Genealogy Twists and Turns

It hasn't been all that long since I began my quest to find out about my ancestors. I began my research in April 2001 after reading "Netting Your Ancestors" by Cyndi Howells. I was still fairly new to the internet, so the book was a huge help in pointing me in the right direction to begin my research.I decided to begin my search with my GERTNER and SCHNELL families. When I was attending college I took a course about researching your Family Tree. While my end results left a lot to be desired, the one smart thing I did was to keep my notes from the interview I had withmy maternal grandmother at the time I was taking the course.That meant I needed to look for websites for Ohio, in particular for the City of Piqua or the county of Miami. I found a website right away and visited the various parts of the website and all of the links provided. I found other GERTNER and SCHNELL listings and while I was not sure about the SCHNELL listings I found as my grandmother had told me her grandfather'sname was John SCHNELL and I could not find any John SCHNELLS, the GERTNER listings looked VERY interesting!All of the early GERTNER listings said that the individual had been born in New York. This was my one main clue as I knew that my great grandfather and his siblings had been born in "downstate New York". It all looked very promising, but I needed more information to confirm my suspicions.I decided that I would follow the SCHNELL information further when I found a link for an email address to the local library. THIS was by far the BEST decision I could have made! The history librarian wrote me back and told me that while she could not find anything on a John SCHNELL, she could did have information about a Mathias SCHNELL whose wife and children were the very same as my grandmother had given me. She told me that she could send me photocopies of what she had and I gladly accepted. That led me to a second cousin who very kindly gave medocument copies and reports following the family back into the 1600's!For certain that was a huge find and so early in my research at a time when I was still learning genealogy basics. And even though it is almost five years now since I began my search and I have gained considerable knowledge, I find that there is always more to learn, a new way to look at things.Never overlook an opportunity to contact a library or other resource center that may have information that will assist you in your research. Be as specific as possible in what you are looking for and provide any additional data you have that will assist in a search. Some libraries may charge a fee for this service, be sure to find out first.