About

Hello & Welcome!

Who in the world am I?  I'm Elizabeth.  I am a twenty-something with a serious obsession with my family genealogy.  I absolutely love reading about characters who live in a different time, a different place, but share my personality traits.  I get caught up in the whirlwind of learning about a person that existed, and because they lived at one time, I am here today.  

I currently live in Indiana with my husband, Travis.  He is a vivacious, fun-loving twenty-something.  I have adopted the responsibility of starting his journey into his ancestry.  We married on February 24, 2010 - and no day is every boring.

How Did I Start, and Why Do I Continue?

I have been very blessed to be born into a family that always thought genealogy was important.  My parents have been involved in our family genealogy for as long as I can remember.  Growing up, I never thought anything of it.

When I was in middle school, I had to do a project that required all the students to put together a poster that traced back 4 generations of their family ancestry.  As I was putting this poster together and coming up with interesting facts to tell my classmates during my presentation, I saw the spark in my parents' eyes.  I became fascinated by these strangers I had never met, but sacrificed a lot so that I could have what I do.  Strangers that lived in a completely different time, but shared my personality traits and my physical appearance.  I would visit my great-aunts frequently and watch as they became young again when they told me their childhood memories.  I also interviewed my neighbor once about his life, and I created a book for a class project about his life.  I gave him the book after my presentation was done, and seeing all of the pictures and reading the stories made him feel so special.  I knew then that a person's story is a small part of history.  It defines who they are and builds their character.  Characters in a book or a movie were fictional.  Meeting a person who had clear memories that they could describe to me was much more entertaining because it was REAL.

I grew up.  My neighbor passed away in his 90's, and his family showed my book at his viewing and funeral.  That little book I made became a bond that they could hold onto.  It became a piece of their father, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle, or cousin that they could keep after he was gone.

I didn't fully get it until my dear great-aunts and great-uncles passed away.  What I would do to hear their voices again, to hear their laughter, to see their face just one more time.  The older I get, the more I realize their voice fades away in my memories.  When I pulled out our family pictures, I was able to relive one more moment with them.  When I watched the family videos, I could hear their voice again.  It brought back memories of my own childhood that I loved.  I could remember the smells.  I could remember the way the air felt during that season.  I could remember other memories that were not captured on camera.

Sitting around with my family, talking about our memories - we no longer felt a need to cry for our losses.  We missed them.  But to think of all the great memories we shared, we could only smile and laugh.  It was bonding with my family who are still with me.  You could feel the love we all shared.  It keeps our family close.  Like branches on a tree, we grow in different directions yet our roots remain as one. - Anonymous 

I want my future children to know who they are.  I want my children to know that a temper is something we all had.  I want them to know that they will always have a home, and a family bigger than they could ever imagine that will love them and help them when they are in need.  I want them to know their looks are not meant for whatever cruel words or thoughts or fashion statements succumb them to.  They look like the love of a thousand generations.  They look beautiful.  They are a product of a thousand loves.  I want them to know what this family would do for them, and what their family has done for them before they were even a twinkle in the eye.  I want them to know their identity - to know where they come from - and know that while our family may not always be physically present, they are always watching out for them and sending their unconditional love.

So this is why I do this.  To gain validation for myself into who I am.  To understand the sacrifices that have been made.  To understand why I am the way I am.  To know where home is.  To know that I will always have angels watching over me.  And to know that my children will have the same validation and understanding of who they are.

Plus, genealogy is too much fun.  I hope you enjoy my findings as much as I do.

The Promise

I have great respect for my family members.  With advancing technology and having a blog available for anyone in the world to see, it can be nerve wracking to share family stories and genealogy with so many people.  Granted, majority of this information can be found through public documents.  However, due to respect for my relatives and their privacy, I made a vow to never expose them without their permission.  No pictures, names, location, or information will be posted about any living family member without their consent.  Specific family stories and details will be kept between the family and not shared on this blog.  This may cause some information to get lost, confused, or omitted from certain posts.  I apologize in advance to my readers and followers.  Due to my respect for my relatives, I will not share information about any living family members without their consent.


Want to Contact Me?
You can send me an email anytime!  I'll gladly talk up genealogy!  You can also comment on anything you'd like.  I do monitor my comments.  I will not appeal to any sales stuff though - or spam.  If that's your goal, I can tell you right now that I'm not interested.  This is my hobby and I love to meet new people who share my passion for genealogy.