Genealogist Amy Johnson Crow offers a free program called “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks,” which provides writing prompts for family researchers. This post is the first in the series and describes how I became serious about uncovering more of my family’s history. Other posts in this series will include “52 Ancestors 2025” in their titles.
In the Beginning: “Who was the first person you wanted to find when you started your genealogy journey?”
For me, it wasn’t so much about finding a specific person but uncovering a relationship. With my last name, I often get asked, “Are you related to the artist?” I knew the “Cassatt” name originated from the French surname “Cossart” and that the family had come to New Amsterdam, but I wasn’t sure how far back our common ancestor lived. I had a lineage tracing back to my great-great-grandfather, which I thought would help.
Because the Cassatts were prominent in Philadelphia, I hoped for better luck when we moved from Kentucky to Philadelphia in 1988. I began researching in a local history library. In one book about a group of families, I found some information going back a few generations, but none of the names matched my known ancestors.
My big break came after we moved to Maryland. While attending an Oktoberfest event in 1994, I noticed a booth labeled “Family History Center.” I picked up a flyer with a blank pedigree chart and learned that the local LDS Church had a center near my workplace. I decided to stop by.
A volunteer there showed me how to search their computer system, and I discovered several Ancestral File pedigrees. Not only did I find the common ancestor, Francis Cossart, but I also uncovered a whole network of Dutch and Huguenot families.
Armed with this information and guidance from genealogy books, I accessed a wealth of records at the National Archives and published genealogies from the Library of Congress. With the vast amount of genealogical data now available online, it sometimes feels like there’s almost too much information to sift through!
Picture: Portrait of Alexander J. Cassatt and His Son Robert Kelso Cassatt by Mary Cassatt, 1884
No comments:
Post a Comment