The car is pack with presents, food, suitcases and movies
for the kids. We are on the road heading to a family Christmas. As we were
packing everything up in the car, the conversation was about the weather. What
it was currently doing and what we were about to drive into. That got me to
thinking about something that might be overlooked during some of our research.
The weather
played a pretty big role in the lives and travels of our ancestors. Many of
them kept travel or weather diaries noting what the weather was like, some even
made notations every day. Now that can be a treasure chest of hidden
information for some of us. For example if you were reading a diary entry that
was discussing the excitement of someone's arrival, then read another entry the
following days speaking of disappointment because the guest never arrived. It
could be the weather that hindered their travel. Not all of our ancestors made
notations of the weather. Those who did might hold the answer to some questions
we have, maybe break some of those brick walls. Lets
face it with all of the assistance we have traveling now with GPS and internet
things are much easier. I guarantee that my great grandparents had to make
quick discussions when traveling in inclement weather. Because of those types
of quick traveling discussions its nice to have a weather diary to refer back
to, plus having it written in their own handwriting makes it even more of a
treasure.
I know this is a
short post but one that I thought I would share. You never know what you might
overlook when doing your research.
