Hello and Welcome to C Day! Name: Cora Mae Gill Vital Information: Cora was born on 16 January 1874. She died on 12 July 1894 in childbirth with her first and only child, my great grandpa Philetus. Relation to Me: Paternal 2x great grandma. Tidbits/Characteristics/Commonalities: Cora and I were both young moms (she 20 and…
Tag: genetic genealogy
A to Z Challenge: Benoni
Hello and Welcome to B Day! Name: Benoni Of course, right out of the gates on Day Two, I cannot find a single direct (proven) ancestor whose first name begins with B. Goodness. So, instead of first name, we’re heading all the back 250 years (!) to reach a B middle name. Vital Information: Francois…
A to Z Challenge: Arthur
Hello and Welcome to Day One: A Day! Kin Name: Arthur Cloutier Vital Information: Born 5 April 1923 in New Hampshire, USA to Camille and Delia. Died 5 March 2010 in Connecticut, USA. Relation to Me: Paternal Grandfather Tidbits/Characteristics/Commonalities: While I did not have the opportunity to meet Arthur due to his death before my…
My NPE Experience on the DNA Surprises Podcast
If you have experienced an NPE event, I imagine you know how earth-shaking it can be to have the very fabric of your being ripped apart and woven back together into a 3-D tapestry with brand new threads. Had you asked me in 2019 if I thought I might talk about the whole experience on…
A to Z 2025 Challenge Theme Reveal: Kin
In order to kick start my new site and find my genealogy groove again after a few months of focusing on a single ancestor in my free time, I’ve decided to challenge myself by participating in the 2025 A to Z Challenge. This will be my first time participating in such a challenge and I…
Folding Time on a New Platform
If you’ve been around for a while, you might notice that the site looks a bit different today than it did last week! That’s because, after two years of genealogy blogging on Squarespace and micro-blogging on Instagram, I’ve decided to switch it up and move to WordPress. Why is that? Well, while Squarespace offered an…
DNA Testing & Sibling Season
Sibling Season falls in the space between Winter and Spring and is roughly eight weeks long. It is the space between one gifting a DNA test to someone, that person taking and submitting that test, and their results being published to the site.
No matter why the test was given or taken, statistics show that surprises are more common than many of us would like to believe.
Heritage Journal – Intro & Pedigree
Welp, after a nasty bought with COVID and a little recovery/catch up time, I finally carved out a couple of hours to sit with my new heritage journal, write out a few words on the first two pages, and complete the first spread! I’m quite pleased with how it turned out.
What all does it include?
-
Photos of Scotland, England, and Ireland (the lands of the majority of my Ancestors)
-
A map of Santa Fe (where I was born and raised)
-
A DNA helix
-
A copy of my pedigree through my 2x great grandparents…
Integration & Healing Through Creative Journaling
It’s been a little over three years since I confirmed my biological father and half of my genetics…
Since I found my three half-siblings…
Since I learned so many details about so many strangers who I never knew existed and who are my kin.
I spent months upon months talking to siblings and aunts and uncles and cousins…
Gathering data and facts…
Staring into photos and details
Looking for all of the pieces of a massive puzzle that I hoped would come together succinctly to make it all of this history make sense in my head and my heart in present time.






