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To Trip or not To Trip

Still working on that Thomas West story.  They are now in West Gwillimbury, Ontario, Canada and it's about 1830.  They've been there for 11 years.  And now the challenging part... finding information, facts, and records.  Do I write about what I know is in front of me, or do I wait and search for additional records, continuing later?   Or, is this a work in progress, writing what I know and easily changed when new information surfaces?  That's the challenge right now.  Because I really want this to be good, but know it's only as good as the information inside.

I've taken 4 big family history trips in my life.  Michigan, Kansas, Vermont, and West Virginia.  At each  place I learned things never before uncovered.  It literally took going to those places to find out.  Not everything is found on the internet.  Especially when it comes to old plat maps, property and court records.  Additionally, those places had cousins very willing to share family ephemera (papers).  You won't find that online.  You've just got to go.

For this Thomas West story I need a summer, literally, to work it out.  Rochester, Plymouth County, Massachusetts.  Montpelier, Washington County, Vermont.  Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio.  Springfield, Clark County, Ohio.  West Gwillimbury, East Gwillimbury, Bradford, Newmarket, Ontario, Canada.  And Franklin, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin.  Add to those various areas nearby, regarding related family and cousins, and it's a mammoth trip.  But that's where I'm at today.  How to proceed with this story.  And me, some thousands of miles away.  Literally.

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