Family Associations and Reunions
Guest Submitter: Genetripqueen
We ended this trip with a well planned Doane Family Association reunion at the Doane College in Crete Nebraska. A family association can be very helpful in research. There are three bound volumes that were written about the family. Unfortunately, our Jesse Doane doesn’t appear in them. Kira and I have been unable to link Jesse definitively to any of the family lines. Again, we speculate our ancestors went to Canada, where Jesse was born in 1810, after the Revolution because of the Outlaws. The historian was able to show us handwritten notations in her historian’s volume which mirrored our research and let us know we were on the right track.
This reunion had many opportunities for socializing as well as field trips. Since my daughter was with us, we chose to go to the Omaha Zoo. 
We also made a side trip to Lincoln, Nebraska, and generally enjoyed the camaraderie of the reunion. I’ve attended other reunions and have usually planned several days of research besides the reunion. There are varying degrees of interest in doing research at the reunion since many attendees have much written about their lines in the bound family histories.
This first trip was a resounding success. Though I felt guilty that my daughter was bored at times, she entertained herself or helped with research as Kira and I obsessed over the Doan(e)’s. Kira and I have taken other research trips together, and have a very similar researching style. Both of us can get lost for hours in what we’re doing and barely notice the sun going down. I have since found that a research buddy is a rare and beautiful person. In the absence of a devoted researcher who is as singularly focused as I am on one of my family lines, I have developed a penchant for “Lone Ranger” research trips. They have their own charm.
Next: Williamsport, Warren County, Indiana with Kira
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