Into the Past: My Road Trip to Scranton

October 01, 2025

Celebrating 300 Blog Posts with My Top Ten Favorites

October 1st marks my 300th Leaves on the Tree blog post. Hooray!! Writing my blog posts is one of my very favorite things to do. I am excited to share my discoveries, family stories, photos, heirlooms, and more. It's always a kick when a cousin, subscriber, or even casual reader comments on a post or finds their own link to my extended family. What could be better than to find connection ? To celebrate this milestone, I've picked my Top Ten Leaves on the Tree Blog Posts . And wow, it's hard to pick just ten favorites. But here they are, in no particular order: What Would You Tell Me, Catherine? My imagined conversation with my second great-grandmother, Catherine Ryan Gilbride. In Periculo Mortis A reflection on my strange baptism. Mom's Chocolate Covered Cherry Caper A favorite holiday story! Family Fun Stories: The Rabbit Another fun anecdote involving my mother and brother. What is a Pickslate? Defining the role my great-great uncle took as an eleven-yea...

I am participating in 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, a writing challenge encouraging genealogy researchers to write about their ancestors. The challenge is hosted by genealogist, blogger and podcaster Amy Johnson Crow.

Here's my post for Amy's Week Eighteen prompt: Road Trip

By Nancy Gilbride Casey

Part preparation, part dumb luck, part generosity of others, part serendipity. These things equal success on a genealogy road trip, in my recent experience. Scranton and Wayne County, Pennsylvania were my road trip destinations in March 2019—the places my Gilbride ancestors first called home in the United States.

Facebook was the perfect medium to share my discoveries while on the road in Pennsylvania, and I reported back each night to my family and friends in a series of posts I'll share here. They create a neat road trip timeline, while capturing the thrill of the find, somber closure, and other emotions which may only come by actually walking where our ancestors trod.