It's 1993 and I'm living in Seattle, the home of the Space Needle, the Monorail, and Pike Place Market.
During this time, I had gotten started learning French by watching the show, French In Action on PBS. Unfortunately, with my work schedule, I kept missing episodes. So, to catch up on the ones I'd missed, I'd go to the Central Branch of the Seattle Public Library and check them out.
Seattle Public Library - Central Branch
The downtown library is situated on a hill. Normally I'd park on the top of the street because the video section was on the top floor. However, this time I couldn't find a parking spot where I normally did and had to park on the lower street.
I entered the building and as I was about to step onto the escalator, I noticed something . . .
A huge sign that said "Genealogy" just to the left of it.
Well, I went up and got the latest video and went home.
Later that night, I remembered that my step-Grandfather, C W Snedden, had been working on his genealogy for 25 years and from what I'd been told, he was stuck at his father, William. I later found out it was his grandfather, but not far at all.
So, a few days passed and I returned. I knew that C W was born in Spokane in 1913, so I took a look around the genealogy stacks thinking that maybe I'd find something.
Then, all of a sudden, I came across the city directories for Seattle and they went all the way back to 1877. That was ancient to me then!
Well, I thought if Seattle has them, maybe Spokane does too. Sure enough, right around the corner, there they were!
I pulled the 1913 volume, opened it up, and looked for Snedden. I found one, Angus, but not a name I recognized. I then pulled the 1914 and voila, William A Snedden, the name I knew. And he was living in the same house as Angus!
With the help of the librarians, I eventually found Angus in the 1920, then 1910 . . . all the way back to the 1880 census!
So I asked the librarians, "Now what do I do?"
They then told me that I needed to go to the Family History Center on 45th NE.
I immediately hopped into my car and I raced over there.
Me Racing To The FHC (For Reals! Wink, Wink)
Once there, I let them know what I was looking for and they jumped right into action.
From the 1900 census I'd learned that Angus was born May 1855 in Scotland. So, they put in a Scotland Vital Records disc (it was huge and was read through the case it was in) and holy cow! He was the ONLY Angus Snedden in Scotland and, sure enough, was born 11 May 1855 in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland.
I was then able to locate not only his parent's marriage, but also his grandparent's marriages as well!
And I did all of this on my very first day!
I thought to myself, "Self, this is fun and you seem to have a natural knack for this, so you need to stick with it."
And I have! It has taken me all over America, Canada, and Europe doing research and I never get tired of doing it. As my Mormon friends say, I have the "Spirit of Elijah" on steroids! To say I'm driven to do this would be a massive understatement!
I sure hope you've enjoyed this short anecdote of how I totally stumbled into my life's passion. Life sure can throw you unexpected curve balls, and boy was this a doozey!
If you have any brick walls of your own, I'd love to help you!
Drop me a line or give me a call and I'll get started on it as soon as I can.
danny@hallgen.com
(888) 444-3211
Photo Credits:
Wrecking Ball - ID 3681340, Albund, Dreamstime - Thank You!
Central Branch, Seattle Public Library - City of Seattle - Thank You!
Racing Car - Dimitrisvetsikas1969, Pixabay - Thank You!
