I love genealogy. When the genealogy bug bit me in 2007, I fell in love with it and haven't recovered yet! I am fortunate to uncover tons of genealogical treasures. When I wasn't working, I scoured area courthouses, museums, historical societies, libraries, and cemeteries, met with people, and gathered photographs and documentation. I filled almost 20 three-ring binders full of family history research! Online sources such as Ancestry.com and Newspapers.com were a wealth of information. I used my paid membership to add necessary documentation to my work. I continue to use their services today.
In a "Man's World," my female family ancestors led
interesting, unique, heartbreaking, funny, sad, historically-sound ways of
living. My heart soared when I found the information I needed to fill in the
gaps of my beloved paternal great-grandmother's life with the records I
discovered. She helped raise my brothers and me; I knew a lot about her from
living with her and the stories she told as we all went "walking around
the block." Then, I devoted my writing time to uncovering more about all
the women in my family lines.
Each nugget of treasured facts is cherished as I build their
life timelines and map their stories. I come from a line of strong, determined,
Christian, and sometimes crazy women who lived life to the fullest. In the
graphic below, my great-grandmother, Ollie Johnson Utter Martin Brier, stands in
Kansas all gussied-up in her finest attire. She looks like she "had the
world by the tail," as she would say. She was classy, from her bobbed hair
and fur to her tiny waist and stocking feet. I hear the echo of her voice in my
ear as I write her stories now for those who wish to read them.
In March, I'll post stories about influential women in my life. I've written about many of my ancestors, but there are many more who came before me of whom I must write about. I celebrate March as Women's History Month kicks off!
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