My wife and I have just returned from a 10-day vacation to celebrate our 5th anniversary (hence the drought of posts of late). When we returned, I was greeted by a few responses to letters I sent out before our departure. One of these was from a relative I’ve longed to meet in person—my half great-great uncle, Gordy Askew. Gordy has a wealth of knowledge (first-hand and otherwise) about the Askew branch of my family. After all, he’s the son of my great-great grandfather!

I’ve wanted to visit Wadena and to talk with him for years, but over the years I’ve either been too busy or too poor to seriously contemplate a pilgrimage to Wadena. But the time has finally come, and I’m planning my trip. The trip will last a little over a week, and I’ll be going in about seven weeks—in November, 2012. I thought I’d share some of the details of planning such a trip, for others who might themselves be interested in undertaking such a trip to ancestral haunts. To maximize the results of such a trip, some amount of forethought and planning is required. I’ll have one week there, and I want to make the most of it. Continue reading →