Preserving the Past by Pat Mulso

Nine members of the Freeborn County Historical Museum recently returned from a week-long research trip to the Salt Lake City Genealogical Library. We each worked diligently to find new information on our family lines. I took my first research trip to this library over 33 years ago and I still find new information each time I return. Why or how you might ask? The answer has many variables.

1. New databases are available.

2. Many forms of data have been digitized and now can be searched easily.

3. I have found new information that leads me in new directions.

4. My research ability has improved.

5. I am persistent and continue to look for new clues.

6. Just plain luck.

You have heard the story about my mom’s father’s side and the great discovery I made with the help of DNA. Because I am sure that Gerhard Hartting of St. Louis is my lost relative, now I am trying to verify his whereabouts for the period from 1850 to 1880 when he shows up married and living in St. Louis. I found a few more bits of information, but I can see a trip to St. Louis in the future to check on church records and other local resources to look for clues of his life.

While in Salt Lake City this time I found a new index that helped to verify and add several generations to my mom’s mother’s side. This family name is Gast, in some early records it was D’Gast or Ghast. This family line immigrated from Ligsdorf, Haut Rhin, France around 1830 first to Cincinnati and later to Mercer County, Ohio. The index to church records for this area dating back to the mid-1600s helped to fill in many gaps and verify other info for this family line. While my French is very limited, I will be using a French dictionary to decipher the records I discovered to make sure I don’t miss any clues that might be included in these documents.

Each researcher found information — maybe not what they had hoped to find — but something that will help them in their quest to know and understand the lives of their ancestors. One person found a short paragraph in a book that verified his relative was indeed in the military. One person found a census record that showed the children in the family had been born in Kentucky, Virginia and Iowa. This brought new info to light, as they had no idea the family had lived in Kentucky or Virginia.

Another source of information are family trees that people share through ancestry.com, Family Search, My Heritage or other genealogical sites. Though you need to be careful, as sometimes this information has not be verified, it can be a great source of new information and may lead you to another person that is researching your same family line or a collateral relative.

Each year on our trip we play a little game that helps us to get to know each other.

The museum will be hosting their annual Christmas gathering from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday. Please join us for coffee, cider and homemade treats and a visit with Santa and the opportunity to stroll through the museum and view all of our beautiful Christmas decorations. Admission is free to members and we ask for a $1 donation from the general public. All are welcome.

 

Pat Mulso is the executive director of the Freeborn County Historical Museum, Library and Village, 1031 Bridge Ave.