Back in February of this year, I decided to take on a very long project that I know will take me years to complete, but since I'm obsessed with genealogy and genealogy research, it's OK!
Here's the project:
I've been researching my family history for well over 8 years now, but on my mom's side (The Mendenhall Family) of the family, I have a lot more information than any other Family in my tree. So, I thought, why not find out as much as I can on each individual- whether they are a direct ancestor or my 16th cousin, 10x removed! So, that's what I started in February!
In Ancestry.com, I clicked on "List of all people" and in the "Filter last name by:" section, I typed in "A Mendenhall"--
This filter's all the Mendenhall's whose first name starts with "A". Then, starting at the top, I find out as much about that person as I possibly can- census records, birth/death/marriage records, children, medical, occupations, etc. It's very interesting how many things I have found! With the women, I try to find as many descendants as I can...sometimes, I've spent several days on the family of just one woman. But that's ok! I don't get bored of this! With the men, who will be passing down the Mendenhall name, I don't look up the children (unless it's in a category I've already looked up-- example- if I'm researching Charles Mendenhall and I find out he has a son named Abraham Mendenhall-- well, I've already researched the A's, so I'll have to research Abraham before going on to the next person after Charles).
Obviously this is a huge huge project and to many people, it may seem completely pointless, but I LOVE finding new cousins, no matter how distant they are! And, I love researching, so why not do this in my spare time? :)
So far, this project is taking a long time, just as I had anticipated. I just now decided to add it to my blog, one or two people a week- just to share some information with you all who are interested.I'm still trying to come up with a name for this project, but when I do, I'll post it with my first "person"- who is--- AM Mendenhall.
I hope you all enjoy reading this new project and maybe it'll inspire you to do some more research on distant cousins!
Have a great week!
What a great idea! And, it sounds like a huge project. I'm sure many Mendenhall researchers will appreciate your work.
ReplyDeleteI am sure going to appreciate your work. I am a Mendenhall descendant through one of my Maternal Great great grandmothers. Would love to compare notes.
ReplyDeleteThat's great Audrey! I would love to chat with you! I added you to my circles and I'm going to email you :) look forward to chatting with you!
DeleteI just happened upon your blog doing my own research on the Mendenhall ancestors of mine. So i might fall into your category of cousins..many time removed! My 9th great grandfather was Thomas Mildenhall III. I think your line is thru his son John (after reading your tree) and mine is thru his son Benjamin Mendenhall 1662-1740. Hope you don't mind me reading and comparing. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Beth! Glad to meet another cousin! I definitely don't mind you reading and comparing- that's what it's there for! :) I'm not on here as much as I would like to be because my schedule has become incredibly hectic, but if you ever have questions or more information or just want to chat, you can email me- Carriesmith11411@yahoo.com :) Have a great day!
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