If anyone had looked into my future five years ago and told me I’d take a vacation one day to upstate New York and spend it in cemeteries and libraries, I would have thought their crystal ball was cracked.
Give me a beach. Put me on a bicycle, in a kayak, on a hiking trail or a street somewhere in Europe.
Why would I ever spend a vacation driving hundreds of miles to look for obituaries, gravestones and pictures in local museums that would put names to the faces in 150-year-old family photos?
But here I am, a genealogical Nancy Drew, surrounded by old camping gear, a CD of photo images, the family tree stuffed in a notebook with lists of Niagara County cemeteries and local museums.
My laptop is decked out in its special traveling/camping attire, a 16 GB flash disk tucked in a pocket. Brochures and maps of Lockport, Lewiston, Erie Canal, Underground Railroad, Dickersonville Road and Niagara Falls lie next to my traveling library:
- “The Living Great Lakes,” by Traverse City’s Jerry Dennis, with a bookmark for the pages where he describes a voyage on the 363-mile Erie Canal to New York in the tall ship Malabar;
- “Martin Brook,” a novel about an abolitionist minister by Morgan Bates, who was the son of an abolitionist minister and nephew of the Grand Traverse Herald founder (also named Morgan Bates).
- “On the Brink: The Great Lakes in the 21st Century,” by Dave Dempsey, with paper clips for its sections on the Niagara escarpment.
- An empty journal, embossed with the words “Women’s Rights National History Park, Seneca Falls,” given to me last year by the Grand Traverse Area Women’s History Association after a talk I gave on area woman’s suffrage efforts and our pioneer links to upstate New York. What has happened to me?
Why do I feel the same excitement I had whenever my mother began packing the car to take my brother and I to places like Gettysburg, Washington, D.C., the Empire State Building and Wisconsin Dells?
I know the answer.
An 1863 Civil War letter, written by my great-great-grandfather and given to me by an older cousin in 2006, has happened to me.
Researching and writing local history stories for the Record-Eagle 150th anniversary project in 2008-2009 and Reflections By the Bays, the paper’s year-old quarterly magazine sold on area newsstands, has happened to me.
A new-found cousin, who gave me a whole limb of the Dickerson family traced back to 1639, fell out of cyberspace. I will meet him and his wife for the first time on this vacation.
History and family have come alive again — and they are such gifts.
Loraine Anderson can be reached at 231-933-1468 or landerson@record-eagle.com.
Region
Loraine Anderson: Genealogy's Nancy Drew
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Vasa brings skiers, business
Skiers aren't the only ones thrilled the annual Vasa race will proceed despite warm temperatures and little snow.
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Sparks fly over TCLP substation plan
Traverse City Light & Power wants a new southside substation to shore up its electric system, but Mayor Michael Estes fears the big site is a Trojan horse for a new power plant.
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Grand Traverse freezes pay for officials
Grand Traverse County plans to freeze elected officials' salaries and eliminate a car allowance in 2013 because of continued uncertainty over its revenue stream.
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Ex-TC teacher to waive exam in sex case
A Traverse City teacher accused of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a student is expected to waive a preliminary examination in 86th District Court.
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Blair man accused of meat-fork threat
A Blair Township man was arrested for assault after police said he threatened his girlfriend with a meat-carving fork.
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Drop-off recycling site relocating
A drop-off recycling site on LaFranier Road is being relocated.
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One dead in Kalkaska blaze
Fire and police officials found a victim about 3:30 p.m. today inside a Kalkaska Township home engulfed by flames.
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Woman pleads in horse cruelty case
A Fife Lake woman pleaded guilty to animal cruelty in a case involving several malnourished horses discovered on her property.
Continued ... - Thursday, February 9, 2012
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A changing of the guard in GT County
The 2012 elections will bring a major change of the Grand Traverse County guard. The county's long-time clerk, treasurer and prosecutor won't seek re-election this year — three officials whose combined county experience spans more than 90 years.
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Janik tapped for Leelanau administrator
Chet Janik hopes to come home. The Leelanau County board offered its administrator job to Chet Janik, who came to Leelanau as a child when his parents emigrated from Poland.
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Dog park backers plan fundraisers
Dog park supporters raised more than a third of a $15,000 goal just a month into efforts to pay for Traverse City's first park for pets. Work continues to bring in the remaining money.
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Police: Man breaks up fight with gun
Police said a man on Traverse City's east side tried to stop a fight outside his home with a handgun.
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Tased man charged as habitual offender
A man stunned by police Taser in a home invasion incident was arraigned in 86th District Court.
Continued ... - Wednesday, February 8, 2012
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Body of missing fisherman found
Authorities say a dive team has recovered the body of a 33-year-old fisherman who fell through the ice of a pond near Mesick.
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Pears to replace dead ash trees
Downtown streets in the Cherry Capital soon will bloom with the color of another fruit.
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Vasa trail in good shape for weekend
Despite unseasonably warm temperatures and a lack of significant snowfall, the 36th annual North American Vasa cross country ski race is on for this weekend.
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Acme officials defer Meijer decision
Acme Township officials deferred a decision on a long-proposed Meijer store along M-72 until a special meeting in two weeks.
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Parks smoking ban on hold in TC
City Commissioner Jim Carruthers wants more time to work on smoking rules at city parks.
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Tasers take down two suspects this week
Grand Traverse sheriff's deputies used Tasers to subdue suspects in two separate incidents this week.
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Fallen piece of wire causes power outage
Traverse City Light & Power Executive Director Ed Rice said 1,525 customers lost power Monday at 6:05 p.m. when the wire fell. Power was restored in an hour to all but 75 customers. Those remaining 75 customers had power returned at 9:20 p.m.
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Inland Seas hosts seminar on sturgeon
The Inland Seas Education Association will conduct a free public seminar on planning and research for the Great Lakes' sturgeon population.
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Police: Man assaults with aluminum bat
A man is in Grand Traverse County jail after police said he assaulted a man with an aluminum bat.
Continued ... - Tuesday, February 7, 2012
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New brew pub possible
More changes are in store for downtown's Warehouse District, where a new brew pub will serve food from an adjacent cafe.
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GT Band gives Suttons Bay $183K
Suttons Bay Public Schools received a big boost from the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, eliminating the threat of a state takeover.
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Plans progress for TCL&P audit
Plans for a city utility efficiency review are taking shape.
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