Ancestry.com found a new way to get more of my money: partner with the State Archives of North Carolina and host a two-day genealogy bash. Since many of my ancestors called North Carolina home before migrating west, I decided it was an opportunity I probably shouldn’t miss. And I’ve been looking for an excuse to visit Raleigh. So off I went.

Today’s sessions were all about researching your ancestors at the State Archives. They have some truly amazing collections and I picked up more than a few helpful pointers. Tomorrow, Ancestry.com takes center stage with sessions ranging from the basics to how to use your DNA matches to enhance your research. I’m especially looking forward to the latter. Attendance tomorrow is expected to be 800 people. Some of them might be cousins!

Raleigh is a charming city and I’ve met some of it’s charming people. We had a long break for lunch today and I happened upon a cafe that served the best shrimp and grits I’ve ever had. Seriously, I was tempted to lick the plate clean and I might have gotten away with it.

Despite all of this, unless something extraordinary happens tomorrow, the most memorable part of this trip will likely be when I picked up my rental car. The man behind the counter inquired as to the purpose of my trip. That’s a standard question. His computer was very slow so my answer turned into a bit of a thesis on my recent research endeavors. I mentioned that I had recently visited “Warren County” to research my German ancestors. I realized after I’d said it that he might not know I was referring to a place in Missouri.

But he knew exactly what I meant. Turns out, he grew up in St. Louis and had friends who lived in Warrenton. His uncle, I believe, had been the sheriff of Gasconade County which is nearby.  A good part of his college years were spent “wine tasting” in Hermann. If it had not been for the line of folks behind me, we might have discovered we were distant cousins.

It is a small world indeed.