Welcome to my blog!

Oh I sighed long and hard before I began this blog. I swore I would never have an "online diary", and a lot of the blogs I had come across, the person had some skill they were willing to share with the Internet world, or they were just complaining about everything they don't like, and just used their blog as a way to project their negativity out into the atmosphere, or start Internet arguments. Other's had created blogs to keep their relatives that live across the country in the loop on their growing families. And some have profound and insightful thoughts they blog to give inspiration to others.
  Well, I am not profound, and have no skill to share with all you wonderful people out there.  I really don't feel the need to spill my guts anonymously or get you riled up with a 60 paragraph post on why I hate Obama.  So it was pretty cut and dry.

   I WAS NEVER GOING TO HAVE A BLOG. EVER.

 Ah, what a hypocrite I am. :D

 
I toyed around with an idea in my head about having a blog for genealogy. So I can document the process as I go along. It's Original! It's Ingenious! And it wouldn't REALLY be a "Blog" kind of blog! Perfect!

       

  Yeah. Not so much. 

  Ingenious, sure... for the person who originally thought of the idea. (Turned out it wasn't me. Sad face.) But that was a good thing. It gave me motivation to know I wasn't the only one out there with the idea of blogging genealogy. That maybe it really would be useful.  I was able to snoop around on the hundreds of other genealogy blogs and be inspired. It was great!

    But the main reason I wanted to do this was for family. Close and distant. Whether in miles or lineage. That's what really got me to start this. I know not all the family shares my obsession with genealogy, but I think everyone can admit there's something neat about finding where and who you came from. Not just their names, but who they were and the impacts their lives may have had.

  It started at Ellisisland.org. Nearly 10 years ago. I found my great grandmother's ship manifest. It was over. I was hooked. In the time since, it's been an off and on affair until a year and a half ago. I really began in earnest to document our history. I've learned a lot since then and met a lot of wonderful and kind people in my searches. Distant cousins who find as much joy as you do in exchanging pictures, death certificates, newspaper articles, and stories.  I began to search lines I really never thought much about, and out of that came some of the most exciting discoveries in our familes' histories. My mother invested in an Ancestry account for me so I could keep researching her line. And what an amazing line that has been! Finding those genealogical gems, as I call them, are what feed the genealogy addiction.

    I have much more to learn, but this is a learn on your feet as you go kind of thing.

  All of that brought me to this, my stories of stalking dead people. And for your information, stalking is completely legal if the person is dead.

   I hope you look around and come back often. Leave a note and let me know you were here! I'd love to hear from you - family, friend or stranger. :)