In my last post, I described how one genealogy blogger’s account of how her grandfather and grandmother met made me think a lot about the importance of preserving family stories for future generations. In the spirit of recording family stories for posterity, I think that I will share my own story about how I met my husband. My boys are too young to understand the story, but there will come a day when they will wonder how their family came to be and this is what I will tell them. It all started when I was a student in law … Continue reading →

Genealogy is the study of family. Usually, it is the study of your own family, unless you happen to be a professional genealogist who is helping someone else do her research. A woman in Montana decided to use genealogy research to file tax returns for dead people. This is not the intended purpose of genealogy research! Shannon Kathlina Grimm, who lives in Montana, decided to do something unorthodox with her genealogy research. She is not a professional genealogist, but she was searching for specific information about people who were definitely not a part of her own family tree. She did … Continue reading →

As I looked for an interesting topic to write about for today, I came across a wonderful story that was posted on a genealogy blog. The story was about how the blogger’s grandmother and grandfather met – a friend had given a young woman’s address to a young man, they began writing letters to each other, and eventually met and got married. I really enjoyed reading that story, and it reminded me of just how wonderful real life family history stories can be. Whether the story is a romantic story, a funny story, a story of a brave hero, or … Continue reading →

A fun part of family history is sharing the stories behind how each person in the family got his or her name. A while ago, I was discussing how my husband and I were having trouble selecting a name for our baby. Our baby naming story for our first son was pretty straightforward. One night my husband suggested a name and I thought that it was just perfect. His name is Dylan James Delaney, and his middle name, James, is my father’s name. I had always wanted to use my father’s name as a middle name if I had a … Continue reading →

With St. Patrick’s Day fast approaching, I have been thinking about and craving some delicious Irish food. Irish food is delicious at any time of year, and this week you can most likely find some of your favorites on sale at the grocery store or on special at restaurants. What kinds of things do people enjoy eating on St. Patrick’s Day? The most popular food on St. Patrick’s Day is the traditional boiled dinner of corned beef and cabbage. It is easy to make, hearty, and delicious. Many people make it in a slow cooker, but it can be prepared … Continue reading →

The Lewis Cooper Junior Memorial Library has a problem. The librarians want to organize the unofficial genealogical section according to the Dewey Decimal Classification. The genealogists who use those books want them to be organized alphabetically. This is a dispute over organizational preference. The Lewis Cooper Junior Memorial Library is located in the city of Opelika in Alabama. There is a feud going on between the librarians and the members of the East Alabama Genealogical Society. This dispute is about a difference of opinion that the two groups have over how to organize the books that are in the unofficial … Continue reading →

Sometimes, the place that your family calls home can have some fun facts associated with it that add interest to your family history. This is one of the reasons that I like family history books – they add depth to the information that is found in family trees. For my family, one of the fun facts about the city where my mother and father were raised as well as the town that they live in (and where I was raised) has to do with Valentine’s Day. Both my mother and my father were raised in Worcester, Massachusetts. My mother was … Continue reading →

Genealogy is a wonderful hobby, and thinking about family always brings up fun and interesting thoughts. At least it does for me. Today I was thinking about the work that I do, and how my career path is different than those of my ancestors. You may want to take a break from your research to think about this fun topic. First, I thought about my parents. My father is now in management, but when he first started out, he was a lineman for the same company. This means that he has an understanding of how telephones work and how to … Continue reading →

Today I was thinking back to last week when my son and I visited my parents for a couple of days. While we were at my parents’ house, I realized that a lot of the things in that house are things that bring back memories from my childhood. Seeing my son interacting with these items as well as exploring the house that his mommy grew up in made me think about how places and things can be important reminders of the stories tht make up a family’s history. In my parents’ living room, there is a child sized rocking chair. … Continue reading →

Today I got a surprise when I went to check my Facebook. My mother in law had added me to a family reunion group that one of her relatives started today. Since the group was just started today, there is not too much information in there yet. I did send a friend request to the woman who started the group so that I can learn more about her and how we are related, as well as crucial details that will determine whether my little family unit will be able to attend the reunion next summer. As with most family reunions, … Continue reading →