Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Ellen's Questions, Part 1

I haven't been up to posting much lately on my blog, but I'm trying to get back to a regular schedule.  Lucky for me, this week's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun is something I can handle.

Here is your assignment if you choose to play along (cue the Mission:  Impossible! music, please!):

(1) Ellen Thompson-Jennings posted 20 questions on her blog this week.  See Even More Questions about Your Ancestors and Maybe a Few about You (posted 27 June). 

(2) We will do these five at a time, with questions 1 to 5 tonight.

(3) Tell us about it in your own blog post, in a comment on this post, or in a Facebook post.

Okay, here are my answers.

1.  Which ancestor had the most children?  It can be a couple or a single person.

According to a Saturday Night Genealogy Fun post from two years ago, the most children I have in my database for any of my ancestors is ten.  I have information on ten children for Thomas Kirkland Gauntt (1870–1951) and Jane Dunstan (1871–1954), my great-grandparents, and also for James Dunstan and Maria Hilton, my 4x-great-grandparents (for whom I don't have birth or death dates).

2.  How many years have you been working on your genealogy/family history?

I began working on my family history in 1975, so that's 44 years at this point.  I started off by interviewing family members to create a four-generation ancestor chart.  I still have that original piece of paper and the notes I wrote down at the time.

3.  Do you collaborate with other genealogists on your family history?

Not really.  I have met two relatives, both on my mother's side of the family, who were doing some family history research, and they shared their information with me.  To the best of my knowledge, neither one has continued to do so.  Occasionally I have a cousin contact me and ask about what I have found.  I share the information I have and then never hear back from them.

4.  Have you hired a professional genealogist to work on your family history?  Even if it was just a small branch of the family.

My brain is telling me that I have hired someone to do some specific research, but right now I can't remember what it was!  If I do eventually figure out what it was, I'll try to remember to come back to this post and update it.

5.  If you have family heirlooms, what’s your plan for their future?

I have only a couple of family heirlooms:  my great-grandmother's silverplate tableware and my grandmother's china.  I used to have a necklace that was made from the same great-grandmother's ring and a pair of her earrings, but they were stolen.  I also have a few century-old photographs.  That's about it for heirlooms from my family:  poor on both sides.  If either my niece or nephew is interested, I hope to pass these on to them, but that isn't a given.