DNA and what it can do for family history.

In 2000, probably before, I signed on for ancestry.com. In 2016 my husband and I took our first genealogy tests. In three years the journey of discovery has been amazing. At this point for me fourteen close relatives have been tested through ancestry.com. Of two immediate family members, two close family members, three first cousins, and twelve second cousins, only four second cousins am I unsure of. Of the thirteen third cousins seven are known relatives. There are a total of 40 matches through to the fourth cousins. Fourth cousins are way out there and will wait until I have more time to play with this. Searching by surname or location does help to pull up connections to the unknown.

Susie Watts Almond Collection At the Watts House in Scappoose, Oregon

On Friday my husband and I delivered the seven notebooks, containing the Susie Watts Almond collection to the Watt's house. The Columbia County Museum Association volunteers scanned the entire collection. They even provided a copy on a flash drive so now I have a copy on my computer. I will also send one to Andrea. It is absolutely amazing what is contained in these notebooks. There is one other notebook that I already left at the house and we hope to scan it also. This project is a miracle that happened because we connected and shared information. She thoughtfully sent me the collection of loose papers as a birthday present in August of 2018. It is an odd thing for a present and it required significant time to make it workable. It is not perfectly organized but it is usable, with page numbers added by the CCMA group. They are an amazing group of volunteers who are dedicated to preserving the history of this county. It is an honor and privilege to work with them.

The Future of My Work

I made great progress in organizing my research, class, client, volunteer work, etc. paperwork for the last few years. Following a similar process to that which was done in sorting the materials at the Watts' house, the collection is now divided up by family and personal mementos; volunteer work and donated time; my personal family research collection; the collection of work for others including clients. Those are contained in three small totes and one large tote. The remainder of materials to sort are in two large totes from when we moved. This is a project that has been patiently waiting for me!

There are a few things I learned along the way and I hope to be more careful in the future of my work. Here is a list of items to consider when processing genealogy work either for yourself or others.