This month, add a touch of Thanksgiving flavor to your genealogy research! Thanksgiving is a great time to collect family stories from your relatives. There are lots of genealogy resources that can help you learn more about ancestors who were alive around the time of the first Thanksgiving. November is a good month for a Thanksgiving related genealogy trip.
Plimoth Plantation is a great place to visit if you are interested in seeing what life was like for your ancestors who were alive around the time of the first Thanksgiving. Climb aboard the Mayflower II, a replica of the original Mayflower. Explore the Seventeenth Century English Village and the Wampanog Homesite. Check out some of the special Thanksgiving dinner events.
Berkley Plantation is Virginia’s most historic plantation. Its website says that it is the site of the first official Thanksgiving in 1619. Berkley Plantation is located at Harrison’s Landing on the James River along Rt. 5 between Williamsburg and Richmond in Virginia. Tours take place daily.
The Duxbury Genealogy Club, which is located in Duxbury, Massachusetts, will hold its Sixth Annual Thankgiving Genealogy sessions. It will take place at the Duxbury Senior Center on November 13, 2012. Sessions will start at 1:00 in the afternoon and end at 3:00 in the afternoon. Novice genealogists can meet with members of the Duxbury Genealogy Club for help with their genealogy research.
Cyndi’s List has several links of resources that genealogists can use to do research on ancestors who were on the Mayflower, who were Pilgrims, or who lived at the Plymouth Colony. Genealogy.com has a list of links to some Mayflower Societies and groups. You can find information about what you need to prove about your ancestors in order to join a Mayflower group.
This Thanksgiving, take the time to enjoy a Thanksgiving tradition with your family. Watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on television together. Watch your children giggle at the giant balloons of cartoon characters that they love, and see how they react to seeing Santa at the end of the parade.
Many people spend Thanksgiving with relatives that they don’t get to see very often. People sit around and talk while waiting for Thanksgiving dinner to be ready. Take that opportunity to record some of the family stories that are important to your family. Ask permission first! Odds are, at least one or two of your relatives will be happy to re-tell a beloved family story so you can record it.
Image by Cloned Milkmen on Flickr