Genealogy Jottings

Because my Dad is still living, I will not provide much detail about his life as I begin documenting my ancestors for this challenge. Suffice it to say that he provided much of the inspiration I needed to become a genealogist.

From the time I received a blank family tree chart when I was thirteen years old, Dad always showed an interest in helping me with our family history. He provided names of relatives I could contact during the early stages of my own research. Over the years he has offered a willing ear for listening to my latest discoveries. As a petroleum landman who spent hours researching land records for an oil company, he taught me a thing or two about using those records.

Dad’s family has lived in America since the earliest days. He descends from Puritan settlers, but he did not know that before I began documenting our family. He has ancestors who fought in all of America’s wars. His family played a part in settling the country over the centuries, and his grandparents came west as homesteaders.

His family story is the story of the United States in many ways. Over the next weeks, I will work backwards in time to tell it, one ancestor at a time.