Zachariah Davis

Site updated on 22 Jul 2010 at 11:24:54 AM from woodrough family; 3,889 people

I have collected names and families for more than 25 years. My passion for genealogy started with the Bicentennial celebration of 1976. I read an article in a magazine describing the basic principles of research. The article led me to the library in search of more information; little by little I taught myself to do research.

In the beginning I had no idea how to properly cite sources and consequently, this is the weak spot in my research. Even though my sources are not always given the reader can be sure that every detail is a product of research and not my fantasy. I've never tried to link myself to a certain ancestor, but rather to follow the thread back whereever it led. Hopefully my data will become a starting point for future researcher to use. If I provide useful "clues" then I am satisfied. I certainly urge anyone to check for primary sources.

When I began collecting ancestors, computers had not been invented. I recorded all my information on typewritten sheets printed by the St. Louis Genealogical Society. As computers were being born, I jumped right in with an Atari 800 that did the "magic" of word-processing, but did not have the capability of sorting or processing data. I started writing my family narrative on the Atari only to have to retype it when I finally got a "real" computer. The advent of an early program call Roots 3 was my first introduction to the wonders of database creating. The program cost $200. and was not exactly "user friendly". I spent many hours teaching myself the program only to have a newer version come along with a new learning curve. Eventually "Roots" was bought by "Ultimate Family Tree" and another steep learning curve appeared. UFT was "phased" out by its purchaser "The Learning Company" and seeing the writing on the wall,I ditched UFT and transitioned to "The Master Genealogist" and climbed another "learning hill". Along the way I was so interested in entering my data that I failed to take the time to enter my sources. ( I suppose I will spend the rest of my life entering sources, but for the moment, I hope the reader will excuse me.) Each of my items has a source, and Ihave that information in my files, but rather than delay publishing my data for the family, I've decided to admit my failing and get on with the publishing job. Eventually I will get the sources in proper order. In the meantime, if anyone wants to know a source, please contact me.

You may also notice some "funky" sentences in the narrative. Its not because I don't know how to write, but rather because I failed to learn the built-in sentence structure of the database program until after I'd entered a great deal of data. Over time I'll correct this and typographical errors as well.

No need to notify me about the above items. However, I truly would like to hear any corrections or additions you may be able to make to my data. Genealogy is a never- ending project. I've accumulated what I can and pass it along to the future so that they my build upon it.

Margaret V. Woodrough September 2002