of that. Just the opposite, actually. I have found people fighting hard to bring freedom and equality to this country and to fight against tyranny. I have found inventors and millers and farmers. I have found people taking a stand against racism, even when the slave trade was still in force. I have found early founders of now-booming cities. I have found involvement in writing bold city pacts to make a more peaceable and productive citizenry. I even found them avoiding conflict between other states by just starting their own state! Although I’m sure I’ll find something scathing eventually, but at this point I am just beaming with pride. And I am humbled to be part of such a legacy.

Nothing brings world history more alive than to research and imagine how your own blood relatives played a part in it all. After spending eons on Ancestry, I’ve now been hitting archived books, reference materials, and even microfiche. (Does anyone love microfiche? If so, we are kindred spirits.)