March 15, 2019
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Happy Spring, yet I bemoan that I am barely able to keep up with the ever so many e-mail and Facebook messages, AND keep up with the demands of producing these Thayer genealogical volumes. Now you may think I am complaining, but I really am not. I absolutely love being able to help so many people, yet I worry that some may become frustrated that I am unable to respond to each as rapidly as I would like to. With this being said, I am hoping that everyone will forgive me and have patience that I will get to each request for information as I am able.

Facebook has been such a blessing, not only to me, but hopefully for all who participate in my “Thayer Family Historian” group there. I so love that I am able to have an “outlet” where all who have need of friendship, kinship, encouragement, common ground and understanding can turn to one another. It has been very rewarding for me,

and I hope so as much for others as well.

I have been working diligently on Volume IX (9) since the day after we got Volume VIII (8) off to the bindery. It has been quite time consuming going through each family each name, verifying the research work which I performed decades ago, long before Ancestry, Find A Grave, FamilySearch and other services were available right in the comfort of my home. I have spent a considerable effort in this volume to search out the parents of the spouses of Thayers, burial information, and also the children of Thayer daughters for inclusion in this volume. For decades, I would travel hundreds of miles from our home in the Portland, OR area to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, and spend all of the institution’s open hours extracting vital, census and other records for Thayers all over the country.

Here is where I would like to tell you about FamilySearch.org. I have been asked a number of times about what genealogy computer programs to use for the computer. FamilySearch.org is not only free, there are also some really “cool perks” that can be used with it. Have you heard of RelativeFinder? Once you have entered your family’s genealogical information in FamilySearch, you can connect with the families whose information has already been entered there by others, which often takes your lineage back for scores of generations! You can then go to FamilyFinder.org and follow the direction by signing in with FamilySearch.org, and from there you can view incredible connections to your ancestors and other family members which may include Mayflower passengers, America Presidents, Authors & Poets, Composers, Constitution Signers, Declaration Signers, Entertainers, European Royalty, Famous Americans, Movie Stars, plus more options to filter your search by. It is great fun to learn of these connections! While working through this verification process, I am pleased to be able to merge duplicates and make many corrections in the information which others have erroneously entered into FamilySearch.

In recent years, hubby Don and I attend a world class conference; we spend much of our time looking into new products to assist in our Thayer Journey. When we do not find a solution, we then attempt to discover a way to lengthen our ability to continue to use what we have found to work for us. While at times the publishing process has been costly, we have been able, so far, in not passing the cost on to our Thayer family.

We were privileged to attend the 2019 RootsTech conference in Salt Lake City a week ago. It is totally mind-boggling how this has absolutely exploded with people coming in from all around the country, and some from foreign countries to learn more about how to connect with their families. Alex Haley really stirred up the drive to know who our ancestors are since his 1976 Roots: The Saga of an American Family. I see now where RootsTech is starting to have conventions in other parts of the world. In addition to the remarkable classes that are offered, the large arena was totally filled with vendors’ offerings of helpful tools and programs.

I need to mention here that there are very few copies of Volume VIII (8) remaining left unsold, and I will likely be taking orders for a second publishing. Copies of Volume VII (7) are all sold out, and it would be helpful to know who would like to be on a list for a second printing of that volume. Hopefully I will be able to reprint Volumes III (3) and IV (4) in the not-too-distant future. Over the past decades my husband Don has guided me towards new technology which attempts to remain on the cutting edge of publishing and research. This all translates into being able to return to press with little effort and problems. Sometime it means always seeking out high-tech individuals who can be of assistance when problems arise and as software changes and technical limits are reached, and programs no longer can meet our research boundaries.

Farewell to a long hard Winter! Now is the time to start making plans now for our get-together at the 2020 National Thayer Families Reunion in Portland, Oregon. Everyone you know is looking forward to this grand affair. It will certainly be a memory-making experience for all.

See you all in 2020.- Cousin Patricia