One of my fondest childhood memories is helping my great-grandmother look through her big brown box of family photos and arranging them in a large scrapbook. I was fascinated by all of the photos, names, and familial connections she described and admired the fond way she talked about the people who had been a part of her life. Nearly 20 years later, I began dabbling with genealogy in an attempt to learn more about my family's history and get a better understanding of our sociological background and makeup. And really, I just like the never ending, personal puzzle it presents. Those AHA! moments and connections with other people you find online are one of a kind.

Some family surnames include: Judd, Adams, Pepper, Larson, Hofsaess, Crumb, Norcross, Lohmuller, Mather, Parsons, Griffin, Henderson, Sorenso/en, Woods, Wood, Rodine

"In different hours, a man represents each of several of his ancestors, as if there were seven or eight of us rolled up in each man's skin,—seven or eight ancestors at least, and they constitute the variety of notes for that new piece of music which his life is."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

One of my fondest childhood memories is helping my great-grandmother look through her big brown box of family photos and arranging them in a large scrapbook. I was fascinated by all of the photos, names, and familial connections she described and admired the fond way she talked about the people who had been a part of her life. Nearly 20 years later, I began dabbling with genealogy in an attempt to learn more about my family's history and get a better understanding of our sociological background and makeup. And really, I just like the never ending, personal puzzle it presents. Those AHA! moments and connections with other people you find online are one of a kind.

Some family surnames include: Judd, Adams, Pepper, Larson, Hofsaess, Crumb, Norcross, Lohmuller, Mather, Parsons, Griffin, Henderson, Sorenso/en, Woods, Wood, Rodine

"In different hours, a man represents each of several of his ancestors, as if there were seven or eight of us rolled up in each man's skin,—seven or eight ancestors at least, and they constitute the variety of notes for that new piece of music which his life is."

Ralph Waldo Emerson