Genealogy in the fast lane

Back when life was slower and technology was limited to black & white televisions and rotary dial telephones, genealogy research and record keeping was conducted by visiting libraries, digging through musty or moldy documents, and sharing information with relatives and neighbors.

Today, genealogy research has taken a new twist. Much like our ancestors, we love to share what we find, but on public forums and boards. The future for accuracy and completeness scares me. It is becoming more and more evident on various public family trees. One cannot and should not believe what they find until they do 'due diligence' to find the origin of that information. It can be a daunting task, to say the least, especially when there are several generations of a same given name, regardless of the gender.

One example is in my Wildasin ancestral line, and it begins with three sons born to Peter Wildeson (1797-1887) and Catherine Sterner (1807-1887) in York County, Pennsylvania.

• Peter Sterner Wildeson (1836-1911) married Margaret Bollinger (1835-1906). One of their children was a daughter named Amanda Ellen Wildeson (19 Mar 1864-5 Apr 1933) and who married a William John Elder and later a John L. Reily and lived in York County. [Her PA death certificate #40516 confirms: dates of birth and death; parents of Peter and Margaret; location of death and residence at the time of death.]

Photo taken by
Mary K. Wildasin-Staub,
Lazareth Church, Maryland.

• Jacob Sterner Wildeson (1832-1915) married Catherine Yost (1835-1915). One of their daughters was named Lamanda (aka Amanda) Susanna Wildeson (5 Jan 1861- 15 Nov 1933) and who married a George Monath in York County, PA but died in Maryland. [Proof of this Lamanda comes from several sources: marriage announcement and certificate 28 Sept 1884 at the Gettysburg Lutheran Seminary to George; death certificates for Lamanda (#11007) and George (#03541) both in Maryland; a child's death obituary for George Edward Monath dated 13 May 1899; and Lamanda's father Jacob obituary dated 3 Feb 1915, not to mention a land sale from Jacob Sterner Wildasin to his son-in-law George (ref. Book R, page 3 dated 13 mar 1896).]

• Andrew Sterner Wildeson (1846-1926) married Amanda Sipling (1855-1920). They were smart and did not name their daughters Amanda! [This information was confirmed by reading the death certificates for Andrew (#20494) and for Amanda (death certificate #104753).]

I suppose you might say that I have way too much time on my hands to spend time digging in old files and driving to out of state repositories like the Maryland State Archives. To me discovering my ancestral roots and proving their lives is all part of the challenge of genealogy.

Word to the wise ... please be careful in believing what you find. Go the extra mile to find original records, compile a chart to compare your findings, and then make a determination. Later down the road you will appreciate it that you did! 

Happy researching.

P.S. My email is patwistedroots@gmail.com should you want to discuss or share.