I spent some time today at the Rundel Library working on family history. This started as curiosity about my mother’s twin half-sisters who died in the Rochester Orphan Asylum fire in 1901. My mother would mention them often along with the warning not to hide under the bed if there was a fire – apparently that’s how the twins died. I thought I would look up the newspaper accounts of the day to find out more details like what started the fire and how many children died.

What I found was that the fire started from a gas jet left open but was complicated by the fact that it was in the middle of the night and in the winter. This was a time when fire equipment was pulled by horses, and the horses had trouble getting up the icy street.

What I found was an article quoting my grandfather at the horror of having to identify his burned children.

What I found is that uncovering family history is addictive, and that one discovery leads to more questions and more discoveries. I’m proceding just like I am in other areas of my life, step by step, not knowing where my steps will lead, but really enjoying the journey. Is there any other way?

Day 214: 8,110 Steps YTD: 1,924,513 Steps Goal: 2,013,000 Steps