Who on earth am I?

I've always been interested in family history. I am a lover of stories, so I'm intrigued with the past, and how unknown members of my family tree figure into history. A few years ago, my mom traced some of our family roots back to the Mayflower. Subsequently, we took a vacation out to Plymouth, Massachusetts to experience in a tiny way what they did all those years ago. So when my assignment was to explore AncestryLibrary, I was just a little bit excited.

When I began searching for my own information, I was interested to see what popped up. It is just a tiny bit disconcerting to see all of your data before you on the computer screen -- a bit like looking into the mirror and seeing what others see for the first time. So when I found my own records, imagine my surprise when I discovered my birth date was not correct. The month and year were correct, but the date is one week off. Hmmm. I kept clicking and checking. Addresses correct? Check. Even addresses I forgot were listed. But my birth date? Still showing up incorrect. Anyone else have this issue?

Then I plugged in my great-grandmother's name. I clicked into the census records, and was able to actually view the handwritten census records from 1930 and 1940. There she was along with my great-grandpa, my grandma, and my great-uncle. Cool. When I searched for South Dakota pictures, I discovered many different items. Most interesting to me were the picture postcards. I found postcards from many of the buildings I mention when giving tours at the museum, including the Old Courthouse Museum itself. The postcard actually had a handwritten message, which was intriguing as well. It began, "I cannot do what you ask as I have not got the money." Hmmm. I wonder what that sister had asked that brother to do originally. There's a story there.

Then, on to HeritageQuest, which took a little bit of time to figure out. But once I started getting the hang of it, I found several relevant items: my grandpa's name in the 1940 census (handwritten, again -- cool!), and information on the school that was located near the farm where I grew up. All very interesting and definitely something I'd like to go back to when I have more time to research my family tree.

I've actually had some experience with the Sanborn Maps in my job at the museum. I had to do some research on a hotel no longer standing last year. I checked the different years available, then I took a look at how things changed over the years. One interesting thing I found was how fire damage was indicated on the maps. For this search I also took a look at Sioux Falls, as my hometown and my current town of residence are not listed in the database. I searched for the Court House on 6th and Main. It can be challenging to locate the exact address you are searching for, although, once I got into the swing of it, I was fine.

These different databases are invaluable for library patrons who may be searching for the roots of their family tree.