Personal Sentiments about Wyoming



As this past month I have reflected on facts and information about Wyoming and where our ancestors lived in Wyoming, I thought I would share a few personal experiences about Wyoming.

My first research trip was magical as I learned about my father’s childhood and where he grew up.  He came to life as he told stories and recounted valuable memories.  It was a beautiful trip.  My father and I scoured the Rock Springs cemetery for hours.  I didn’t know where any records were kept or what I was doing, but I dove right in.  From there I learned where the newspapers were kept, where marriage and court records were kept and where I could find photographs.  I did not give up, even when deterred by complacent or uninformed employees or volunteers.  I asked questions, I persisted and I searched for leads to other records.

My husband worked for, what was then, Utah Power and Light and he had an opportunity to bid on a job in Kemmerer, Wyoming.  I was thrilled.  I had been doing family history work for a couple of years and the thought of being in the same area just delighted me. 

While living in Evanston, Wyoming, I would send my husband off to work and my children off to high school and then I would trek to the county court houses, libraries, museums, cemeteries, and other depositories in Lincoln, Uinta, and Sweetwater County.  I loved those places.  I loved losing myself in genuine on-site research.  What a thrill to find a newspaper article or court record.   I lived for my family history day-trips.

I also met relatives at Aunt Lettie’s funeral.  I kept in touch with those relatives and met with them during my trips to Rock Springs.  Kathleen, in particular shared many memories, pictures and other valuable documents.  We were instant friends and could talk genealogy for hours!

While on one research trip to Kemmerer, I unexpectedly met a second cousin at the local library!  I have walked up and down the rows at the Kemmerer and Diamondville Cemeteries and search and copied cemetery records--this was before findagrave.com and before the Lincoln County Historical Society had the headstones online. I searched the Kemmerer Coal Company records in the basement of the museum and I  flipped page after page in the county courthouse looking for marriages. 

I still go to Wyoming, less frequently now, but none-the-less, the thrill is still there as I pull into town and begin my research.  Now, as I walk the cemetery to look for a grave, I am amongst many familiar graves and I know the people buried there.  Even with Findagrave.com, I still love to visit the cemetery.

I love going to Green River, Rock Springs, and Kemmerer to do original research.  Each town in its own special way holds a special place in my heart, sweet memories of my research finds, the secrets of my ancestors lives,  and the dust of my ancestors footprints.

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