Back in the late 1990s, before I had kids, I really got bit by the genealogy bug.  The internet was in its early stages and databases, like the Social Security Death Index, were starting to pop up.  Bulletin boards could be found on various sites and I was able to connect with others who were distantly connected to my tree.  My dad’s sister had shared quite a bit of information she had compiled, and I eventually got my hands on an extensive piece of work one of my mom’s cousins had put together.

Organizing the data had become easier from when my predecessors had done it.  There were computers and family tree software; unfortunately I switched from Apple to Microsoft in the middle and compatibility was an issue.  I had hard copies of everything, so I was back to square one with data entry. Buggy software didn’t help and, after the arrival of my kids, my research took a backseat for many years.  I attempted to get back at it a few times, but other activities lured me away time and time again.

Every now and again, a niece or nephew has a school project involving the family tree, and my sisters automatically turn to me for help.  I have been wanting to put it all together, combining information from both sides, into one document for them.  My biggest obstacle was keeping it manageable.  Finally, a couple weeks ago, I decided now was the time to put this thing together and I had an epiphany on how I wanted to do it.  A couple days later, WordPress announced NaBloPoMo, and I realized taking the blogging challenge could help me get it all together in one place AND keep me motivated to work on it.

So.  Here I am.  I’m dedicating the month of November to developing the stories about those in my direct line.  Some posts will be lengthy, others not.  If you have information to add, please feel free.