Family

August 25, 2011

Family research has been a passion of mine for many years. I started looking for genealogy records on my grandparents and their ancestors in the early 1980’s. I worked feverishly for several years, traveling backward in time, collecting information on my family. I spent many hours at the North Independence Branch going through countless old books and microfilm rolls in search of census records; birth, marriage and death records; etc. I have talked with numerous family members to collect names, dates, and stories. I followed both family lines back nine generations, from me to the 1770s, which would be eleven generations back from my grandchildren. 

In recent years, I have been trying to move forward and keep track of births, marriages, and deaths within my extended family. I look forward to annual family reunions each year in hopes of collecting more data. I visit with everyone as time allows in hopes of getting each family’s info caught up. I take pictures and beg family members for pictures to add to my pictorial collection of my relatives. 

My Facebook account speeds up my current family research. I now leave a message for a family member and get a quick answer or at least the name of a family member that will know the details on a new baby, a wedding, or a death. Every once in a while, a family member will call or write and ask for information or a picture. I am always willing to share anything I have collected. As I attend a funeral for one of my beloved relatives, I take along any pictures I may have of the dearly departed to share with the family.

I intend to get back into genealogy research and continue the hunt for our family’s origination. I want to find our family in England and Ireland. I also hope to scour the Native American records. Spending hours at the new Midwest Genealogy Center would be a delight, and I would certainly like to find the proof of "where we come from."

Why do I do all of this? I think this is one of the most important ways of trying to keep the family together.  

Diana S.
Blue Springs South Branch