In depth research into an ancestor can take you a lot of places. For some, there is the need to find out about the places where they lived and/or the occupations that they had. That information can inform the researcher about the reasons for some of their actions and, in turn, provide a better understanding of what they lived through. As someone who loves history, I enjoy trying to picture my ancestors in time and place. I've even been lucky enough to find information written about particular ancestors.
In the case of my ancestor, Thomas Strange, who lived from 1723 to 1784, I was even more fortunate to find something that he had written. He was a nonconformist minister in Kilsby, Northamptonshire, so a learned man. I was lucky enough to find information about him at Dr. Williams Library in London which included some of the sermons he had written. They were long! I wouldn't have wanted to sit through one especially as, according to one of the accounts written about him, he had a speech impediment.
The Reverend Thomas Strange would be an interesting ancestor to write about. At the moment, I'm focusing on another relative. One closer in time. Alexander Matheson, who fought in the US Civil War. There has been a lot written about that war, so the main problem with finding out information is weeding through all that is out there.
There was another aspect to Alexander's story besides the war, however. That was his search for his family, his father and siblings. It was a search that took place from another country because he had last seen them in Canada. It meant that he had to search by mail. Can you imagine? Only, it wasn't quite the mail service we know today. Which leads me to more research, this time about the postal service in two countries during the time of his 40 year search. It's strange the places that family history can take a researcher.
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