This blog, for me, is a beginning of a new avenue for publishing of my genealogy information.
My name is Michael Wayne Abe. I have been researching for the last 12+ years on the paternal side of my family. My earliest Abe ancestors began their life in Allegany County, Maryland and Mineral County, West Virginia. My aunts, uncles and cousins began a research of the Abe family in the late 1940's. While their source record keeping was almost non-existent their passion for information was of the highest quality. They began publishing a book "The Abe Family Heritage" in 1982 with several editions that followed. All were hand typed and photocopy printed. Copies were made available for sale at cost to members of the family that were interested. As the 1990's wound down family members who had diligently worked on the research were passing on or became unable to continue the work. Not wanting to see their work die out I began my era of the work by first entering all their work on computer. After about 8 months of work I completed the task and printed the first draft of the new book in 2000.
I have had many joys, disappointments and lessons learned along the way. There have been joys of finding something you were looking for and the exhilaration of finding an important bit of information that you weren't looking for. I have had disappointments of the cold trail and the proverbial brick wall. I have also experienced the tragedies of computer crashes, viruses, and hard drive failures that have wiped out important information. (Always remember to backup, backup, backup.....).
My name is Michael Wayne Abe. I have been researching for the last 12+ years on the paternal side of my family. My earliest Abe ancestors began their life in Allegany County, Maryland and Mineral County, West Virginia. My aunts, uncles and cousins began a research of the Abe family in the late 1940's. While their source record keeping was almost non-existent their passion for information was of the highest quality. They began publishing a book "The Abe Family Heritage" in 1982 with several editions that followed. All were hand typed and photocopy printed. Copies were made available for sale at cost to members of the family that were interested. As the 1990's wound down family members who had diligently worked on the research were passing on or became unable to continue the work. Not wanting to see their work die out I began my era of the work by first entering all their work on computer. After about 8 months of work I completed the task and printed the first draft of the new book in 2000.
I have had many joys, disappointments and lessons learned along the way. There have been joys of finding something you were looking for and the exhilaration of finding an important bit of information that you weren't looking for. I have had disappointments of the cold trail and the proverbial brick wall. I have also experienced the tragedies of computer crashes, viruses, and hard drive failures that have wiped out important information. (Always remember to backup, backup, backup.....).
Research is far from being an exact science. There are rules to follow but no guarantees. You can plan an avenue to take but what you find and where the road leads may end up completely different. In the end I can truthfully say that I have enjoyed every bit of time spent in this wonderful world of genealogy research.
Check back from time to time and see what nuggets of information have been dug up.
Maybe you will get the genealogy bug as I have and decide to share your nuggets with others.
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