Genealogy, inspired!
Well hello there! How the heck are you? Why yes…yes, it is mid-month and I’m just getting around to writing a few planning notes down for of September. Yeah, August was a doozy, between the farm/animal care, my daughter being home from all day every day after eight weeks of summer day-camp, and present life…
Welcome August and a renewed opportunity to reflect on what has been accomplished over the past month + what I intend to focus on in the coming month! July was my first attempt at (officially) laying out three goals for myself and holding myself accountable. Being a Hobby Family Historian and Genetic Genealogist offers a…
My Heritage Journal has been wildly neglected for much of this year. The simple truth is that I’m attempting to begin each ancestor’s spread in order and I’ve just not been ready to dive into my paternal grandma Jean’s spread. Jean was a complicated woman who I never had the opportunity to meet and the…
A little over a year ago, much to my delight, I requested and received my very first Civil War Pension File. At well over 400 pages, the record blew my mind and offered several insights into John Patrick Brogan‘s Irish origins and USA experiences during and after the Civil War. Looking only one generation back,…
As a hobby family historian and genetic genealogist, I sometimes give myself a hard time for not devoting all of my copious free time to the depths of family history research. You know, accomplishing more and more towards that ever-elusive unicorn of a “finished tree” and holding in my hands every document available ever. Those…
Goodness, I just fell right off there once the A to Z Challenge was completed, didn’t I? Apologies. I guess that’s what happens when a hobbyist’s best intentions collide with present time necessities 🙂 Alas, I am still alive and kicking (or up and not crying, if you will) after a May filled with a…
Hello and Welcome to Z Day! The last day of the 2025 Challenge! WooHoo! When I was first thinking about signing up for this challenge, a few ancestors came straight to mind because of their unique names: Orvetta, Permelia, Una, Xainte, and of course, Zacharie for Z. It helped that he is probably the best…
Hello and Welcome to Y Day! Welp, we’ve made it almost to the end of the challenge and so, to celebrate, I’d like to share a few class/yearbook photos for three of my direct lineage kin: My mom, my bio-father, and my maternal grandma. Class photos are such amazing time capsules and though I haven’t…
Hello and Welcome to X Day! Wonder of all wonders, I can, in fact fulfill a direct lineage X name! Name: Xainte du Pont Vital Information: Xainte was born about 1595 in Sanit-Jean-de-Mortagne, Perche, France and died in 1680 in Chateau-Richer (Quebec, Canada). Relation to Me: Xainte is my paternal 10x great grandma. Tidbits/Characteristics/Commonalities: Xainte…