My day started with a brief but lovely call from my Sweetheart. I needed to go a bit early to the Library to set up the in service lesson I was giving, so my 7:25 we needed to say Goodbye.
After prayer meeting and in service I worked on an indexing batch and got that submitted. Then I did another training module quiz. I helped only one guest, but he precipitated an Elijah moment. He came with a puzzle--family records of his surname line which led to a location in Baden, and confirmation of that including microfilm numbers. But another record from a FamilySearch source showed someone with the same name and the same father's name from a small location about 30 miles away that took the pedigree back several more generations.
We checked out the marriage record on the microfilm, and the film quality was not very good. I could not read all of the writing included with the father's name, and I suggested we needed to put it on a film reader with a magnifier. However, I let myself get distracted from that with the idea that we needed to check out another film from the second place for a birth record.
We were unsuccessful in finding any record except the marriage record. There seemed to be no evidence of a connection between the family records and the FamilySearch source. The guest's wife was working with a more experienced missionary, and I suggested that the guest might want to see if she had any further ideas.
About half an hour later I checked back and the guest had left but his wife was still working. A thought came to me [that is where the Elijah moment occurred] that we had not looked at the marriage image magnified. I decided to get the microfilm and take a look--and sure enough. The father was designated as having come from the location 30 miles away!
The guest's wife was still working and the couple had cell phones, so she tried calling him, but service in our basement location is less effective. She allowed me to take her phone and go outside where I was able to reach him and let him know the evidence I had found. When he praised me for going the extra mile, I told him "I am not all that good--the Spirit would not leave me alone!"
I was able to make a copy of the record and I highlighted the name of the town, so I had that to give to him. We located a film from the location, but were unable to find a birth record, and the couple had to leave. As I mentioned to him, his people came from the same area as some of my ancestors.
As it turned out, I spent half of my research time researching in that same area. I think I will just be merging records, not really finding new people to add to my lines, but that is an important work in this time. I am glad to have the opportunity to be here where I can look at original records and make photos to attach to the records of my ancestors.
Once I got back to the apartment I did a little more rearranging in my apartment; watched and listened to a great version of one of my very favorite hymns, "If You Could Hie to Kolob" [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OdUBvB3Ots&list=RD7OdUBvB3Ots#t=0]; cooked some dal, an Indian legume; and cleaned up the kitchen. It has been another good day!
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