ABOUT ME  

Like most genealogists, my interest and expertise developed while I was researching my own family tree. I am a collector by nature and so I was not content to go back merely one or two generations. I wanted to go back as far as possible. I began collecting census records, then obituaries and death certificates. I wanted to find out as much as I could about all my ancestors. I like to make charts and found this to be the best way to keep track of all the information I was finding. I contacted living relatives, mostly 2nd cousins, and began compiling family stories and detailed descendency charts. This began my hunt for even more living relatives. I wanted to find descendents from every line. I discovered I have a real knack for finding 3rd, 4th and 5th cousins. I always secretly wanted to be a detective, but didn't want the danger. Hunting down distant cousins is close enough. There is a certain thrill when you find a long lost relative or ancestor. I made a web site so that other living relatives could find me. They have. They've also been sending me photos and information. All in all I found living relatives from at least 20 different branches. I've even put several relatives back in touch with one another after decades apart. It has become like a huge family reunion. Several cousins have written to tell me that the web site has become a focal point for many small family gatherings, especially at holidays. They sit around the computer and discuss the photos and relatives they haven't thought about for years. It has become a wonderful way for the older members to connect with the younger ones. Family stories that might have been lost are now being shared. My hobby expanded beyond my wildest dreams. The web site is my gift to my extended family. I would like to help you create one for your family.

My special talents

Of all my first cousins, I am the most suited to the task of genealogical research. I have an infinite amount of patience, a strong determination to finish a task, the collector instict, good detective skills and a flair for the artistic. I am internet savvy and computer literate. Most of all, I enjoy the search.

 Web Detective

If I had had to do all this research alone, it would have been an enormous task, but I soon found relatives with large pieces of the puzzle. I found 5 cousins (from 3rd to 10th) who had already worked on parts of my family tree. Since then I have found that most families have at least several people who have looked into their past. Finding them is paramount. There is no point in redoing research someone else has already done. Primarily I search the internet and follow up on information gained from the cousins I contact. Most know at least the names of other cousins. Many know a lot more.

It is especially rewarding to find 3rd and 4th cousins. A 4th cousin shares with you two of your 16 great great great grandparents. Most families have trouble staying in touch with 1st and 2nd cousins so your newfound 4th cousin will be completely amazed that you've managed to find them. Finding them really helps expand your family tree.

While it is fun to reattach branches to the family tree - our main aim is to find the relatives who have the family records - the documents, photos, the Bibles, or old address books. Even relatives who think they have no information may hold the key to unlocking the past. In my own family I found the son of a half brother of my great grandmother. The only thing he remembered was that he had been told that his father (who died when he was quite young) had been buried in a certain cemetery. I checked and it turns out that his grandfather (my 2x great grandfather) was also buried there. From that I was able to get my 2x g grandfather's date of death, then his obit and death certificate, and from that his fathers name (my 3x great grandfather). I'd been searching for this information for several years. Tracking down these 3rd cousins can often lead to info you'd never find elsewhere. I've become quite adept at finding cousins and consider this one of my specialties.

There is a lot of information tucked away on the internet. If your family had anything written about them, it just might be on-line. I specialize in finding the bits and pieces that make a family history come alive. It gives color to the family portrait.

 Web Designer

I created my first web site for a small artistic venture. I enjoyed it so much I began studying web design in earnest. Before long I was creating a web site for my high school class, a very large genealogy web site for my own family and then sites for friends and now clients. Sometimes a genealogy web site will take on a life of it's own. When I find several cousins willing to share information and family photos we begin cc'ing one another with the information found. It becomes a group search. I act as the coordinator (sometimes I think of myself as the ring master) and information comes flooding in to the e-mail address I set up for the client. The web site is where all this info is compiled. A good example of this is the Burton site. It all started with one very interesting obituary for William Burton. That's all I had to go on. Before long I tracked down several of his descendents on-line and the rest is, as they say, history.

Creating a web site is an art in itself. It is important to create one that is simple to navigate and easy to find. Family History web sites should be fun and inviting. They should be created in such a way that they encourage your relatives to share what they know and to join in the hunt for more information. Where appropriate, I add music to the opening page. A photo album makes a fine centerpiece and maps help your older relatives remember their past. Creative writing and links to points of interest related to the families history make a family come alive. The names and dates are the trunk and branches of the tree, but the photos and stories create the beautiful foliage.

I find it useful to create a mini website for every surname I am researching. They can be linked together or kept separate.

Some family history web sites I have created

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