...following the path...

So with the arrival of Paytan, I have been thinking about my family...a lot. Not just my immediate family but really my ancestors. I have a pretty extensive family on my father's side; many aunts, uncles, great-aunts, great-uncles, cousins (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th).

I thought I had a pretty good handle on names and ages until a recent family gathering for my great-uncle, Joe's (90) and my uncle Dick's (80) birthday. I got to talking with some of my family members and realized that I almost needed to get out a piece of paper and a pencil to keep track of everyone! Enter Ancestry.com.

I went to the web site and signed on for a 14 day free trial membership. Then I started my search. Within 15 minutes I was hooked. I have successfully traced my mother's father's (my grandfather) side of the family back to 1522! Using census reports, birth, marriage and death certificates I have be able to start a family tree that now has 280 people on it! And this is just one side of the family!

My next step is to start tracing my mother's mother's (my grandmother) side of the family. I do have immigration records for my grandmother and great-grandmother from when they arrived in America. I found these records in with some pictures that my mother had. It's pretty exciting!

My mother was the keeper of all information when it came to our family. She could remember names, dates and places not for just her side of the family but for my father's as well. With her gone I realize that I need to step into that role or this vital information could be lost. And Paytan really needs to know about who these wonderful people were and where they came from. Afterall, it is her inheritance......