For my first Follow Friday of a genealogy blog, I felt I couldn't go wrong with choosing, "Massachusetts Meanderings and More...Seeking Ancestors in Connecticut and Massachusetts" by Bonnie MacDonald, a professional genealogist from Washington state. She began her blog in February outlining her plans for a three-week research trip to three New England states and attending the New England Regional Genealogical Conference (NERGC). Fortunately, I found out about her blog when she was at the conference, and decided to Follow her, and she didn't disappoint.
After her NERGC write-ups, her real trip began. Bonnie visited archives, libraries, societies, town halls, many, many cemeteries (many off a well-traveled road), and was fortunate to stay at a lot of B&B's. Even though she was less than three hours from me, she went to many places I've never heard of. But there were some places I've been, and we have ancestors buried in the same cemetery in Lancaster and Hartford. She even took a photo of a memorial stone of my ancestor, Rowland Stebbins. (Thanks Bonnie.)
I eagerly looked for her post to see how she was managing during our cold, wet spring. Like a trooper, she was out there hunting for her ancestor's gravestones or trying to find a place to eat. At one point, when she was really close to me, I wrote to see about meeting, but it didn't work out for us. In one of her more recent posts, she was surprised the had two followers, I had hoped she would have 100 or more.
There are good hints as to how to prepare a research trip, lots of reference materials and many photos. Regarding the preparing for a trip, Bonnie did not know about the two holidays in one week, for Massachusetts. Patriots Day (on Monday), and Good Friday (on Friday) changed her plans because many town and state buildings were closed. If you like travelogues with lots of information, you will love this.
Even if you don't have ancestors in Massachusetts or Connecticut, I hope you take a look at her blog, and follow her.
4 comments:
Thanks! I would not have found her. Great blog to follow!
Barbara - Thank you for posting about Bonnie. I enjoyed reading about her travels!
I met up with Bonnie at NERGC when we were the only two descendants of Deacon Chapin who showed up for a photo at his statue. She has several other blogs about other genealogy trips she has taken, and they are all interesting!
Thanks all for your comments. I agree, Bonnie has some good blogs, and she is planning more trips! Heather, I remember that picture, I need to look at it again. She and I are also cousins through somebody else.
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