Someone was listening...

My cousin and I get together as often as we can in Boston - usually a couple of times a year - to do some hardcore research on our families and to visit with our children who just happen to live in the area. We usually work at the NEHGS library, do a little shopping on Newbury Street, and eat at some fabulous restaurants with our kids.  Last weekend we attended Ancestry Day at NEHGS in Boston.

 Just before I left, I posted the Veturia Platt story in hope that someone would come forth and identify her. It wasn't the focus of this trip, but I would have been happy to come home to some new information. Well, I still haven't heard from anyone from this blog posting, but in a way, I did hear from someone over the weekend.

I was busy in the microfilm department looking for John and Ellen Young (who also elude me) and when the day was nearly done, I was only able to delete people from my search. It is still progress, I suppose. I went up to the 7th floor to meet up with my cousin and had about fifteen minutes left to look for more information. I wanted to look at the Dikeman books recommended to me by my cousin, so I pulled them from the stacks. After perusing them, I decided it wasn't the same family, so I returned the books to the re-shelve rack and spied a book that looked promising to me - New England Planters in the Maritime Provinces of Canada 1759-1800. Hmmmm. I have relatives in Nova Scotia... I did find references to Samuel Mack, Ephraim Dean and others... I never thought of Samuel Mack as a Planter, but I guess he was. The listing showed 14 pages of letters. Jackpot! Unfortunately, it was something I would have to come back for another day's follow up.

Just as I had finished photographing the important details before returning the book, a volunteer came around to tell us the library was closing in five minutes. Already? I returned the book and glanced again at the pile of returned books and spied the Platt Genealogy on top. What? I have three minutes to see if this is the right Platt - and I believe it is - Richard Platt of Milford, Connecticut. Another day, Mr. Platt, we have a date.

Coincidence? I think not.

Ancestry Day is a day that NEHGS partners with Ancestry.com and offers presentations given by experts from both Ancestry.com and NEHGS. It was an early start, and a long day, but there was a lot of great information exchanged. I hope I can do better searches on Ancestry.com with the help of Crista Cowan's tips. I'll let you know.

Other talks were equally interesting and informative, and the wrap up Live Q&A Panel was lively and inspiring. If you get an opportunity to attend an Ancestry Day with NEHGS, go ahead and do it! It isn't a huge cost, in time or money, and everyone is so nice and helpful.