Still pluggin away...

At last count, I had 4,490 some names in my family tree. I am about 1/3 of the way through re entering all my information that was lost in multiple computer crashes. I cannot believe how far that has come and how many years I have spent working on it. Who knew a simple homework assignment could become one of my life's passions.

Today was exciting while trolling census records for names, I believe I finally found my g-g- grandmother's surname. Of course it is one of those names that could be and was spelled a dozen different ways and I have spent the morning and part of the afternoon looking for clues as to who her family was. i am sure now that she had a brother Isaac and he had a wife Mae and they took my g-g-granfather in after his wife died. Try as I may though I can find no evidence of that family before 1920 though.

Here's the skinny: My g-g- grandfather was Briton/Britton/Britain L. Wilcox. I believe the L was for Levi (his father's name) He married Arvilla. I believe her surname was Truesdail/Truesdale/Truesdell. I found Britton living with Isaac and Mae in Bradford County, PA on the 1920 census. He was about 73 years old then and is listed as brother in law to Isaac and a widower. If anyone has any information on these families I would be SOOOO grateful, please drop me a line.

I get so wrapped up in these families. As I am entering them into my database I cringe when I see a family that survived 4 still births or last their 2 youngest children in a fire or to the influenza outbreak or whopping cough or whatever. I mourn the people I can't find too. I hate that these people were born, married, had children and lives and no one took the time to preserve their existence.

I am sure my children believe I am crazy but every name that I write down, every fact that I locate and preserve for me is a little triumph for those that have gone before. In each of those things is a little part of what I am made up of. I hope they know I appreciate that and will treasure whatever parts I can find.