Knowing Your Neighbors

I've heard it said in genealogical research that one should pay attention not just to the family you're researching, but to their neighbors as well, who often turn out to be family members. I'm also reading Buzzy Jackson's book, Shaking the Tree: Blue Bloods, Black Sheep, and Other Obsessions of an Accidental Genealogist, and Jackson emphasizes the same point a couple of times. Nevertheless, a basic genealogical research tip I should be well aware of came sneaking up on me.

So last week I mentioned in my post on mapping Windyside that one of Richard and Adeline Greenleaf's neighbors with whom he agreed on the situating of the residences was Henri Braem. I found out recently (well before writing the post last week, but still recently -- within the last month) that the Braems were in fact relatives of the Greenleafs.

My research into Adeline Emma Stone Greenleaf's family has focused almost solely on the Stones - her paternal line. Mrs. Henri Braem, nee Emily M. F. Bridge, was Adeline Greenleaf's aunt -- the sister of her mother, Adeline Bridge Stone.

I really haven't paid much attention to the Bridge family, but they've recently sucked me into a bit of a research challenge which I'm greatly enjoying. But that's another post (or several).

So what's my point here? I'm not sure there is one, but there were a few related things niggling at my brain that I needed to put down:

1. Windyside
2. A recent connection with a distant relative through the Bridge family
3. Buzzy Jackson's book and the tip on neighbors

I guess I feel like the connection to the Braems is something I should have mentioned in my last post, since I knew about it, but failed to take in all the details of what I was writing about. I'm not sure I'm explaining myself very well, but maybe this is enough of a mental jolt so I'll remember to take a better rounded view of the individuals next time.