I have my father's line
For the past four hours, that phrase has run in my mind. I'm still stunned. Some time ago I remembered that I'd uploaded a gedcom to ancestry.com, but when I called, we couldn't find it. Further, I had no idea what was in those BurtFiles, I figured is was just mom's line, that was the one I personally researched. Although I was disappointed, it wasn't shattering. Especially when I later located a copy of a gedcom of mom's files.
I've been working my way through updating the Spengler files. As soon as I finish, I'll update the website, then move to the Verhuslt files. Each day I look at SSDI files, FindAGrave and online cemetery records for a different family branch. Occasionally, I'll do a random Google search, especially if the name is unusual. That's what happened today. Google brought up an ancestry.com site. Usually I ignore those, I'm not willing to pay the subscription price. However, sometimes they have enough on the free section to do some additional hunting or point me in new directon. So, I clicked on the name. Odd, I thought, there's some unusual numbers and letters associating with the name. And they look AWFULLY familiar.
It was then I realized I'd found the BurtFiles. Ancestry.com had moved them to the Rootsweb subsidiary. And the gedcom was free for download. With bated breath, I downloaded, unzipped and imported it to my Legacy program. 11,800 names. Could it be? Or was it the Spengler Verhulst line with all the data from Eric and Bert, the other Verhulst researchers?
It wasn't until I actually opened BurtFiles that I realized I had it. I had my father's line. All nearly 12,000 names I'd added to my files from 1998-2001. I have my father's line. I HAVE my father's line. I have my FATHER'S line. All the research my grandmother had done, all the research I'd followed up on. All the names I'd so painstakingly entered into that vanished genealogy program, all the data I'd lost when my system crashed and the back up failed. The sources may not be there, but I have my father's line. I will need to delete my mother's line before I attempt to merge the files, but I have my father's line. The depression knowing how much I had to do is gone. The worst part - duplicating years of effort - is over. I have my fathers line.
I've been working my way through updating the Spengler files. As soon as I finish, I'll update the website, then move to the Verhuslt files. Each day I look at SSDI files, FindAGrave and online cemetery records for a different family branch. Occasionally, I'll do a random Google search, especially if the name is unusual. That's what happened today. Google brought up an ancestry.com site. Usually I ignore those, I'm not willing to pay the subscription price. However, sometimes they have enough on the free section to do some additional hunting or point me in new directon. So, I clicked on the name. Odd, I thought, there's some unusual numbers and letters associating with the name. And they look AWFULLY familiar.
It was then I realized I'd found the BurtFiles. Ancestry.com had moved them to the Rootsweb subsidiary. And the gedcom was free for download. With bated breath, I downloaded, unzipped and imported it to my Legacy program. 11,800 names. Could it be? Or was it the Spengler Verhulst line with all the data from Eric and Bert, the other Verhulst researchers?
It wasn't until I actually opened BurtFiles that I realized I had it. I had my father's line. All nearly 12,000 names I'd added to my files from 1998-2001. I have my father's line. I HAVE my father's line. I have my FATHER'S line. All the research my grandmother had done, all the research I'd followed up on. All the names I'd so painstakingly entered into that vanished genealogy program, all the data I'd lost when my system crashed and the back up failed. The sources may not be there, but I have my father's line. I will need to delete my mother's line before I attempt to merge the files, but I have my father's line. The depression knowing how much I had to do is gone. The worst part - duplicating years of effort - is over. I have my fathers line.