Genealogy

 Genealogy is the study of your unique family history. It is a personal record of your ancestors -- when they were born and where they lived, who their children were and who they married, and where you belong in your extended family tree. Learning about your family history usually starts at home by talking with relatives and friends, and recording information about your ancestors. You may have useful sources at home such as birth certificates, obituaries, wedding announcements, a family Bible, etc. You may find that others in your family have already done genealogy work, so don't hesitate to ask close or distant relatives if they have already started researching your family.

Once you have exhausted all your genealogical resources at home, you may need to broaden your search with outside sources. Local public libraries are an excellent place to start. Most will have books on genealogy, and some will have genealogy departments. Most state and provincial capitals worldwide have archives or libraries of public records that may be invaluable in genealogical research. County courthouses, city halls and other government centers also are good sources of primary records for genealogists. Most major cities have genealogical or historical societies with archived resources for family researchers. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints operates Family History Centers in many cities to help with genealogical research. Family History Centers are open to all members of the community. Many organizations offer courses on genealogy, and local societies are a great place to make new connections to help in your family history.

        I have been a Genealogist for about 20 years. I have close to 100 thousand names of my ancestors in my computer.  I do all lines of my family and my wifes family as well. I have reams of documents I've collected over the years on both my and my wife's families. Both familys are from the south, my family from North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky. My wife's family is from Virginia.

       You don't know who you'll find among your ancestors, someone famous, someone notorious or a murderer. Look who turned up in my ancestry! I made the chart below for my twin grandsons, who are seven years old to take to school for "Show and Tell" 

This picture is from an article written in a Newspaper in McNairy County, Tn. in 1905.  She was my great, great, great aunt. This was the first picture she had taken of her at the tender age of 108. She died in 1908 at over 111 years of age.

Genealogy Begins as an interest, Becomes a hobby, Continues as an avocation, Takes over as an obsession, And in its last stages, Is a consuming passion.

A Bit of Genealogy Trivia