My Ancestry.com

In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve taken a recent liking to Ancestry.com. I’ve dabbled in years gone by, but it wasn’t until November 2010 that I started taking it more seriously. The thought of lineage intrigues me. It’s hard to comprehend that Hans Meisel lived from 1531–1586 in the Bayern region of Germany and that I’m related to that guy!

Hans Meisel
Stephan Meisel
Barbara Meisel
Andreas Pfaffenberger
Johannes Pfaffenberger
Johann G Pfaffenberger
Johann P Poffenberger
John Poffenberger
Daniel Poffenberger
William Poffenberger
Fannie May Poffenberger
Great Granddad
Granddad
Dad
Me

1531! One thousand FIVE HUNDRED thirty one! FIFTEEN THIRTY ONE! That’s 480 years ago. That’s closer to William Wallace than it is to William Clinton. In 1531, Henry VIII was the king of England. In 1531, the Church of England had not yet been formed.

Staring into the annals of Ancestry.com is one way to track my lineage. The more trustworthy way is to pack a bag and head for Maryland. I always knew that there were loads of family pictures sitting in Mom & Dad’s possession but, until Wednesday, I didn’t have a real understanding of just how much stuff there was. Dad and I spent a day and a night sifting through some of Dad’s family history. The pictures are wildly fascinating. Here’s one of my favorites. Granddad loved to talk about this softball team. Can you find him? …I’ll put the answer at the end of the post.

Photos weren’t the only thing that we researched. We also found a Thomas genealogy book (which is a HUGE help), numerous newspaper clippings, and meticulous handwritten notes that document the historical significance of each piece. There's the mirror, for example, from the living room in the Line household. Clellie Line’s claim to fame is that she was born in a farmhouse on the Antietam battlefield during the Battle of Antietam. General McClellan was using the Line farmhouse for his own personal quarters during the battle (hence Clellie’s namesake). And then there's the phonograph.  I don't think anyone knows what to do with this...but you've got to admit that it's one of the cooler things you've seen.

At the end of the day, I walked away with about 50 new people in my family tree, portraits for even more, and far more accurate dates for each member's major life events. I hope that I can return someday soon to continue to digitize the collection of our family archives. There’s still A LOT left to scan, transpose, photograph, and document.  When the project is complete, I have a feeling that I might be headed for a road-trip.  A pilgrimage of sorts, to visit those places of gerations gone bye.

Answer: second row, second from right