Travels Through the Places They Knew
We weren’t supposed to be here, but Hurricane Helene washed out parts of the Interstate, so we took a more Northern route.
Our original itinerary took us from San Antonio to Nashville on day one—a 15-hour sprint followed by a leisurely 12-hour leg to the house in Baltimore via I-81 (mostly), going through Knoxville before entering Virginia. After seeing the devastation centered in Asheville, North Carolina, we decided to go north through Kentucky and West Virginia instead.
And so, we found ourselves on I-64 passing through Mount Sterling, in Montgomery county, Kentucky. This was the town where my wife’s Wavetop ancestors started their family before moving to Indiana.
Keeping to our pace, we soon entered Boyd and Greenup counties, where my maternal grandfather’s family had lived for three or four generations (depending on which branch you count).
We didn’t have time to stop and look around on this trip, but we have been through the Ashland, Kentucky/ Ironton, Ohio area on a previous trip, and I need to plan a visit to do some research and visit with cousins.
Someday.
After driving past Ashland, we entered into Cabell County, West Virginia, where my Bellamy ancestors (also on my maternal grandfather’s side) settled.
Before I go…
…on any long trips, I feel like I need to learn more about these areas. I need to figure out where the physical records are kept and how I will need to preserve them. Are they in a courthouse, or are they (as they were in Ashland) in a separate room at the public library? Will there be a copy machine, or will I need to rely on my phone to capture images of any documents I find?
I think the first step will be to catch up on the “All About the Place” series and check out what others have been posting while I’ve been traveling.
I also want to visit the big family history centers in Fort Wayne and Saint Louis – where I know they have (at least) the Berlin family history.
But all of this depends on my ability to plan things – so I guess we’ll see what happens!
Mightier Acorns 
Say hello, cousin!