Christmas Genealogy Wish List

As we move closer to Christmas, many of the genealogy magazines, blogs, etc. publish articles covering the "wish lists" of professional genealogists. All sorts of technolgy tools enter into the lists. I guess mine is officially technology-oriented and will likely never come to pass.

One of my all-time favorite books and movies is H.G. Wells' "The Time Machine." There you have it. My Christmas wish is for a Time Machine! Portable scanners, I-Pad apps, resource books, subscriptions and what-not would be fantastic, but time travel!!!!!

Imagine traveling back a couple of generations to interview an ancestor! Talk about primary sources. Nailing down source documentation might be a bit tricky. Do you put down the date of the interview as 2012 or 1860?

Here are a few of my "time trips":
[1] Travel back to, say, 1918 Indianapolis, and chat with my mother's family. My grandfather could fill me in on the McHughs, grandma on the Crails. Grandma's parents could answer a few questions on the Crail, Simmons and Crousore families. Interviewing gggm Catherine O'Neill Crail, who came from Co. Cork in 1852 would be a real treat.
[2] Another trip to Indy, about 1830, to visit with my Faucett family. Questions galore for John and Eve Faucett! Was John really captured by Indians? Where and when did they get married? Was Thomas the son of John and Eve, or was John married before? The list goes on!
[3] I'd remain in Indiana about the same time to visit with my Crousore and Smith ancestors. I'd be able to find out who John Crousore's wife was and straighten out the Smith lineage.
[4] An 1860ish sojourn to Madison Co., Missouri to chat with my Wagner family from Baden.
[5] A visit with my Wolary family about 1870 in Ohio: Where was gggm Margaret born? Who was her grandmother on the Hubbard side? When did her mother die?

There are a lot of stops that I would like to make. Some might be tricky if period clothing wasn't available [visiting Salem, Mass. in 1692.] Travel outside of central Indiana might be difficult, if, as Mr. Wells proposed, the machine remained in the same place, but in yesterday's time.

There is my Christmas wish - a time machine. Once my travels are completed, I would be more than willing to loan out the machine - for a price! :)-