Roots & Rabbit Holes

Week 49 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge is New Horizons. When I think about my immigrant ancestors, I imagine their perilous...

Overlooking an ancestor here or there is a common occurrence in genealogy, especially when it’s a collateral ancestor and not someone in...

Grampy Phil relished sharing the tale of his Uncle Joe Laviolette, who was a bootlegger. Uncle Joe was my great-grandfather William’s...

For week 46 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge, we’re exploring the topic of Tombstones. Tombstones, headstones, gravestones –...

The theme for Week 45 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge is a fun one – Ghost Story! I’ve had a few strange things happen to me –...

Finding a topic for Week 44 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge was a struggle. The topic is Shadows, so we were supposed to write...

Organized is the topic for week 43 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge. “Organized” can mean someone who is organized, a way of...

My Grampy Phil rarely spoke about his time in WWII, and I was taught from a fairly young age not to ask him about it. It was therefore a...

Week 41 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge is Passed Down. I’ve become the de facto keeper of family heirlooms. I’m not great at...

Week 40’s theme for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is Preservation. During WWII, creating and maintaining Victory Gardens became an important...

Week 39 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge is Road Trip. Back in 1931 when my Grampy Phil and his cousin, Wilfred Barr, were...

New to You is this week’s topic for week 38 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge. My paternal grandfather, Frederick Wagner Turner,...

In elementary school, the beginning of the school year in September always meant cooler days, crisp air, and apple-picking season. ...

Exploration is the theme for week 36 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge. I was all set to write about a mariner ancestor of mine,...

This week – week 35 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge -- we get to go wild and write about whatever we want (Free Space!). I...

Service is the theme for week 33 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge. My kiddos leave for freshman year at their respective...

Week 32 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is At the Library. I recently took a trip to the New England Historic Genealogical Society in...

Help is the topic for week 31 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge, and I certainly need some help breaking down a brick wall. I’ve...

For week 30 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge, we’re covering Teams. I chose to go with the literal interpretation and cover...