On my first visit to the Family History Library early last November, I ordered eight microfilms: four indexes of the Grundbuchblätter for Vanicek and Schiffer, three sets of Ribnitz parish records, one set of Bridgetown, Barbados birth records, and a partridge in a pear tree. I was told they took about two or three weeks to arrive, so I figured it would be plenty of time for Christmas. I forgot about Murphy's Law.
As hoped for, four of the films came in the first week of December: three of the Grundbuchblätter indexes and one set of Ribnitz records, for 1801-1824. I was all excited, hoping those would have what I was looking for, but the Grundbuchblätter indexes were a bust and though I found Ludwig Beu in the parish records, it only gave me his parents' names without any further information. I needed 1825-1842 and 1843-1861 to fill in some more blanks, including Oma's grandfather Hermann Beu (Ludwig's son). The other problem was that I would be away from the 13th to the 19th of December on a family trip, and I didn't know if the library would be open from the 20th to the 24th. I was starting to get rather nervous, as I only had a week before I left. I joked that they would probably come in the day after we left. I have since learned to keep my mouth shut.
It turns out the four films were back-ordered, and they came in on the 16th, while the library would be closed from the 19th until 4 January. I was laughing while I listened to that voicemail, though probably to keep from crying. I was SOOOOOO close, and yet so far. Between then and Christmas, my only options were what I could find online, but it seemed that someone decided I had stressed out enough and was going to give me a break...
No comments:
Post a Comment