Back Home—Now What?

It is certain that Time never stays put while we’re out having fun. Just looking at the pile of mail accumulated in my absence is enough to convince me of that.

While I was away—admittedly, having the time of my life touring the homeland of my husband’s ancestors in Ireland—stuff I hated to miss was still happening. Jim Baker taught his brick-wall-smashing “Seven Strategies for Finding the Hard Ones” live at our local genealogical society’s monthly meeting, which I missed—and I was the one setting this one up! Attorney Judy Russell, The Legal Genealogist, made a rare West Coast appearance to teach an all-day seminar near my home—unfortunately just in time for me to head to Ireland. Apparently, nobody got the memo that I would not be able to attend, for none of these events was rescheduled for my benefit.

I did get the chance to catch one event, though: an all-day, hands-on DNA workshop sponsored by a neighboring genealogical society. Barely unpacked, hardly finished with that pile of laundry from our travels—not to mention, still digging out from under that avalanche of vacation mail—I’m spending the day today, spreadsheets in hand, peppering representatives of ISOGG with questions about why my husband’s and my brother’s Y-DNA tests don’t seem to match anyone else’s results. The ever-present question, “Now what?” will once again spring from my lips.

As if my husband and I weren’t travel weary enough, we will also be planning our next research trip. My mother’s gracious cousin in Florida has revealed her Southern-hospitality self in oft-repeated invitations to come visit her in the land of my maternal grandmother’s roots. This is a line that holds some historical significance for the state of Florida, as my third great-grandfather was a signer of the original Florida constitution. I have long promised myself I would research his life story further. Come this January, it looks like I will have that opportunity.

But what about right now? After touring the ancestral homeland of my father-in-law’s eight Irish great-grandparents, I’ve accumulated tons of notes and photographs. The main task is to decipher all that penciled-in chicken scratch of my own to see if I can connect any of the dots, and hopefully draw some conclusions about what I found. Sometimes during those three weeks, I found myself scribbling madly, just trying to take down all the details I was finding. Seldom was there time for reflection—it was full speed ahead, as long as I was where the repositories were. “Read through microfilms now, reflect on them later” had been my mantra that final week in Dublin. Now begins the pay-back time, when I need to make good on my promises.

Sometimes, schedules can’t be helped. Limited time at the Dublin research centers meant maximizing all available time to use the materials and documents there before closing hours. At the risk of discovering something I might have missed—with the possibility of no recourse but to return to seek more—I had to do what could be done while doors were open.

Whether any patterns, details or clues emerge, I can’t yet tell. Hopefully, what’s in these notes will guide me to my next step in researching this Irish branch of our family tree. Whether that does or not, though, I know I have two other projects awaiting my attention: three sets of DNA tests for three family subjects—and that number is soon to rise—and some serious archive time in Florida for my McClellan line in January.

What’s next? When it comes to family history research, it seems there’s always another project clamoring for attention.

Photograph: Bridge over the south fork of the River Lee at the entrance to the beautiful University College Cork campus in Ireland, where our daughter is attending classes this semester. Photograph courtesy Chris Stevens.