Hot Time With the Ol' Family Tree

 

When the temperatures skyrocket, guess what genealogists do?

We're deep in the midst of a heat wave, with hundred-plus degree weather continuing into a second week. We did emerge into the heat—yes, well after sundown—to watch the fireworks for the Fourth of July, but other than that, it appears most everyone has hunkered down indoors for the long run. And other than the usual daily routine of chores, I find myself heading back to the family tree. Like an obsessive puzzle, it draws me in to fill in the blanks.

Perhaps that is the result of being heat dazed. A DNA match to my mother-in-law's convoluted line emailed me to check on connections, leading me to descendants of a collateral line which I had somehow neglected in past reviews. Rather than engaging in my usual energetic routines, it was far easier in this heat to succumb to sitting at my desk to fill in all the blanks—adding proper documentation, of course—until the entire family was represented in my mother-in-law's line.

I don't know if anyone has done a scientific study on the correlation between rising temperatures and increased hours of usage at genealogy websites, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a bump in hours logged in at Ancestry, or MyHeritage, or FamilySearch, or whatever the preferred mode of tree-building might be.  On the streets at noon around our town this week, I've noticed there is very little traffic, prompting me to think there has been a grand exodus to the hills or the coast this past week. For those who can't leave town, is genealogy in the air conditioned comfort of home the next likely draw?

It will be interesting to see how my biweekly count fares tomorrow. That will tell the tale for at least one heat-exhausted researcher—but I wouldn't be surprised if I had plenty of company engaging in that same pastime.