Note to Self: Get Off the Internet and Research the Old Fashioned Way

The main focus of my research was to explore the Whitaker line on my mother’s side.  Most of the information I had to date came from census information, I had done no in-depth research.  Some searching on ancestry.com revealed that this line had a long history in the county that I live in.

So I made some preparations for a couple weeks beforehand.  I normally wouldn’t spend quite this amount of time but this line has gone largely unresearched, so I was essentially starting with nothing but some names and estimated dates.

• First, I spent some time with my database file, getting familiar with the names, dates and locations for the family I wanted to research.  One thing I realized is that this family has been in Harford County longer than the county existed.  So, I may also need to search Baltimore County for records before 1774.
• Then I spent an evening in my local public library.  They have a “Maryland Room” with extensive local history resources.  I found some additional information in books and compiled data.
• I hopped on ancestry.com to look at some other trees for “clues” I was missing and made notes.
• One of my favorite types of records are land records, so I spent some time with mdlandrec.net plowing through land records.
• Based on the sources listed in the books from the library and others’ information on ancestry.com I knew I should visit the Historical Society of Harford County, the Maryland State Archives and the Maryland Historical Society to start.  So I double-checked their websites to check the days and hours they were open so I could plan my research week.
• I had never been to the Historical Society Harford County before so I wanted to spend more time there to get the lay of the land. I decided I would go there Tuesday and Wednesday, the Maryland State Archives on Thursday and the Maryland Historical Society on Friday.  There would be no cemetery visits during my week because we have gotten so much rain recently that I was afraid it would either be too soggy, plus there was more rain in the forecast.  I will save that for another time…and advantage of being local.

Then my research week arrived:
Monday – None of my repositories were open so it was back to the library for more searching there.  I found some more references to church records and tax lists.

Tuesday/Wednesday – Off to the Historical Society Harford County across town.  They charge $5 for non-members to do research but I went ahead and joined for $30.  I am certain I will get my money’s worth.  I got a tour and an overview of the collections.  I decided I would start my searching with the vertical file.
I pulled the Whitaker family file and the first thing in the folder was a 1973 article from the local paper (complete with a picture) about how, when demolishing a house, the workers discovered a burial plot marker being used as a back step.  The over 500 pound marker had the names of my 5th great-grandparents and several of their children.

WOW!! 

Second, an article written by a Whitaker descendent in 1984 about the Whitaker family that was published in the Maryland Historical Magazine outlining the family.  This article had lots of references to wills, other land records and sources for dates and marriages.  Awesome information!
Including the time it took to signup and get a tour I have been here 25 minutes and already found 2 great pieces of information I never knew existed!

By the end of my second day there I had lots of new information as well as sources for names and dates that I had “collected” in the years previous.
But I think the coolest thing I had and was able to hold in my own hands was a letter, written by my 4th great-grandfather Dorsey H. Whitaker.  Dorsey was born, married and raised a family in Harford County but later moved to Baltimore County and then Baltimore City, where he died of throat cancer in 1876.  It seems that as he got older he had money problems (based on land records and legal records I found) and this was confirmed when I found a letter written in 1855 from Dorsey to Otho Scott, a Harford County lawyer (and I think a cousin to Dorsey as well).

Dorsey H. Whitaker letter.  Found at the Historical Society of Harford County.  Archives folder Whitaker A-1191

Maybe at some point in the future I could have found this on the internet, but there is something special about holding the same piece of paper that your ancestor held almost 160 years ago.

Thursday – My longest trip of the week, a 45 minute drive to the Maryland State Archives.  I have been to the Archives many times and always have a hard time staying on task because there are so many records.  This time was no exception!
I only found a few Whitaker records before the “BSOs” (bright shiny objects) got to me.  But I crossed several records from my wish list so the trip was successful.

Friday – Unfortunately my Friday trip to the Maryland Historical Society did not happen as I had to take one of my dogs to the vet.  However, I do visit there often so I wasn’t too upset.  I will get there again very soon and hopefully cross a few more items off my list.

I am so glad that I took that time to do on-site research and I kick myself that I don’t do it more often, especially since I have such great facilities so close to where I live.