I had downloaded digital copies of this book a couple of times, so my seeing it at the Allen County Public Library recently on my group trip was not necessarily going to be completely new to me. While digital copies of books are great, I wanted see an actual copy and make a few quick copies while I had it in my possession--paper sometimes is just easier for me to use.
Imagine my surprise when I opened it and discovered that the library's copy had been autographed by the author! William Aaron Sargent would be a very distant relative, but my digital copies had no such inscription. I didn't take my camera, but fortunately Wanda (one of my trip goers) had her camera and she snapped some shots of it for me.
There is even a note that the library (or someone) later paid $18.50 for the book.
The Sargent genealogy begins with William, the immigrant from England to Massachusetts and continues down until 1895. Unfortunately my great-great-grandfather is only listed as "son" for his father--which is part of what delayed my ability to use the book.
Now that I've broken through on my New England lines maybe I'll make similar discoveries next year on my group trip to Ft. Wayne. I'll be writing in more detail about my research for my newsletter, Casefile Clues.
Sometimes it is still nice to have the actual book!
