*****Attention*****
PLEASE DO NOT ADD DEATH RECORDS TO MY MEMORIALS.
Some of these contain family sensitive information.
If you have a death record, obituary, etc and would like some of the information added, send an edit request and we'll figure out how much of the information will be added to the bio section.
If you request an edit, please have a document or link to the document available to back up your change.
I spend an extensive amount of time researching our family history to make sure the information is correct before adding the person to our family tree or find a grave.

The Story Tellers

We are the chosen. In each family there is one who seems called to find the ancestors, to research the family history, putting flesh on their bones and to make them live again; to tell the family story and to feel that somehow they know and approve. To me, doing genealogy is not a cold gathering of facts, but breathing life into all who have gone before. We are the story tellers of the tribe. All tribes have one, and we have been called, as it were, by our genes. Those who have gone before cry out to us: Tell our Story. So, we do, and in finding them, our ancestors, we somehow find ourselves. How many graves have I stood before and cried? I have lost count. How many times have I told the ancestors that they have a wonderful family, that they would be proud of us? How many times have I walked up to a grave and felt that there was love there for me? It goes beyond just documenting facts. It goes to who I am. It goes to seeing a cemetery about to be lost forever to weeds and indifference, and saying that I can't let this happen. The bones here are bones of my bones and flesh of my flesh. It goes to doing something about it. It goes to pride in what our ancestors were able to accomplish and how they contributed to what we are today. It goes to respecting their hardships and losses, their never giving in or giving up, their resoluteness to go on and build a life for their family. It goes to deep pride that they fought to make and keep us a Nation. It goes to a deep and immense understanding that they were doing it for us that we might be born who we are, and that we remember them. So, we do with love, caring and scribing each fact of their existence, because we are them and they are us. Now, it is up to the one called in the next generation to answer the call and to take their place in the long line of family storytellers, to step up and put flesh on the bones of our ancestors.
(Author Unknown)

I have always been one of the chosen, a story teller of my family. I can't remember a time when I wasn't interested in our family history. I'm naturally a researcher. To be able to research something I'm so passionate about is a great experience. When researching to find our family's ancestors, I'm also searching for stories and pictures. When did they live? Where did they live? What was their daily life? What did they look like? What events took place in their lives? Their stories are always interesting. Some just have more stories to tell than others. Some stories get more attention than others because they have the excitement some people crave.
Is it always enjoyable? If I'm honest, no. Sometimes it can be frustrating. It isn't often but there are times I have to take breaks to clear my mind to so I can see more clearly. Sometimes it's confusing. When there are multiple records for people with the same name as the ancestor you're searching for trying to pinpoint the correct person can be challenging. This can be more confusing when there are multiple people in the same family lines with the same name, especially if they were born in the same time-frame. However, the frustration doesn't compare to the excitement once you have those challenges sorted out.
I do this for myself and others in our families that have interest. However, I also do it for all of our family's children. They may be too young to care beyond their grandparents at this point in life. Yet, as they grow older, they'll get to a point that knowing their history will be important.
Finding our ancestors is more than finding a name and a date, it's finding out more and gaining a better understanding of ourselves.

"The Roots that make Us One are Stronger than the Branches that Divide Us."

Author Unknown

*****Attention*****
PLEASE DO NOT ADD DEATH RECORDS TO MY MEMORIALS.
Some of these contain family sensitive information.
If you have a death record, obituary, etc and would like some of the information added, send an edit request and we'll figure out how much of the information will be added to the bio section.
If you request an edit, please have a document or link to the document available to back up your change.
I spend an extensive amount of time researching our family history to make sure the information is correct before adding the person to our family tree or find a grave.

The Story Tellers

We are the chosen. In each family there is one who seems called to find the ancestors, to research the family history, putting flesh on their bones and to make them live again; to tell the family story and to feel that somehow they know and approve. To me, doing genealogy is not a cold gathering of facts, but breathing life into all who have gone before. We are the story tellers of the tribe. All tribes have one, and we have been called, as it were, by our genes. Those who have gone before cry out to us: Tell our Story. So, we do, and in finding them, our ancestors, we somehow find ourselves. How many graves have I stood before and cried? I have lost count. How many times have I told the ancestors that they have a wonderful family, that they would be proud of us? How many times have I walked up to a grave and felt that there was love there for me? It goes beyond just documenting facts. It goes to who I am. It goes to seeing a cemetery about to be lost forever to weeds and indifference, and saying that I can't let this happen. The bones here are bones of my bones and flesh of my flesh. It goes to doing something about it. It goes to pride in what our ancestors were able to accomplish and how they contributed to what we are today. It goes to respecting their hardships and losses, their never giving in or giving up, their resoluteness to go on and build a life for their family. It goes to deep pride that they fought to make and keep us a Nation. It goes to a deep and immense understanding that they were doing it for us that we might be born who we are, and that we remember them. So, we do with love, caring and scribing each fact of their existence, because we are them and they are us. Now, it is up to the one called in the next generation to answer the call and to take their place in the long line of family storytellers, to step up and put flesh on the bones of our ancestors.
(Author Unknown)

I have always been one of the chosen, a story teller of my family. I can't remember a time when I wasn't interested in our family history. I'm naturally a researcher. To be able to research something I'm so passionate about is a great experience. When researching to find our family's ancestors, I'm also searching for stories and pictures. When did they live? Where did they live? What was their daily life? What did they look like? What events took place in their lives? Their stories are always interesting. Some just have more stories to tell than others. Some stories get more attention than others because they have the excitement some people crave.
Is it always enjoyable? If I'm honest, no. Sometimes it can be frustrating. It isn't often but there are times I have to take breaks to clear my mind to so I can see more clearly. Sometimes it's confusing. When there are multiple records for people with the same name as the ancestor you're searching for trying to pinpoint the correct person can be challenging. This can be more confusing when there are multiple people in the same family lines with the same name, especially if they were born in the same time-frame. However, the frustration doesn't compare to the excitement once you have those challenges sorted out.
I do this for myself and others in our families that have interest. However, I also do it for all of our family's children. They may be too young to care beyond their grandparents at this point in life. Yet, as they grow older, they'll get to a point that knowing their history will be important.
Finding our ancestors is more than finding a name and a date, it's finding out more and gaining a better understanding of ourselves.

"The Roots that make Us One are Stronger than the Branches that Divide Us."

Author Unknown