Last post for 2017: What have I learned this year?

In !ome ways, this has been a hard year for me in genealogy.  I have made only a few really outstanding, "Wow" finds.  I only broke through one brick wall this year, with the help of a distant cousin, and although that was exciting, still, it was only one brick wall and I have many.  At this rate, I will not live long enough to find them all, or even most of them. 

However, the post I wrote about "Introducing Barbara Burkholder Long Buchtel Kemery" brought me great joy, because I had been looking for her for such a long time, and because it gave me more names to search and add to the family tree.  I still don't know who her mother was, other than Elizabeth Miller, but perhaps that will come with luck and time.

One theme this year has been learning more of the stories of some of the collateral ancestors, particularly those with military records.  I've written of the Civil War activities of  George Botkin, a Beeks cousin or uncle of sorts.  I've also learned and written about Aldridge cousin Donald C. Murdock, killed in New Guinea in World War II.  On the Harshbarger side, I've learned and written of the World War II service of Ed Harshbarger and Robert Harshbarger, first cousins to Cleveland Harshbarger, who had stories of World War II service, from the Philippines to the European Theater. 

On the Holbrook side, I've been blessed to connect with a group of people keeping the memory of the First Special Service Force alive.  As I learned, this was the unit my uncle belonged to, which became known as the "Devil's Brigade".  I've learned a little of their history, a little more about my uncle, and have come in contact with people who knew him, or knew of him.  I know there is at least one person still alive who was in the same unit with T/5 Ray Holbrook.  It's been amazing to follow my uncle's story. 

Most of the posts I've written this year, however, have been about our immigrant ancestors.  At the moment, I am out of stories about Beeks and Harshbarger immigrants, and I have just one or two more stories of Allen immigrants.  I expect to spend most of 2018 posting about Holbrook immigrant ancestors, but I will also be busy researching to see if I can find enough information to write about others, and hopefully to even break through another brick wall or two.  There are several that I have hopes for, at this point.

I'm still loving this journey, and I hope you are enjoying following along.  Here's to more happy genealogy dances in 2018!