Grandma's Genealogy

I have three vivid images in my mind of my Grandma. In the summer Grandma was often found among her petunias, zinnias, lilies, and peonies. In cold weather she liked to stand in front of the heat vent in her kitchen or living room. But the third picture is my favorite. I can still see Grandma with pedigree charts and family group sheets and letters spread out on her table. That was the best time to catch Grandma because it meant stories from the lives of those whose names were on the charts. It also meant an explanation of the results of the latest response she had received in her genealogy research.

I heard about "Grandfather James Stapleton" among many others. Grandma was six when he died. I heard about Grandma's frustrations in trying to locate more information about John Jones (James Stapleton Lewis' father-in-law). She had his will but still had many brick walls on the Jones lines. Grandma and I shared a joke that when she passed on to the other side, she would look up John Jones and get messages to me about where to find the needed information.

So, it isn't surprising that I grew up to be a genealogist. My grandmother spent her time carefully filling in blank forms listing births and deaths and marriages. She wrote letters and awaited responses. She located probable places for wills or marriage certificates, sent her money, and hoped for positive results.

When I took my first genealogy class in 1967, I did much the same thing. By this time, though, microfilmed records were available. Today I'm a jammie genealogist who loves being able to look for records online in my pajamas at 2 a.m. and plug that information into my computer software. My grandmother would marvel at how much "doing genealogy" has changed - and how much it has stayed the same.

Forty years later, I'm still trying to verify information about John Jones.  Stories of James Stapleton Lewis still hold my attention. I'm planning to share my love of these men and my quest to know more about them with you. I hope it is your quest as well.