Lesson # 9 - History and Geneology Resources

I enjoyed exploring Ancestry Library. Some of the interesting materials I found included my mother's obituary and the marriage certificate of my paternal grandparents. When I searched the photos and maps that are available through this resource, I found a map of the farmland that I grew up on and that one of my brothers currently lives on and farms. My greatgrandparents moved to South Dakota from Wisconsin and acquired this land through the Homestead Act, Earlier this summer, my father asked me to fill out the paperwork needed in order have our family farm recognized for being in our family for at least 125 years. Although I already sent in a different document as proof that our farm has been in our family for this period of time, I could have used the map I found through Ancestry Library as proof. I also found a map of my greatgrandparents' farm located in Lafayette County, Wisconsin, with the town listed as Blanchard. I found that interesting, as last summer, my father received a phone call from a woman who identified herself as a long lost cousin from Monroe, Wisconsin. She stated that her father, my father's brother, had grown up in Blanchardville, Wisconsin and that she has been there to tour the farmland that the original farm buildings were located on. Now I will have to do further research to find out if Blanchard and Blanchardville are two different locations or if Blanchard is simply an abbreviation for Blanchardville. This cousin and her husband came to meet my father, his sister, and other relatives last summer,and although neither my father nor his sister are able to travel long distances, two of my cousins and I hope to go to make the trip to Monroe next summer to spend time with this cousin of my father, as she is planning to take us to -- whatever it is -- Blanchardville or Blanchard.
When I explored Heritage Quest,I searched for my paternal grandfather and found a census report from 1923 that listed my grandfather as a resident of Sweet Township in Hutchinson County which is the county I currently live in. I was quite surprised at this, since I thought he had only lived in BonHomme County, where our 125 year old family farm is located. I called my father tonight to tell him what I had found, and he confirmed the accuracy of this by stating that when my great- grandfather was still actively farming our family farm, my grandfather rented farmland in Hutchinson County for a few years, moving back to the family farm a few years later to help his father, who was aging and not able to do as much physical work.
Although I was not able to find any maps of Menno (where I currently live) in the Sanborn collection, I did find maps of my hometown of Scotland. Using a 1923 map, I was able to find the City Hall, which is still standing and is still used today. At one time, a lodge hall that housed the International Order of the Oddfellows and the Rebecca Lodge was located on the same street as the City Hall. I remember spending a lot of time in that lodge when I was a young child, as my father was belonged to the Oddfellows and my mother belonged to the Rebeccas. That building is no longer standing, but I found it on the map.
The accessibility to all of these history and geneology resources is quite impressive.