Genea-Musings posted a Saturday Night Genealogy Fun post asking the question: What event or person inspired you to start your genealogy research?
I started doing genealogical research on my family in my sophomore year in high school (1994). During the previous summer, I attended my paternal grandmother's family reunion where I had received a tree full of names. I wondered if anyone knew more about these people. What did they do? How did they meet? When I started school, my psychology teacher mentioned that she was into genealogy (I had no idea that's what this art/science was called) and she wanted to start a Genealogy Club. So, I gathered the names and recruited some folks and served as President for 2 years (until she left and we couldn't find an advisor).
I think what really hooked me was the trip to the National Archives. We didn't have the wealth of genealogical resources on the internet that we do now and I had no idea back then how fortunate I was to live 45 minutes away from the Archives (wish I lived there now...Houston is SO far). Anyway, I found my family names in the Archives and there, in the census, my first questions were answered: my great grandfather was a sharecropper. He couldn't read or write, but his grandson had a scholarship to a university and his great granddaughter would eventually go to MIT.
That trip was inspiring for me. I've been doing genealogical research ever since then. Every year, as more documents become available, I learn more and want to go out and find more. I've found cousins and documents that tell stories about my family that were long forgotten. In those stories, I see my past and my future.
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I started doing research in 2004 after my father past away. I was always curious about our cherokee roots and the fact tht it only seemed like his sisters and borther were are only Mackey family. I found that to be untrue when I accidentally sat next to my grandfathers nephew( he looked just like him)he had a different last name- so I had an opportunity to meet 2 cousins. I have gathered lots of info on my own and am still researching it is fun and tiring at the sametime. I am hoping wehn I go meet my cousins for the 1st time that they have obituatries to help me piece soem info together. The different name spelligns and dates are the hardest to overcome. My great great grandparents have differenct spellings for their names and different birthdates- lets not forget the indian side of the family.
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