THE ENDLESS SUMMER OF A GENEALOGICAL MIND

I've never been a cold weather guy. Weather-wise, I take after my Mom's
Irish roots. I'd rather be dry and warm inside than outside schlepping around
in the cold and snow. I'm sure my Dad's hardy Maine forefathers are all
shaking their heads in dismay in the great hereafter over their wussy
descendant. That's okay by me; they don't' have to drive on icy roads any
more so they can be as judgmental as they want and we'll hash it out when
I join them.

So it should come as no surprise that the warmer seasons have become my
more active ones genealogically speaking. To be honest, this is a recent
development.. I've worked full time most of my life and didn't really spend much
time on my family tree until about five years ago. But recent events have left
me with a lot more time on my hands, and I've made use of it. I started getting out
taking pictures of headstones at local cemeteries last Fall and continued with
that this Spring once the snow melted. In the process I discovered the graves of
distant cousins, descendants of the sisters and brothers who stayed behind down
here in Plymouth County when my own ancestors moved north to New Hampshire
and Maine two centuries ago.

I recently became a member of Find A Grave and have had some success fulfilling
photo requests of other members. It's a good way to get myself out of my chair and
outside moving about more, and I'm slowly gaining a better knowledge of the local
cemeteries and histories of the towns.  I also started photographing all the graves in
Mt Vernon Cemetery here in Abington, some of which are three hundred years old.
When I'm done there, I'll move on to another cemetery. There's so many older
gravestones that have deteriorated so badly they can't be read, so preserving a
record of the ones still readable is a goal.

There's other things I'm planning to do this summer: attending the Ellingwood
Family Reunion and the New England Geneablogger's Bash in August, trips into
Boston and to Billerica to find out more about my grandfather Edward F White
Sr.'s family, research  trips into the NEHGS and The Mass. State Archives, and
visiting the genealogy room of the Dyer Memorial Library right here in Abington.   

It's Summertime for my genealogical research as a whole. I keep discovering new
information online and adding collateral branches to my family tree. I'm one of
those lucky New Englanders blessed (on my Dad's side) with prolific ancestors so
I'm not in danger of running out of cousins for awhile yet. And because I live in New
England there's also plenty of history to explore as well. So genealogywise, it's an
endless Summer for me.

To use a typical New England expression, I'm as happy as a clam!