If you are looking for a fun genealogy read online, check out the Ancestry.com blog. Mixed in amongst their other blog posts (which are also good), there are posts from a family of seven who are traveling the United States in search of family history information. The Great, Great, Great Grand Adventure began back in July, when the Brown family decided that they would spend some time together as a family, traveling the United States and learning about their family history.
At the time that the monumental decision to make the trip was made, the Browns did not know that Ancestry.com would become a part of their journey, nor did they anticipate that their plan would eventually be to spend six to nine months on the road. Preparing for the trip was no small feat. The family did many things before beginning their journey, including selling their home, buying and fixing up a motor home, and preparing home schooling plans for their school age children.
The Browns started their journey in Utah, the place that until recently, they called home. They have stopped in a few places so far, including Iowa and Illinois. They have discovered surprising and amazing things along the way. One story falls along the lines of “it’s a small world”. When researching ancestors in Nauvoo, Mr. and Mrs. Brown discovered that one of his ancestors used to live next door to one of her ancestors.
I enjoyed reading about the Browns’ adventure, and I plan to visit the blog again soon to see where else they go. Their trip reminds me of how much fun I had a few years ago, when I went on a cross country trip with my husband. We did not do much family history research, but we did spend time with my great aunt in Texas and learned more about my mother’s side of the family. I am sure that we will take our boys on a cross country adventure as well, perhaps when they are a bit older. I am already looking forward to it.
Photo by ronnieb on morguefile.com.