It’s Labor Day weekend and the traditional end of summer, even though we have several weeks to go before the start of fall. However, it is time once again for Saturday Night Genealogy Fun with Randy Seaver on Genea-Musings.

This week’s topic is one that brings of feelings of frustration:

I can’t believe we are already at the last weekend in August, but we are and the summer has flown by. It’s time for Saturday Night Genealogy Fun with Randy Seaver on Genea-Musings.

He has a different kind of challenge for us this week:

1)  Did you follow a research trail down a genealogy rabbit hole this week?  Tell us about it.

I have to admit, I have “rabbit holed” this week, for genealogy, but not in the way one would normally expect.

I’ve mentioned a number of times that I love to find vintage photos – and have expanded to vintage postcards to and from people who can be identified – and gift these items to descendants of the original subjects. Too often, I find that there is no one today directly related to the people in the photo or who wrote a warm message on a postcard.

I’ve actually spent hours during this past week seeking out inexpensive photos and postcards, but it’s getting harder to find success because it seems many sellers feel their items are worth more than I do!

I don’t understand why sellers are pricing cabinet card photos of ordinary people, in a simple photo that wouldn’t attract collectors, at $20 or more! Photos with pets, Victorian ladies, bicycles, etc. are sought after by collectors. However, a plain photo of Mr. and Mrs. John smith? Not so much.

That’s why I’ve expanded my search to include vintage postcards.

There are times when I check auction online sites and find nothing, but I’ve been fairly successful this week and have been down two rabbit holes in particular where there are MANY descendants.

I get so involved in identifying everyone that I forget they are not in my own family tree!

If it’s Saturday, it must be time for Saturday Night Genealogy Fun with Randy Seaver.

We have a quick and easy challenge this week:

1)  Have you made an ahnentafel report (“name table” in German) recently?  Show us yours!  How did you do it?  Which program did you use?

I am still using RootsMagic 7, so I opened the program, clicked on REPORTS> Lists >Ahnentafel and chose to Create Report.

My Ahnentafel report, minus the index, was only 46 pages long – very short compared to Randy’s report!

Instead of sharing the first two pages, I’ll share the last two pages, which show part of Generation 17, plus Generations 18, 19 and 20. The only reason I have a few lines back this far is because of my colonial New England ancestors, some of whose lines have been proved back to the 1400s through wills.

That research wasn’t done by me, either. These family sketches were published in professional journals like The American Genealogist and the NEHGS’ The Register. I am very lucky to have had others complete some difficult research!

Thanks, Randy, for this week’s challenge.