June 15, 2017

A Second Look

One of the great things about genealogy is that it isn’t always a solitary hobby. It enters you into a community of people doing the same work that sometimes intersects with yours. Since beginning my journey I have met many people (some relatives, some not) in chat rooms, through web sites or even in grave yards. But not everyone starts their journey at the same time. And not all journeys happen at the same pace. This is why it can be beneficial to periodically revisit web sites you’ve already searched. You never know what information or hidden gems could have been added since you were last there. Case in point…

A while back I highlighted my 3x great grandfather LewisPierce. He fought in the Civil War and is buried not far from where I grew up. I already had some great information on him including newspaper articles and a couple grainy photographs. So I thought this was all I was ever going to get. When I recently started using the FindAGrave smartphone app, I discovered someone had added to his listing and even included some great photographs!

I messaged the poster but haven’t heard back yet. Hopefully I will. And hopefully it will yield even more revelations.


But genealogist beware. More people posting things can also mean more misinformation. So I would advise you to discern you information. Get verification from at least one other official and objective source like a census record or death certificate.

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