Although I have long been interested in family history, my passion for genealogy can be traced to the purchase of my first genealogy software in about 1995. At first, I was busy entering the information gleaned by family genealogists before me, who gathered their information the old-fashioned way without the Internet:

My father, LaVelle Carter, gathered information on the Carter, Adams, and Blakesley families, all with immigrant ancestors who came to the Colonies in the 1600s from England. Although LaVelle didn't publish, he provided much of the information for the Carter book published by Charles Liddell in 1983.

A distant cousin, Bertrand Adams researched and published a book about the Adams family in the 1980s.

Another distant cousin, Wilda (Allan) Sweigard researched and published a book about the Blakesleys in the 1970s.

My mother, Della Kathka Carter, researched and compiled a Kathka book in the 1980s.

My husband's uncle, Roy Hiner, and his distant relative, John Hensell, researched and compiled books on the Hiners, who came to this country before the Revolutionary War.

All these family historians, with the help of many others, left a rich family history. My generation has the privilege of computerizing the information, and building on it with the vast amount of information available on the Internet.

At first, my interest in Find a Grave was to get more information on these and related families. More recently, I have been contributing information on all these family lines, creating memorials, and even being given the management of others. Both are rewarding aspects of the Find A Grave experience.

Best of all are the "AHA" moments when you discover something (or someone) you had been looking for, for a long time.

Although I have long been interested in family history, my passion for genealogy can be traced to the purchase of my first genealogy software in about 1995. At first, I was busy entering the information gleaned by family genealogists before me, who gathered their information the old-fashioned way without the Internet:

My father, LaVelle Carter, gathered information on the Carter, Adams, and Blakesley families, all with immigrant ancestors who came to the Colonies in the 1600s from England. Although LaVelle didn't publish, he provided much of the information for the Carter book published by Charles Liddell in 1983.

A distant cousin, Bertrand Adams researched and published a book about the Adams family in the 1980s.

Another distant cousin, Wilda (Allan) Sweigard researched and published a book about the Blakesleys in the 1970s.

My mother, Della Kathka Carter, researched and compiled a Kathka book in the 1980s.

My husband's uncle, Roy Hiner, and his distant relative, John Hensell, researched and compiled books on the Hiners, who came to this country before the Revolutionary War.

All these family historians, with the help of many others, left a rich family history. My generation has the privilege of computerizing the information, and building on it with the vast amount of information available on the Internet.

At first, my interest in Find a Grave was to get more information on these and related families. More recently, I have been contributing information on all these family lines, creating memorials, and even being given the management of others. Both are rewarding aspects of the Find A Grave experience.

Best of all are the "AHA" moments when you discover something (or someone) you had been looking for, for a long time.