They traveled thousands of miles for a history lesson

How far would you go to find out about your family history?  Deborah and Stephen Jackson traveled more than 2500 miles from their home in Stockton, California, to find information on Deborah's family.  The retired couple had been on the road almost three weeks, traveling to Georgia and up the east coast through New York before winding back through Ohio and stopping recently at the Amherst Public Library.

"We came to Amherst because that's where my family is from originally", said Deborah.  "We've spent our vacation visiting cemeteries, historical associations, and genealogy centers tracing back our own family history."  Stephen's family was mostly from Georgia which led them to a great archives in the Atlanta area where they were able to find clues and fill in gaps in his family tree.

Deborah was very happy when she found the book Amherst Pictorial History by Fay Van Nuys Ott in the library's local history collection.  On page 129 of the book she found a photo of John Ulrich Sr., sitting in his cobbler shop, dated 1920.  "He was my great grandfather", she explained. "I've seen a photo of his house but never this one of inside the shop." 

The Jacksons spent quite a while pouring over books and maps while on the other side of the room, kids took part in the library's regular Wednesday craft activity.  "It makes me miss my grandchildren seeing all these happy little faces," said Deborah.  "We've really enjoyed our time on the road.  It's been a very relaxing vacation."  Stephen is holding a copy of the new book by Arcadia Press, Images of America: Amherst.  Find it at the library or purchase it online.

The Jackson's were traveling in their RV and had to head out to make arrangements for the evening.  Before they left town, though, they headed downtown to take some photographs.  Perhaps one day they'll tell their grandchildren about their journey across America to document their family history and tell them about some of the nice people they met along the way, maybe even the nice folks they met at the Amherst Public Library.

Find more information, including Amherst and South Amherst High School Yearbooks, historical photographs, and one of a kind books when you visit our Digital History Collection online. Also check out some of the Amherst News Times that are now available online.  No need to travel thousands of miles and you just might find something you didn't even know existed.