Destination Delmarva

Well, it has been a while since the last posting. The start of school always brings new work for me, which is a good thing, and less time for genealogy, which is not.

Saturday, I was fortunate to be able to attend the Destination Delmarva 2009 workshop at Washington College, sponsored by the Delaware Genealogy Society and the Maryland Genealogy Society. Each lecture that I attended gave me a piece of information I didn’t have before about history and resources that can help clear some of the cobwebs from my research. I knew there was a boundary dispute in the 1600-1700’s around the boundary between Maryland and Delaware, and I knew my Dehortys were on land smack in the middle of the disputed area. Russ McCabe’s presentation gave me a clearer picture of how the land was settled, a few ideas about where my folks might have come ashore, and a nifty new book to read for more information. The Deakyne twins, Sally Burke and Peggy Mealy, reminded me about the importance of investigating all the names in the Orphan’s Court records for possible family connections. Bob Barnes had a fascinating collection of “Black Sheep” ancestors…I haven’t found any yet, but I must have some and now I know where to look. Ed Wright has cataloged the churches of the early period and the records that he has transcribe. Unfortunately, my folks were Methodists, who were not known for their record keeping. But, you never know if the odd Quaker or Anglican might have married in, so, they will be worth a look. And, of course, I took home a couple of new books for the research library.

The weather was horrible, rainy and cold, but a bright spot on the day was meeting fellow blogger Kathleen Ingram. Her enthusiasm and positive spirit were infectious!

What a great day! Now to catch up on my blog reading……