Senesac Family Genealogy
Researching Your Own Family History
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Researching family history is fun and rewarding.

I started my research with my own family members.  I gathered all the information I could from them and then began to fill in the blanks and confirm the information.  I visited my local library and searched the census records they had for the state of Wisconsin.  I visited the Wisconsin Historical Soceity in Madison, and a small LDS library near Milwaukee. I knew that there were Senesacs in the Mankato, Minnesota area, so I called information and asked her to give the number of a Senesac.  She chosse Dan and it turned out he is the nephew of my grandfather, David Senesac.  He gave me lots of information. My call to Dan prompted me to visit Mankato.  I met my cousin that I never knew existed, and she also gave me information. 

I can't say that calling people out of the blue always works.  I found this out when I called Canada.  Some of them didn't understand English and I don't speak French!  The ones I could communicate with didn't know what I was talking about!  I felt rather foolish.

I must say the best source of information is my computer.  I love visiting the Senesac Family Forum, and I've recently subscribed the Ancestry.com.  I've met so many people and doors have been opened.  That's one reason I started this website.  It's great to hear from you and I know together we can learn about our roots.  Our family has mysteries, love stories, joys and sorrows.  I've learned that we are a strong family and I'm very proud of my heritage. 

 

 

National Archives and Records Administration Web Site:

www.nara.gov/genealogy

Research Tips
 
The most important advice is don't believe everything you read.  I found out the hard way.  Make sure you document everything you find.  If you can't,  just put it on the back burner,  you might be able to in the future.
 
Another tip is to look at every list of names that you come accross.  I've found one Senesac that I never heard of.  I researched him and found out some things about him.  I still don't know exactly who he is, but that's okay.  Maybe someday I will.
 
When everything seems to "dry up", I like to learn about the history of where our family lived.  It helps me understand them just a little bit more.
 
And finally, be careful not to get side tracked.  I like to know who married who, but I try and keep it close to home.  I can branch out later if I feel I need to.

I've also done a little reseach on my mother's side of the family.  Her last name was Smith, and that's a difficult name to research!  But she is, after all, a Senesac by marriage and part of my family tree.  Mom was born in a little town called Ojibawa, Wisconsin in Sawyer County.  Her parents were Rosa Snelson Smith and Charles W. Smith, both origianlly from Iowa.  She, in my opinion and many more I might add, thought she was a beautiful person, both inside and out.  She was a loving mom, such an encouragment to both my brother and I.  She had a great sense of pride as an American, and did what she could during WW II.  I miss her so much since her death in 1973.  She died in Sheboygan, Wisconsin of lung cancer.  She left behind her first and only grandchild, and never knew her second grandchild who was born in 1976. 

 

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Joni Felten
flyawayjoni@aol.com

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