Hello, WikiTreers! Although I'm new to Wikitree, I'm not new to genealogy.
In my study of the Layton family tree, I've been trying to carry on where my grandfather left off. The jump back to England is still vague, but there's plenty of interest to look at on this side of the Atlantic. Grandpa and his penpals in the 1930's through 1950's mainly wanted to filling out their applications for Colonial Dames, DAR, etc. and they had to do genealogy the old-fashioned way -- by hiring professionals in New Jersey or wherever who could look things up for them in the Trenton archives or in distant libraries. Because they themselves were descended from different parts of the tree, each would have family information about their own lines, and they traded information.
So I started with some versions of parts of the Layton tree and a lot of notes. At that time the Latter Day Saints had an office in town, and also there was a good university library to visit, with microfiches, Xerox machines, and actual history books! Every 10 or 15 years I come back to genealogy to see what "new" old news has been unearthed. Internet forums and message boards have been wonderful, and lots of websites have posted information for free.
The last time around I focused on Esopus and the Minisink region, especially the Quick, Brink, and Swartwout families (but my notes are not in great order). This time I've been looking at early Monmouth County, New Jersey.
Pauline Layton
