The idea for this blog came to me over the course of a much needed vacation. I have not prior to this year been on vacation in over ten years - life's been funny that way around here. It was on a trip with my boyfriend, significant other or whatever they are calling it nowadays, that the idea occurred to me to create a blog that would outline the process that I have been engaged in with regards to the genealogical research that I have been doing for his family - the Fenners of Halifax North Carolina, as well as my family, the Brunson/Darbys of Orangeburg, SC.
I actually started the research at the request of my mother who was interested in trying to find out about her father's father. At the time we had not even so much as a name for him and were at a loss to find any information on her father even as his name was one that was common and we had little identifying information to go on.
The one thing we had going for us in this search was, that her mother, my grandmother is still alive and has a very good memory with names and places and even some dates. Between my grandmother's information as well as my pouring over census records, birth and death records we were able to trace my mother's family back to around the civil war on her mother's side and we have been slowly building the tree on her father's side reconstructing the information on slow but steady basis.
It was during this time that I met Stanley Fenner and through many conversations found that he was very interested in the research that I had been doing with my family tree and was interested in trying to look into some of his own family's history. So far, on his father's side there are some of his father's siblings still alive that have given oral history and confirmation of the searches I have been doing. There is also a family bible that im told has all the family birthdays - not sure about weddings.
In any case it might seem crazy to embark on two major searches like this almost simultaneously, however, it is one of those things that just fit. I have in the time I have been researching increased my knowledge of genealogy exponentially and have become a member of the National Genealogy Society. It is my hope that someday I might be able to present at one of their functions
I was reminded this week why this kind of research is so vitally important and why I myself am involved with it. Spending time with the Fenners, and Richardsons was a blessed opportunity to experience "family" in the truest sense of the word. For someone like me, who is an adopted only child, it was a very heartwarming experience and reminded me of the little girl I used to be who longed to go on family trips and vacations.
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