Geneology, I am doing it (I wish!)

I am embarrassed to admit how many months ago I got an email from a distant relative about family history and that I have not sent him any information yet! What a bad girl I have been. Well, last night I was organizing my email inbox and I was reminded of this promise to send information that I have. I really have no clue what I am doing when it comes to researching, so I have mostly relied on census reports and death records for information, but I can honestly say that I have learned that a census report is riddled with inaccuracies. I feel like I should be doing more to correct and research, but part of me knows that can become an all-consuming task that I am not sure I have the energy to maintain! When I got the itch to start on this over a year ago I decided to work on my paternal grandmother's line since that was the only one no one in my family had really done much with yet. I don't have very many memories of "family" stories and with the dynamics of my dad's family there is not really an easy way to go about gathering information from them. There is a lot of family baggage that gets rehashed at those times and it can be a negative experience if I am completely honest about it. Anyways, I do remember that my great-grandmother lived with us when we were growing up in our "Massachusetts" house. I remember her as a grouchy old lady who would swing her cane at us kids if we got too close! I am sure we were teasing her mercilessly, not that I am proud of it, but I want you to know I am sure we deserved what we got...lol. My mom told us a story once that some of our little friends came over to play once and the little boy would stand just far enough away from Grandma Krueger that her cane was just out of reach and then he would try to spit on her! What a terrible little boy, at least I never did anything like that! I have a memory of visiting her in the nursing home when she finally became to ill for my mother to care for at home. I remember being scared of that place with all the tubes and machines and the smells. I will never forget the smell...anyways. I think we had a birthday party there once, but I can't recall for whom? I also remember that my dad "inherited" her old car when she wasn't able to drive any more. That car was the "Grandma Krueger car" and I can remember at least one time when it was broken down in the driveway that I "ran away" to it with my suitcase of toys and peanut butter sandwiches. Grandma Krueger, or Mary Ellen Dean, was born in 1907 in Washington. There were 12 children in her family all together, yet she had none of her own and adopted my grandmother as a baby. I have not really heard too many stories about her in her younger years, but my dad's cousin (the one who "just" emailed me) remembers being told by his dad that "Aunt Mary" had danced with/dated a young college kid from Gonzaga University that was just breaking into the music/singing field... maybe you have heard of him: Bing Crosby! I have yet to confirm this rumor, but I still find it interesting.

So far what I have that I treasure most are some pictures of headstones and old "houses" that the children were born in, a piece of paper that my great-grandmother hand-wrote out the dates of birth/death of all her siblings and her parents, and I actually found online once (and luckily I printed out a copy of it) my great-grandfather William Pollock's (Grandma Kruger's first husband) draft registration card for WWI which he served in. Hopefully I get a little more information and a lot more motivation to conquer this task!

My great-great-great-grandma Ellen Dean (born 1843)