My Great-Great-Grandfather was a Nut.

I count myself among the 25% of Americans not interested in family history. Growing up my mother always told me we were descendents of the guy who fell off the Mayflower. She could have been pulling my leg but the image has stuck with me. I do have an aunt who’s nutty for genealogy so I’ve endured my fair share of your great-great-great-great-great uncle so in so is (insert random old-timey name here) and he married blah blah blah from (insert random French Canadian town here). Makes for some thrilling family reunions. But then we play horseshoes and eat jello so it's not all bad.

I’m glad to not be named Wilhelmina or Hockey Stick or Hashtag. Or have some funkadelic spelling that was never found on a customized toothbrush. That said, mine is in the vanilla category as far as names go. It’s also the most popular baby girl name of 1981. And 82. And 83. Combined with the top 34th most common surname in the US I knew I was in for boat loads of results with an Ancestry.com search. I think I got the whole navy:

503,169 results with first name, last name.
908,271 results with first name, middle initial, last name.
1,001,061 results with first name, middle name, last name.
837,284 results with full three names plus Maine.

Strange that there are more results when narrowing the specifics of a middle name. I did notice that sometimes results were for middle-as-first-name people. This could be helpful when looking up great aunt Susan Henrietta Jones who went by Hetty. When I further narrowed the results to Farmington, Franklin, Maine I still had an abundance of results but no me. There were three listings for a Jennifer Scott born in Rangeley circa 1956. Then there was the disclaimer “Matches below are less likely to be your ancestors, but still might be helpful”. Well, matches above the line weren’t helpful either. I don’t discredit Ancestry.com for lack of info on yours truly. I am not offended in the least.  Perhaps by the time future generations search for my name I will have done something warranting a listing in the database. Or perhaps a different Jennifer will do something fabulous and I can take credit. For now, you can Google my name and find an old Myspace picture of me drinking beer out of a Popple if you really feel the need to waste 2 minutes of your life.

I had better luck looking up a grandparent. A great grandfather to be specific. Helon Taylor. Pronounced He-Lynn for those in the know, or He-Lawn for wayward hikers of the Helon Trail up Katahdin. I never met the man but have been told he was a pretty descent fellow. I also have to admit I did have that small spark of oh hey I know him/budding genealogist when I saw the classic black and white pictures on Ancestry. I found several US Census listings, Birth Record, Social Security Death Index, Military Listings, and a Yearbook photo to boot. Find a Grave navigates externally of Ancestry.com but I am glad it was included as I could there see more photos, a gravestone and read Helon's obituary. I also learned the name of my great-great-grandfather. If you thought Helon was an odd name, how about Almond. Who names their kid after a nut? Maybe Helon was indeed grateful for his moniker, mispronunciation and all, as his sister was Olive. The food theme could have continued - he could have been Grapefruit Taylor.

Maps and Photos of “Maine” were extensive. I particularly liked looking through the baseball cards from the early leagues. Such a history there. Also some great photos and maps of Baxter State Park in the early years.

Excellent resource for the 75%. And the rest of us. It’s a research tool I know local library patrons are using. I have fielded a handful of reference questions about genealogical research, and usually Ancestry.com is part of the answer. Even for those whose ancestors may or may not have been pushed off the Mayflower.

If I have a daughter I am naming her Macadamia. A son will be Filbert.

Happy Reading and Cheers!