Bumping this up...
When we were at the wedding in Tahoe, I spent some time asking DH's Grandma about her ancestors. I saved her for last, because I figured she was going to be a toughie, because I knew she was adopted. However, after talking to her, I learned that she had her birth parents names. Her birth mother, died shortly after she was born, and her birth father later that year. Since we are going to be at her house at Christmas Eve, I really wanted to find something to show her. So I pulled out the folder yesterday. What I found, was that she had the wrong name for her birth father. Actually, she told me one name, and then said no, it was something else. But I was able to find the cemetery records from where her birth parents are buried. And on ancestry.com the local newspaper is completely archived, so I was able to find her original birth announcement, her birth mom's death announcement, and property dispensation after her birth father's death.
Once I had the correct name, the census records popped up, and I was able to connect to other's research. It appears, on her paternal side, she is descendant of a Revolutionary War soldier that was ore of George Washington's bodyguards at Valley Forge. That's the type of stuff that makes DH giddy. Several on her ancestors immigrated from England in the early 1600's, 1628 is the earliest. So now I have more books to get my hands on, various histories of communities in New England and Pennsylvania that her ancestors were founders of or prominent residents. That's the part that makes me happy, when there is records of how the people lived, and not just names and dates.
I'd like to find something on her maternal side, before we go up.
How is everyone else doing?