I was "designated" as our family's Official Genealogist about 20 years ago at a family reunion that I failed to attend. My family took advantage of my absence (and my inability to protest) by a simple nomination and a democratic vote. I had hoped that the responsibility would have fallen at the feet of someone more knowledgeable, with more time - and money. It was quite some time before I actually realized that I enjoyed doing it.

In the last 20 years, I have traipsed down endless dirt roads, spent long nights at the computer and, carting my kids through cemeteries, have run more wheels off baby strollers than I care to remember. I have journeyed thousands of miles across the country, to Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky to find answers, which often, only lead to more questions.

I am driven by the challenge, the hunt, and the familial bonds - gentle whispers from my ancestors who passed many years before my birth, often endless searches for names and dates hidden in the overgrown graveyards of historical data. Someday, perhaps, I will find them.

I was "designated" as our family's Official Genealogist about 20 years ago at a family reunion that I failed to attend. My family took advantage of my absence (and my inability to protest) by a simple nomination and a democratic vote. I had hoped that the responsibility would have fallen at the feet of someone more knowledgeable, with more time - and money. It was quite some time before I actually realized that I enjoyed doing it.

In the last 20 years, I have traipsed down endless dirt roads, spent long nights at the computer and, carting my kids through cemeteries, have run more wheels off baby strollers than I care to remember. I have journeyed thousands of miles across the country, to Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky to find answers, which often, only lead to more questions.

I am driven by the challenge, the hunt, and the familial bonds - gentle whispers from my ancestors who passed many years before my birth, often endless searches for names and dates hidden in the overgrown graveyards of historical data. Someday, perhaps, I will find them.