May I add my "DItto!" To Eileen's. All my research is for my husband's ancestors from the Azores.
I pretty much stopped working on my ancestry from Cuba. I'm grateful to all of you for the help I've received. Maria Elena Lima Wisconsin > On Dec 15, 2013, at 10:48 AM, <[email protected]> wrote: > > So very well said, Eileen. > > For me, I didn't do research before the films were already available in the > Azores. > But what you say about those conditions still apply to my German and some > Hungarian research. > I have been stuck in the middle 1800s for almost 25 years on my direct > maternal line from Hungary, because I believe the marriage record I need > comes from modern Romania and they still live in the dark ages in many ways. > > Doug da Rocha Holmes > Sacramento, California > Pico & Terceira Genealogist > 916-550-1618 > www.dholmes.com > > > -------- Original Message -------- > Subject: RE: [AZORES-Genealogy] CCA site > From: "Eileen Leite" <[email protected]> > Date: Sun, December 15, 2013 7:36 am > To: <[email protected]> > > The majority of my husband’s family comes from Vila Franca do Campo. The next > largest group, from Ribeira Grande. (Deep sigh…) It is an understatement > that I am ready to see those records come online! My pencil is in my mouth > and my fingers are ready to hit the keys, just as soon as the records are > posted! Haha. > > However, despite the wait, my overwhelming feeling is of deep gratitude that > these records are being put online. I recall the old days of squeezing in an > hour at the Family History Center on my way home from work, sitting in the > darkest corner of the room to eliminate light washout of those dark films, > trying to focus ancient and sketchy microfilm viewers and then squandering a > half hour of my precious time juggling the film over to the copier and > tweaking its settings so I could save a copy of the record I found, stifling > my cry of “NOOOOOOOOOOO” as I realized that the records ended before the > baptisms and marriages of some critical people: those years have made me > appreciate the contrast of sitting in my pajamas at my computer at 1 in the > morning with (mostly) clear, enlargeable, easy to copy and save images. We > live in marvelous times! > > Some of you may remember how it used to be done before there was internet > access to family history records, before there were online indexes, before > many microfilms available now had even been filmed. In those days direct > physical contact was required. Remember the “SASE”? That means “Self > Addressed Stamped Envelope”, which is what you included (often with a > donation check) when you wrote an inquiry letter to a potential source. Then > you often waited for months for a reply. Finding the basic details of my > Irish line involved driving 1000 miles to New Jersey, visiting court houses > and cemeteries and rectories, and negotiating with the priest who wanted to > deny me access to his parish records because he was sure I was violating the > privacy of his parishioners who died in the 1860’s. In those days it could > take close to a year to track and receive a single birth record. Committing > to fill in a four-generation pedigree chart meant you were in for the long > haul. If you didn’t have patience, you didn’t do family history. > > Realizing that those Vila Franca do Campo records may be online before next > Christmas has touched me deeply and filled me with great happiness. It will > happen so soon! When those last Sao Miguel records come online, I will do the > dance of joy. > > Feeling grateful in Chicagoland, > > > Eileen Leite > Researching Ponta Garca, Ribeira Grande, Povoacao, and more in Sao Miguel. > > -- > For options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail > (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right > that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership." > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Azores Genealogy" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/azores. -- For options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership." --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Azores Genealogy" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/azores.
