ge·ne·al·o·gy

ˌjēnēˈäləjē, noun

1. A record or table of the descent of a person, family, or group from an ancestor or ancestors; a family tree.

2. Direct descent from an ancestor; lineage or pedigree. 

3. The study or investigation of ancestry and family histories.

The Family

A family is a collection of people who are related by blood through a common line of ancestry or marriage.  So when you look at your ancestry, those who came before you, look at the siblings families as well as the direct line when researching your family.

Having a maiden name of "Smith" I already knew that researching my family was going to be difficult. But I actually began doing research with the father's mother, B Hazel Doll Smith, who would never let us use her real first name (Bertha). We would spend hours together going over all her notes and pictures trying to figure things out.  So my beginning into the Genealogy world was due to my Gramma around 12 years of age.

12/26/2014

Now, Smith is still really difficult to figure out, even when you have death certificates and marriage records. I have recently begun my search again for the parents of George Benton Smith, my 2nd g-grandfather who lived and died in Lowell, Massachusetts.  Death Certificates are great for finding out when and how a person died, where they lived and who their spouse was.  But as far as who their parents were is a different matter.  You are relying on the child knowing the real names of the grandparents.  So in this case, when George died it was listed that his father's name was William. But then you find a hand written ledger, unknown writer, that when George got married his father's name was Warren.  So you begin looking for both and find nothing.  Result - still have that brick wall on who his parents are.

I did find information though on another child that George and Mary Elizabeth Barnes had beside my great-grandfather, George Sumner Smith.  I had found two census records that listed an Isadore and a Lillie.  As it turns out that is the same person and was definitely a sister to George Sumner with several years between them.  Lillie did get married but had no children that I can find.  She married a Knowlton and lived and died in Lowell, Massachusetts. 

So I continue to search sporadically since I do find it very frustrating searching "Smith" and hope that someday I will find the answers. 

REFRESH

Today I decided to take down a lot of my past posts.  Whether they were about card making, stamping, family or life I have decided to refresh my life and attitude.

So in summary, my boys and I live together in a townhouse I bought a year after my divorce.  It's quite a drive to work for all of us but it was a beautiful and affordable place for the three of us to live.  Of course we immediately rescued a beautiful lab-pitt named Maggie who has brought us such joy and love to our household.  

The boys have had many new experiences in the last 6 years  more than I thought they ever would have.  From skiing and snowboarding to flying and 3D-printing, they keep themselves very busy.

As for me, I am still doing the same thing I have been doing for 21 years - secretary at a middle school for a principal and vice principal.  Principal's have come and gone, Superintendent's have come and gone and even Business Administrators have come and gone.  Basically I have lost count how many changes there have been.  My office staff has pretty much stayed stable.  Of course when there is a change in the office I am the one that covers all the jobs and trains the new person the various functions in a slow and steady manner.

When I am not working at school, I primarily spend my time doing family history research.  I enjoy reading but have been doing more historical magazine reading for the last couple of years and of course watching tv.  I have a tendency to watch the shows after they aired already so I can do other things at the time the show is on.  I haven't done much stamping and card making but hopefully will get back to it soon. I also enjoy taking courses over the internet that are FREE - The Fall of the Roman Empire is the latest one.

When thinking about what I am typing I have to realize that no one will probably read this because nobody knows I am doing this and no one cares what I have to say.  So why am I doing this - its a place for me to talk to someone other than myself.  Maybe someday, a person will come across my posts and be interested in what I have to say.  So like it or not this will be my platform to talk about what makes me tick.