Wednesday - 25 June 2008

So, here I am, adding yet another task to my daily schedule! I've decided to chronicle my journey as I work through the mounds of dusty papers, journals, ledgers, tax rolls, birth and death certificates, indexes, wills and land grants!

That's me and my hubby on the right in a photo taken last October. We live in the beautiful mountains of Greenbrier County, West Virginia. Johnnie is a long-haul truck driver and is gone five days a week, which accounts for my long, [endless] ,hours of genealogy research.

I've begun to sell my services on eBay and am getting a rather wonderful response. I keep my services priced low for those individuals who might not otherwise be able to afford the high cost of a genealogist or family historian. So far, I have had only wonderful reviews! The Feedback has been fabulous!

Yesterday I finished up with a client who gave me a first. I have never been asked to uncover slavery documentation before. So, I went into the case presuming that we would uncover such. And we did! I was able to get the client exactly what she wanted. While black historical documents have not been my forte, I was rather proud that I was able to unearth these. It was a wonderful accomplishment for me. This morning I was able to email the client with a successful report and copies of the documents she had so wanted.

Today I have received another contract for forty-hours of research, and have spent two hours on the project so far. It looks to be quite successful. In just these two hours, I have uncovered public records, census records, death records, military records , an obituary and an SSDI. Whew! It's been a whirlwind evening!

In the midst of trying to run a successful research business, I am also the editor, and sole writer for "The Monroe Bean's", a monthly newsletter about the Bean family of West Virginia. It's a family based newsletter that contains historical research, as well as all the latest family news.

I am also an author and am currently working on a historical novel based on the life of my great-great-grandfather. As well as co-writing a science fiction novel with my hubby. By the way, Johnnie is a wonderful genealogist as well, although I think sometimes he lacks the confidence to admit it!

I subscribe to several genealogy magazines and online newsletters and blog feeds. I would suggest that anyone who is interested in genealogy do the same.

In the next few days we will post a list of our favorite online genealogy websites. These are wonderful for research.

Since it is well past midnight in my little neck of the woods, I will get ready for bed.

Until tomorrow evening, keep the dust out of your eyes [and nose] as you perform your research, and keep your pencil always sharpened!