The last theme for 2023 is "Me, Myself, and I." You are a part of your own family history. This week, write something about yourself. What do you hope future generations will know about you? Click here to see all the past themes for 2023. Check out the upcoming themes for 2024.
It is difficult to talk about oneself. Plus, in this day an age, I don’t want to give out too much personal information about myself. This is one reason that genealogy sites like Ancestry, make living people private.
I am the youngest of nine children. I come from a blended family. My mother’s first husband died and left her a widow with six children. She married my dad and had three more, with me being the absolute youngest.
I remember in grade school; many people did not understand half-siblings and would try to correct me and tell me my siblings were my step-siblings. On TV, the only blended family I recall was the Brady Bunch and they were step-siblings.
Anyway, I was born in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin and before turning two, my family moved to the nearby town of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin because Kiekhaefer Marine, which my father worked for, relocated from Beaver Dam to Fond du Lac. Kiekhaefer merged with the Brunswick Corporation and became known as Mercury Marine in 1972.
My family took camping trips every summer for about 3 weeks. We traveled all over the United States and to Canada too. This is when I started to like history, especially the Civil War. My introduction to genealogy was from a middle school social studies class assignment. Shortly afterwards, the Roots mini series came on TV and I was fascinated on how he figured out his Roots.
I married two years after high school and started my family. After two children, I enrolled into the local Technical College, gave birth to my third child and graduated with honors with an associate degree in Computer Programming. It was at this time, that I actually started doing genealogy research, obtained my first computer and was on the hunt for the perfect genealogy software package. I realized, that no program would have everything I needed, so I had to find something that checked off most of the boxes. I finally saved up and purchased Family Tree Maker. Ten years after the birth of my third child, I gave birth to my fourth and final child. Nine months later, one of my sisters lost her battle with breast cancer.
In 1999, we moved to Lake Havasu City, Arizona, where my parents retired to in 1989. I worked for the local phone company as a customer representative for several years. During this time, my mother passed away. Then, I finally landed a job at a local Community College, working in the Enrollment department. It was a job I truly enjoyed. My first and only grandchild was born.
I quit my job after seven years, when my father died since I was left to be the caregiver of my two sisters who have intellectual disabilities. I joined the local genealogical society, taught genealogy classes at the local Community College and began researching on a full-time basis. This is when I started my yearly subscription to Ancestry.
In 2012, I purchased a second home in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin to spend my summers with my two sisters. The town was a familiar place for them to take walks, go to the mall and reconnect with some of their friends. Plus, I was able to do more in-person research for genealogy.
In 2020, my husband retired and we decided to move back to Wisconsin. I moved my sisters into their own apartment so that my husband and I could have our first alone time. We sold the Fond du Lac home and purchased a home in Plymouth, Wisconsin. Located only 23 miles east of Fond du Lac. In 2021, my oldest brother lost his battle with cancer.
Three of my adult children also moved back to Wisconsin, my daughter and granddaughter live in Fond du Lac, my oldest son in Sheboygan, Wisconsin and my youngest daughter lives in the Milwaukee Area. My other son, after spending eight years with the U.S. Navy, relocated to Colorado and currently lives in Wyoming.
I relocated my sisters from Fond du Lac to a place in Plymouth, so it would be easier for me to tend to their needs, visit them and invite them over to my home to watch movies.
What I hope future generations to know about me, besides these facts is that I love to crochet. Planting, harvesting and canning my vegetable garden brings me much joy and pride. I love playing board games, and I own over 30 different versions of Monopoly.
My husband asks me every morning what are my plans for today, and my reply is always “Genealogy”. I don’t get or want to do genealogy every day, but being trapped in the house because of Covid, Snow storms or other bad weather is not punishment, it means I can Do Genealogy.
Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!
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