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Like many of you, I have a passion for genealogical research. My interest in the subject grew over many years.  While I love history and have always been interested in the colorful characters in my family .... it wasn't until I fell into the family historian role that my interest really started growing. 

The last couple of years I have watched my grandparents deteriorate and know time with them is short.  My grandma (despite being 87) has a mind like a steel trap and remembers every little detail about our family history.  In all the years I've listened to the stories, the facts have never deviated once.  She can tell you the exact time, day and date that something happened.   It truly does amaze me - especially, since I can't tell you what I did last week!

I know that once my grandma is gone, every fact and story she knows will be gone too - unless I capture it first.  So I have been working feverishly to capture every detail, fact and story I can about our family before she goes. I've also been working to scan every photograph, slide, and negative our family has into my computer so that I can add them to stories and share them with other family members.   Of course, part of capturing my grandma's knowledge is having her help me identify people in the photos.

Though time consuming, the whole experience has been a joyful one for both of us. I'm constantly entertained by exciting stories of the colorful characters in my own family and my grandma gets to share those precious memories with somebody who is interested.

My interest in genealogical research has also been helped by several clients who are researching their own families.  I fix computers by trade, and from time to time, I get called out to help my clients with software problems they're having (which often involves genealogy software).   One day, one of my clients called me over "to help with his computer"  and when I arrived, I discovered he wanted help with his genealogical research.  He actually paid me to do his research for him!   That was it!  I was eternally hooked on genealogical research from that moment on!

As a result of doing research for that one client, I have learned a lot about using sites like FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com as well as how to search the internet at large for specific information. My goal is to share what I've learned here in hopes of helping others research their family history.

If you love history and enjoy hearing stories, searching your family history is a worthwhile goal.  In addition to hours of entertainment, searching your family history can also be helpful in understanding your family's medical history.  So what are you waiting for?  Why not start today!