I am 78 years old as of 2022. My dad was an Air Force officer, and I lived in many places before I was 14 years old. I have no regional identity, no hometown, and no home state. I have a BA, and MA, and a Ph.D., and I was a professor at a major state university for 42 years. I am now retired.

I have ancestors who lived in both the North and the South of the U.S., a number of whom fought in the Civil War, both North and South. Some ancestors were in North America in the 17th Century, and some came as late as 1883. Most known ancestors came from the British Isles, mostly England and Scotland. There is also some Irish and Welsh. Non-British ancestors are from Northern Europe: probably Germany and France, and one line going back to Switzerland.

I became interested in my family history about 30 years ago when I was living in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and discovered that I could find information on my Michigan ancestors in old editions of City Directories in the local library. I then found that I could find 19th century census reports on my family on microfilm in the University of Michigan library. Over the years, I found more sources, including Find-a-Grave, and now I am hooked. I have just recently (July 2023) become a member, and I have made a number of edits to pages of family members and in-laws. Now that I am retired, I am looking for more time to organize by family history materials.

I am 78 years old as of 2022. My dad was an Air Force officer, and I lived in many places before I was 14 years old. I have no regional identity, no hometown, and no home state. I have a BA, and MA, and a Ph.D., and I was a professor at a major state university for 42 years. I am now retired.

I have ancestors who lived in both the North and the South of the U.S., a number of whom fought in the Civil War, both North and South. Some ancestors were in North America in the 17th Century, and some came as late as 1883. Most known ancestors came from the British Isles, mostly England and Scotland. There is also some Irish and Welsh. Non-British ancestors are from Northern Europe: probably Germany and France, and one line going back to Switzerland.

I became interested in my family history about 30 years ago when I was living in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and discovered that I could find information on my Michigan ancestors in old editions of City Directories in the local library. I then found that I could find 19th century census reports on my family on microfilm in the University of Michigan library. Over the years, I found more sources, including Find-a-Grave, and now I am hooked. I have just recently (July 2023) become a member, and I have made a number of edits to pages of family members and in-laws. Now that I am retired, I am looking for more time to organize by family history materials.