I have been on this never ending genealogy journey for decades. Recently, however, things have gotten considerably more interesting. Partly because of new computer tools that brings world-wide access to records and kindred journey spirits within reach, and partly because of DNA analysis now available. Still, the journey is mostly a solitary quest, involving a lot of good old gum-shoe labor, constant fact checking, some "where in the h... did that come from" surprises and "dead" ends.
Luckily, along the way I have met close and distant kin and helpful strangers to accompany me. In the past few years my husband William's interest has grown and we try to incorporate family history into our travels. I have learned more history and geography recently than in all my academic days.
So far, the journey has taken me back nearly 1500 years, and there is tantalizing evidence that even deeper dives into the gene pool are possible, at least that is the view of some world-class genealogy gurus that have offered encouragement. Even more fascinating, my husband and I share several historically prominent ancestors at pivotal points during the past 1000 years. Hopefully, future blogs will tease some of these assertions out. Meanwhile, putting a tag of great grand father or great grand mother on a person adds dramatic interest to pages of history, and makes movies like The Lion in Winter "personal."
My desire in creating this blog is to pass along some "discoveries" to children and grandchildren, extended family and interested friends and let them experience this interesting family of ours.
--Jennie
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