Friday, November 26, 2010

A "Surprise" Document

Two weeks ago, my husband brought the mail in and handed an envelope to me. I looked at the return address, "New York State Department of Health? Huh. I wonder what this is?" My mind goes to to the usual answer "junk mail", but my husband, without missing a beat, says, "Hey, I bet it's that death certificate you ordered a few months ago!"

And he was right. Inside was the death certificate of Frederick Eckam. I ordered the certificate back in August, so it took just under three months to get here. I've heard stories of certificates taking up to six months or even longer, so I was very, very pleased to get it so quickly.

I forgot that I had ordered a death certificate (one that finally - FINALLY - links two huge portions of my research together) - does that make me a bad genealogist or the most forgetful person on the planet?

As much as I enjoy the holiday season, I can't wait for everything to be over and January to come around so it's quiet again and I can finally start organizing my desk and filing these new discoveries the correct way.