This past week I continued to make progress on the plans for my upcoming Brooklyn genealogy trip. As discussed, I’m treating this like a fact-finding mission or a business trip. I have so much I want to get done, so much to see and experience—being strategic is the only way to do that.
Hotel and flight have been pinned down. Bodegas and Italian bakeries have been added to my big Google map. And I’m going to try to squeeze in a photography exhibit. All the important stuff.
Wins!
Genealogists will tell you that only a fraction of records have been digitized. So in this before-trip time, I’m doing all the online database work I can, but also identifying what I should aim for when I’m on the ground in New York.
- This week’s highlight was a very positive and enjoyable meeting with a librarian from the genealogy division of the New York Public Library.
You can book a free half-hour online consultation, and one of their four genealogy librarians will walk you through their offerings. She was great about explaining their processes and setting expectations. While my specific surnames aren’t getting hits in their databases, she helped me find resources that may be useful for larger-context searches.
So in other words, I will definitely be going to the Ghostbusters library!
- Reaching out to the Center for Brooklyn History got me a nice email answer and some helpful links. I will definitely follow up on those, as I expect to be spending a lot of time there.
- Same with Big Onion Walking Tours and The Old Stone House: Lovely (fast!) responses and helpful advice. I’m excited to connect with both of them in person.
Can’t Win ‘Em All
As I had anticipated, finding experts to talk to about candy/baseball/alcohol is slow going. My cold-call emails are are getting nos in return or no responses at all. It’s a bit of a bummer, but I knew this might happen.
if I can’t find an expert to talk to, I can still get informed. I’m already learning about pre-Dodgers Brooklyn baseball… and starting to question whether my relative REALLY played for Ned Hanlon.
More to come. ☗
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