Indroduction; My Genealogy Journey

Hello Fellow Treasure Seekers!

I always feel like I have struck gold each and every time I hit something really great in my genealogy searching. Sometimes it's only a small piece of information but then sometimes it's a rich vein. So I consider myself a treasure seeker.

I have always been interested in our family histories. When I was a small child, I traveled with my grandparents to Texas to visit my great grandparents. It astonished me that they had been born in a time before cars, and indoor plumbing! Now this was in the early 1960's Johnson was president. Gas prices were about .17 a gallon. I know hard to believe. Growing up in a volatile time as the 1960 & 1970's it gave me a respect for what was before me. I enjoyed listening to the stories of the old days.

When I was 34, I was reunited with my paternal grandmother, Helen Irene Fernandez Porter. She was so excited to share our family history with me. We had descended from the Meeker's of New Jersey by way of Puyallup, Washington. Most namely we were related to Ezra Meeker. Now I had no idea who he was, but loved listening to her tell me all about how her parents met on-board a ship sailing from Seattle to San Francisco (an all new city) in 1910! How much more romance can you ask for than that?

Grandma passed in 2002 and then grandpa Ed in 2008. I inherited tons of family memorabilia and history. Only problem was, I had no idea who these people were. I had pictures some with names, way to many without (write on them), albums from the Orient, a really old dilapidated album about the GAR?? I had no idea what l had, who they were or how I was going to find it all out, but I knew one thing for certain.. I was about to embark on something, much bigger than myself.

I tried to search for free, but quickly gave way to ancestry. In a way I'm really glad because it does have so much to offer. Along the way l have also found many other researching tools; websites, cemeteries, libraries, museums, social networks, people.. Never underestimate what people can tell you. I have been able to compile a family tree that has nearly 10,000 members. Of course this is not all direct blood-line. But by working the entire family lines is where so much of my great treasures have come from. NEVER underestimate what people can tell you! I always strive to document my information even though I have not documented my sources along the way.. that's a back track project for another time.

It has been an amazing journey and along it I have met some of the most amazing people. Some of them are even still alive today.. so many of them are long buried. Some were forgotten and some I, with the help of others, found them, remembered them so that their legacy will never be forgotten again.

It is my mindset to share here with anyone who is interested to read the triumphs and perhaps even some that weren't about seeking out ancestor's and telling their stories.