Serendipity Within the Gates Family

Now, how would you feel if this email arrived in your inbox as this did in mine yesterday?

"Hello,

It was my good fortune last evening to have Googled my 3rd great grandfather's name and run into your blog! I knew very little about "Ardell" prior to that. I suspected he was an 1812 vet and had inklings he was down near Mankato at one time. A big issue for me was that I had 2 different death dates for him. Turns out he lived much longer than I imagined.

I descend from his daughter, Miranda (also seen Marianna) S. Gates. She was born in Wyoming County, New York 23 Sept., 1827. She married Solomon Holland Salisbury in Columbia County, WI in 1846. They had 2 boys, William Ardell, b. 28 Oct 1847, and Frank Edgar. 9 Jan, 1850.

She died of consumption at 24 years old 15 Feb 1852. With 2 little boys Solomon depended on family in the area for help with the boys and he remarried in 1854 and had 4 more children and moved to North Dakota. He died in 1900 in North Dakota, but he was returned to Wisconsin where he is buried next to Miranda in the Wyocena Cemetery."

 

Serendipity just filled my heart as contact was made from one descendant to another. This is for my husband's line, but I also had a similar one for my Tidd family recently. With Google searches and links to my posts online miracles do happen on a regular basis. On my blog there is one long story about Ardil Gates and nine posts for the Gates family.

 

We have exchanged numerous emails in the last few hours. I provided to him all my notes on Ardil which are not found online with the family information at familysearch.org. A few minutes ago I sent him a copy of the will of Ardil, which was received from Meeker County, Montana by email for free after I found it indexed in the records collection at familysearch.org. I even offered a copy of the War of 1812 Pension File which I ordered last year. He is interested in trying to locate where Ardil and his wife Rachel are buried as he lives fairly close to where they died.

 

This is turning out to be another fantastic genealogy week. I hope you are having as much fun as I am. Please take time to appreciate those serendipity moments as they occur in your genealogy work.