Follow Me on Pinterest
Follow miprofgenie on Twitter

30 July 2010

Uncommon Surnames... Boomershine

Alonidious (1878-1958) Boomershine & his son, Ira Boomershine (1902-1979)
**********
I've heard people complain about having uncommon surnames to research. Me, personally - I rather like having an uncommon surname - like Boomershine to research!

It appears to me, that people have a tendancy to remember you easier if your surname isn't all that common. Frequently in the mail people send me things relating to the surname.

It seems that people associate me with the surname, good or bad... the mail brings obituaries, books and all sorts of things. One lady, who I still get clippings from - rescued a box of photographs - said she was at an estate sale and the lady mentioned she had this box of photo's that she needed a home for. They were Boomershine family photo's. Family feud. Hard feelings. That sort of thing. She thought of me, took the photo's and mailed them to me. Bread box size box! The great photo you see above of Lon & Ira Boomershine was found, labeled with names in that box!


I believe over 85% percent of the box of photo's were identified and labeled by the original owner. I scanned them, contacted the line they belonged to & returned the photo's to the family.

When I first began researching the surname I encountered a lady who had been researching for many years longer than myself. When she was just weeks from dying she called saying that she was sending her materials to me. She didn't think her family would keep her work, no one seemed interested. A few days later it all appeared on my doorstep. Don't ask, she asked that she remain nameless.


I'm not quite sure what it is that brings this on, but I am thankful & humbled that they trust me enough with all these things to send them. I am at times overwhelmed by the trust.


Researching an uncommon surname - Its a very good thing!


Happy Researching!

Karen

3 comments:

Anne Percival Kruszka said...

Give me a different name any time. At least Boomershine is fairly easy. Kleversaat/Klevesaat/Kleesaat/Klesat/Cleasot, etc gives me nightmares.

Jennifer said...

That is a great name! It has a ring to it!
It's definitely the common ones that are harder to research. My Woods, Davidson, and Robertson lines are rough. :)

Mrs. Mac said...

I'm researching my paternal grandmother's maiden name. I incorrectly tied her name with my blog header photo for a few days ... and viola .. the keeper of all the family name info contacted me with a trove of info going back to the 1600's in Denmark ... even evidence of a mistress to a long ago king (LOL).. this distant cousin lives within six hours of me .. so our families have become acquainted. He having emigrated from Denmark has opened up a whole other world of relatives abroad. Thanks for stopping by and commenting on my Thrifty Garden/Home blog ... I'll have to research the mothball tip:)