As I write this, I’m waiting for a case of wine. If not for a delivery hiccup, this would be a complete surprise, but I was forewarned by the sender this time so the second attempt would not go astray.
The reason for the wine? To thank me for research I did for a friend of one of my cousins. She contacted me last month hoping to track down some maternal cousins to surprise her mother at Christmas, and fortunately, I was able to assist.
Oddly, this is the second time I’m welcoming a case of wine (yes, a case) into my home for poking around in someone’s family tree to solve a long-standing riddle, and that got me wondering about the gifts my fellow genealogists have received. I’m not talking about paying clients, and of course, most of us routinely get thank-you emails (I hope!) when we lend a helping hand, but what else has come your way? In addition to the simple satisfaction of using your research powers for good, what’s the most unexpected “I appreciate your sleuthing” bonus you’ve ever received?
Photo Credit: © Steven Cukrov
I once received a bag of wild rice as a thank you. My best ever thank you is when someone I helped pro bono purchased an original 1880 plat map of a Dutch settlement in the US for me.
a bag of rice?? there must be a story there! would love an original map like that!