I am a Geneaholic

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Comment by Charles Wesley Smith Sr on July 12, 2009 at 6:30am

'Billy Bob died - 1983 Pick-up for sale.' That's the best Obit I have read in awhile. Now to reality that is what so many Obits are becoming today a joke because it has no value.

As to how I know that I am a Genneaholic, well I was a bit of a tipper in my younger day. I went in to the US Army when I was 17 and at 70 and working strong as a Civil Servent for the Dept of the Army - Thus a workaholic.

In Apr 1964, I had a young man in my platoon while I was station in Germany that following a tipping bout up in Fulda was heading home to Hanau and tried to occupy the same space with his auto as was occupy by a huge tree with out sucess. One evening, while my wife and I were at her quarters helping get her afairs in line so she and their 2 boys could return to her parents home in NC, we learned of family problems between her husband and his parents.

Long story short, on the drive back to our quarters, we deceided that our children would know all there was to know about their kin (past and present). Once again in reality, when I made a slight change in my thinkiing from "our children" to "I" would know ..... That was the seed of the SMITH-TAYLOR and Allied Familes Association (STAFA).

I know I am a GENEAHOLIC because I went from step 1 to step 6 with out touching steps 2, 3, 4 and 5 in a matter of days. Being in Germany, high cost of long distance phone calls and the concept of the INTERNET only a pipe dream in mind of some individual in one of the several Military Think Tanks I was spend for postage on monthly basis the cost of 12 oz 1" thick T-bone steak at the Cattlemans Club up the road at Fayettville, TN.

Comment by Gail Winstanley on July 12, 2009 at 5:48am

I'm thinking I was born one :) Although I have to admit, my great grandmother who spend endless hours telling me stories about her childhood, her parents childhoods and such fanned the flame when I was very young. Put that together with the fact that my paternal grandfather's family was pretty much a total mystery along with my own huge need to know and that created the genealogy addict I am today.

Answering questions left behind by my grandmother has given me a lot of satisfaction. She encouraged me to find out about our family history, she lost her father at the age of 11 months. Two of them were simple and straight forward. She wanted to know what had happened to her uncle Ralph who disappeared about 1918. The other required a bit more research and involved the death of an great-great grand aunt at the age of 18. All she knew was that she had died in childbirth, had no clue where she was buried or if the baby had lived, died or what the sex was. Unfortunately she passed before I could get the answers to those two questions for her, but I pursued it all the same.

Matilda turned out to be easier to find. She died in childbirth on November 12, 1857. The Names in Stone book helped me locate where she was buried and beside her, is the son who was stillborn on the same day, Richard Wallace Simpson, Jr.. Which sad indeed, was extremely satisfying because apparently Richard Wallace Sr had buried her and the baby and never told the family where she was.

Finding Uncle Ralph turned out to be more difficult because of all the family whispers and gossip about where he ended up, Gram had heard California, Oregon, but that he disappeared without a trace. I found him registered for the draft in WWI, living in PA, working at a lunch counter and married. His story is not yet complete, as he never appears in another public record. I'm still working on searching cemeteries, based on the other family rumor that he died during the influenza epidemic of 1918.

Comment by Gail Winstanley on July 11, 2009 at 6:03pm

My name is Gail Winstanley and I am a GENEAHOLIC :) As far back as I can remember I have been absolutely fascinated by family trees, starting with my love of biographies and then turning to my own family because we had so many unanswered questions as to who we were and where we came from. I love the research, the thrill of the chase as I track down an elusive ancestor and the incredible rush of putting another piece in the puzzle of this life history I belong to.

Comment by Dae Powell on July 10, 2009 at 9:42pm

Debbie,

I've read that if you still have a licked stamp on a letter from your father you may be able to extract his DNA. Might be worth a lick...er, I mean a look.
Happy Dae·

Comment by Margaretann on July 10, 2009 at 9:15pm

I've been a Geneaholic for 25 years. I'm going crazy joining groups & inviting friends.

Comment by Greta Koehl on July 9, 2009 at 7:51pm

Problem, what problem? Great to see some other geneaholics on here.

Comment by Myra Vanderpool Gormley on July 9, 2009 at 4:38pm

I'll start the 12-step program AFTER I fill in all my . . . That's what I said 40 years ago!

Comment by Just Judy on July 9, 2009 at 4:07pm

My name is Judy, and I am a Geneaholic. I don't take vacations unless it's tied in to a genealogy conference, or near some archives or courthouse records I need to research.

I'll start the 12 step program AFTER I fill in all my family gaps!

Comment by Leslie Mehana on July 8, 2009 at 11:21pm

My avatar is my Aunt Alice Elizabeth Dickie. I blog about her this week on (Almost) Wordless Wednesday http://genealogyrooter.blogspot.com

Comment by Jeremy Lemon on July 8, 2009 at 5:20pm

Genealogy is so addicting...once you are able to find a line...you just have to keep going.

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