They say it is an all-engrossing hobby...one of my second cousin's wives decided to research his family tree....
she did quite a bit of work...found out we had an ancestor called Christian Shank...but now that this thread has got me revved up again, I will go back to her and find out more...
Regarding Christian Shank.....you may find this link interesting.
It's in a book about the History of the Leitersburg District, Washington County, Maryland.
Don't worry about the German Language, it is translated below the list of names.
There are more bits about Christian Shank on following pages, so persevere.
Scroll back to page 136, and start reading under "Millers Mennonite Church" up to "Reformed Mennonite"
http://books.google.com/books?id=0vnvwvIicacC&pg=PA137&lpg=PA137&dq=Christian+Shank+History&source=bl&ots=egaXIqhvpb&sig=ArbH320vytHvDpq6buIN3L-ML4s&hl=en&ei=DTRaSt3JKI6EmQftsc3lAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2Just by reading a few pages, you will learn that a house built in 1820 by Henry Shank was used as a Mennonite Meeting House. There are other mentions of Henry and his wife.....Henry, who lived in Antrim Township, died in 1875 and left $500 to the Congregation. There is also a mention of Frederick Shank.
Quote:
"but this can not be positively stated John Barr Jacob Miller and John Strite all of whom were Mennonites located in the District prior to 1800 and Christian Shank in 1812. Among the most prominent and numerous Mennonite families in the adjacent Districts were the Shanks, Newcomers, Hoovers, Bachtels, Hoffmans, Weltys and Eshlemans." Research is very rewarding, but it takes time and patience. You have to be prepared to spend time reading documents, finding clues and digging back.
What I have found is that many people are impatient....that's why so many of them pay Ancestry.com and other businesses to do the research for them.
It's much more fun, and more accurate, to do it yourself.
I can understand paying someone if you really don't have time and don't know where to start.
I can understand the Companies charging big bucks, they have to do a lot of work. They don't have a magic formula, you have access to the same information they do, if you know where to look.
All I did to find out about the Shanks was put "Christian Shank" in a Google search.
A comparison: yesterday I saw a lady in our local Publix buying cubed ham in a shrink-wrapped pack.
Next to the cubed ham were ham steaks and other cuts. I compared the price......she had just paid 3 times the price to have someone cut up a bit of ham for her.....