I began dabbling in genealogy in the early 1980s, but the responsibilities of work, college and motherhood kept me busy and I didn't make time for it.

My maternal grandfather, Edward Kaltenbach and his wife, Ginny did extensive work for over twenty years and before he died he gave me a copy of all his work. It renewed my passion. I studied his work, he documented everything and I learned how to use clues in tertiary records to find primary and secondary sources. His work on his direct lines went back to the 1500's on many lines. But, he was stuck on his father's line.

After his death, I traveled to Germany with my mother and was able to remove his roadblocks. I met with the local historian in Simonswald, where my immigrant ancestor Kaltenbach was born. Much to my delight, I found out I was actually staying at the bed and breakfast owned by the woman that was the direct descendant from the brother of the 4th Great grandmother, Theresia Ruth, that had been the cause of my grandfather's roadblock for so long. Her maiden name was being misspelled in US records. It was simply Ruth and because of the misspelling, my grandfather (having had all the correct information otherwise) could not find her records. Meeting with the local historian and the church secretary, I lucked out. The historian had studied my family (the Kaltenbachs were Burgermeister's of the town for decades) and the church had all of the records onsite going back over 275 on my relatives.

We then went to the town my maternal grandmother's ancestors immigrated from, Linsenhofen. I had no luck at the church, they did not keep the records. I did not want to give up, so I went to the library. I had never been to a library so small, it was mostly for the local children. But, I did not want to give up. I looked up the surname of my immigrant ancestor, Rothweiler, and his mother, Dolde in the local telephone book. A Dolde owned a winery and a Rothweiler owned a Butcher shop. So off we went. The butcher did not speak English and was not interested in speaking to us. We pulled up to the residence of the Dolde Winery owner and he was outside. JACKPOT! He was so friendly, spoke excellent English and invited us in for snacks and drink! He was our long lost distant cousin! Turns out the Winery he owned had been in the family since at least the 1500s (the town records prior to this date were lost). The winery owner's cousin was a genealogist! He was also an artist (in my opinion) because by hand he drew the most beautiful family tree I have ever seen for the Dolde Family going back the the beginning of written records (1500s)! My immigrant ancestor was right there before my eyes with the link to the Rothweiler family. With permission I photographed the tree in sections. Now all I had to do was go home, compare it to my grandfather's work and fill his work in with the missing sources. The hand drawn tree was able to be 100% backed up with German records, most of which my grandfather already had (he had already gone back beyond 1700 on these two lines, but, he had holes in many of the ancillary lines).

I began to work on my paternal lines about 2008. When I contacted relatives, I found my Aunt's husband, James Brossoie, had done a lot of work on these lines. Since he was no longer working on his wife's line, he gave me a copy of his GEDCOM and all of the original documents. I now had an extensive database. My tree is filled out to mostly to my satisfaction. If you were to view it in "fan my " it goes back 6 generations on all branches (7 or more on most). The only wish I still have is to go beyond my Irish immigrant ancestors, Cornelius McLaughlin and James McKnight. But, I fear I will never have those answers. A genealogist in Ireland checked local records for me in exchange for me helping him with Philadelphia records. Those records are gone, so my only hope would probably be finding a distant relative in possession of that information.

After our visit to Germany, my mother and I went to England and I continued my research there on her maternal line. We visited the local library and the towns where my Great Grandmother, Isabella Spowart, lived. At the local archives and the library in two of those towns, we found some of the missing information I needed to continue my work on my maternal grandmother's side of the family. Between Germany and England, my mother an I spent a month in Europe, visiting many towns where our ancestors lived and of course common tourist cities just for fun!

Besides studying the work of my relatives, I have read numerous books and articles regarding genealogy. I started with the basics, learning the difference between primary, secondary and tertiary sources; how to document my work; where to best find records unavailable online; how to evaluate a tertiary source to determine its value or usefulness and the necessity of going beyond; the necessity of knowing the sources a tertiary document is based on; the importance of moving beyond tertiary sources and reading the original documents the tertiary source is based on myself. I moved on to learning specifics about the regions and time periods where the bulk of my ancestors had lived (this included learning their general history). And in the case of German records (which I do not speak), how to decipher them. Most recently, my reading is in developing case studies in genealogy and proving relations when birth, marriage and/or death records do not exist using other sources available. I still am a "newbie" when it comes to land records, court records, deeds and the like. There is always more to learn.

Retired now, I work on genealogy daily. Right now a McLaughlin surname project focusing on Philadelphia (I am doing it solo, any volunteers?). Prior to that, I worked on the Descendants of Thomas Sheriff. Another solo project in the sense that my goal was to attach all available documents on FamilySearch and have all of the descendants connected, sourced and accurate all on one site. Not solo in the sense that the research for this family is widely published and accepted and much of the work already well documented on the site. I compared the FamilySearch tree with the actual sources and the work done by L. P. Allen, author of the authoritative book for the Shreve line and more recent research publications for that family. I went generation by generation, family to family. It took a few years. Anyone familiar with FamilySearch knows it is one big free collaborative tree, so when it is correct it is great. The downside to a collaborative tree is that anyone can change the tree, and they do, often to the frustration of advanced researchers. Usually by persons that are just copying what they find on online trees found elsewhere that have not been researched/sourced properly. I have found that these kind of errors happen less frequently when we have added all of our sources, including details of the sources and our work in notes with images of sources in memories (when it does not violate copyright laws). Which is why, even though this family line has been extensively researched by professionals, I found it important to make sure it was correct on the site (many families throughout the US descend from Thomas Sheriff). I had a lot of fun on this project, on a family that is very interesting and includes people from all walks of life: blue collar, politicians, professional athletes, authors, entertainers, war heroes, military officers, etc.

Along the way on both projects, others have been invaluable help, either with their research work; sharing their knowledge; adding sources I did not have; collaboration when our research differed; pointing out mistake I made [I don't make them too often, :) ]; etc.

Collaboration is crucial in genealogy! It is just not possible for any one person to have all the answers and we all make mistakes from time to time. I am proud of the collaborative relations I have developed with other genealogists and find having contacts in other countries and with those whose expertise and knowledge differ from mine is invaluable. When researching one of my lines, it was the first time I really had to utilize colonial court records and old England court records, others with that knowledge respectfully (in all but one case, LOL) and selflessly shared their knowledge with me and taught me what I needed to learn. Some even were kind enough to check over my work for errors. I always appreciate a second (or more) pair of eyes! The great advantage to genealogy research today is we can collaborate online without ever meeting in person. And most of us share our research and expertise willingly and freely.

While working my project, I pause to help others with their tree, when asked. I take pride in getting getting back to people that contact me via FamilySearch within a few days, usually with answers to their questions. In most cases I have gone beyond what they expected because I just can't seem to help myself. I love research and solving what I call mysteries or puzzles. Finding that source that has eluded others. When helping others, I only research online records (for personal reasons I am unable to do field work at this time), if field work is necessary, I can usually point you in the right direction. I do not charge for my work because I think the lesson of genealogy is if you go back far enough we are all related somehow. If we think of each other as family the world might just be a better more peaceful place!

If I had to give advise to other people involved in genealogy -
1. Understand the difference between a primary, secondary and tertiary source. Tertiary means it is third hand knowledge, not collected at the time of the event; oral family histories, published books, articles, online databases, etc. are examples - they are not proof - their value is to point you to where the proof can be found. If a tertiary document does not give the sources they are using to form their conclusion it is worthless; except maybe to provide you with a clue as to where you might want to begin your search. Never trust on online tree, instead, read the sources that tree has used and if it is unsourced, DO NOT COPY IT TO YOUR TREE. Do not mistake Ancestry.com compiled databases (ie: US and International Marriages, Births, Deaths; U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index) for a primary source, they are compiled databases and are intended to be used to help you find original records, these databases contain errors because in addition to primary sources they have included information gathered from numerous online trees, many that are wrong.)
2. Think "outside the box". Many of my breakthroughs came when I hit a brick wall searching traditional sources. Some sources have been lost, destroyed or never existed. Some regions, for example, did not require filing births, marriage, deaths etc.

I began dabbling in genealogy in the early 1980s, but the responsibilities of work, college and motherhood kept me busy and I didn't make time for it.

My maternal grandfather, Edward Kaltenbach and his wife, Ginny did extensive work for over twenty years and before he died he gave me a copy of all his work. It renewed my passion. I studied his work, he documented everything and I learned how to use clues in tertiary records to find primary and secondary sources. His work on his direct lines went back to the 1500's on many lines. But, he was stuck on his father's line.

After his death, I traveled to Germany with my mother and was able to remove his roadblocks. I met with the local historian in Simonswald, where my immigrant ancestor Kaltenbach was born. Much to my delight, I found out I was actually staying at the bed and breakfast owned by the woman that was the direct descendant from the brother of the 4th Great grandmother, Theresia Ruth, that had been the cause of my grandfather's roadblock for so long. Her maiden name was being misspelled in US records. It was simply Ruth and because of the misspelling, my grandfather (having had all the correct information otherwise) could not find her records. Meeting with the local historian and the church secretary, I lucked out. The historian had studied my family (the Kaltenbachs were Burgermeister's of the town for decades) and the church had all of the records onsite going back over 275 on my relatives.

We then went to the town my maternal grandmother's ancestors immigrated from, Linsenhofen. I had no luck at the church, they did not keep the records. I did not want to give up, so I went to the library. I had never been to a library so small, it was mostly for the local children. But, I did not want to give up. I looked up the surname of my immigrant ancestor, Rothweiler, and his mother, Dolde in the local telephone book. A Dolde owned a winery and a Rothweiler owned a Butcher shop. So off we went. The butcher did not speak English and was not interested in speaking to us. We pulled up to the residence of the Dolde Winery owner and he was outside. JACKPOT! He was so friendly, spoke excellent English and invited us in for snacks and drink! He was our long lost distant cousin! Turns out the Winery he owned had been in the family since at least the 1500s (the town records prior to this date were lost). The winery owner's cousin was a genealogist! He was also an artist (in my opinion) because by hand he drew the most beautiful family tree I have ever seen for the Dolde Family going back the the beginning of written records (1500s)! My immigrant ancestor was right there before my eyes with the link to the Rothweiler family. With permission I photographed the tree in sections. Now all I had to do was go home, compare it to my grandfather's work and fill his work in with the missing sources. The hand drawn tree was able to be 100% backed up with German records, most of which my grandfather already had (he had already gone back beyond 1700 on these two lines, but, he had holes in many of the ancillary lines).

I began to work on my paternal lines about 2008. When I contacted relatives, I found my Aunt's husband, James Brossoie, had done a lot of work on these lines. Since he was no longer working on his wife's line, he gave me a copy of his GEDCOM and all of the original documents. I now had an extensive database. My tree is filled out to mostly to my satisfaction. If you were to view it in "fan my " it goes back 6 generations on all branches (7 or more on most). The only wish I still have is to go beyond my Irish immigrant ancestors, Cornelius McLaughlin and James McKnight. But, I fear I will never have those answers. A genealogist in Ireland checked local records for me in exchange for me helping him with Philadelphia records. Those records are gone, so my only hope would probably be finding a distant relative in possession of that information.

After our visit to Germany, my mother and I went to England and I continued my research there on her maternal line. We visited the local library and the towns where my Great Grandmother, Isabella Spowart, lived. At the local archives and the library in two of those towns, we found some of the missing information I needed to continue my work on my maternal grandmother's side of the family. Between Germany and England, my mother an I spent a month in Europe, visiting many towns where our ancestors lived and of course common tourist cities just for fun!

Besides studying the work of my relatives, I have read numerous books and articles regarding genealogy. I started with the basics, learning the difference between primary, secondary and tertiary sources; how to document my work; where to best find records unavailable online; how to evaluate a tertiary source to determine its value or usefulness and the necessity of going beyond; the necessity of knowing the sources a tertiary document is based on; the importance of moving beyond tertiary sources and reading the original documents the tertiary source is based on myself. I moved on to learning specifics about the regions and time periods where the bulk of my ancestors had lived (this included learning their general history). And in the case of German records (which I do not speak), how to decipher them. Most recently, my reading is in developing case studies in genealogy and proving relations when birth, marriage and/or death records do not exist using other sources available. I still am a "newbie" when it comes to land records, court records, deeds and the like. There is always more to learn.

Retired now, I work on genealogy daily. Right now a McLaughlin surname project focusing on Philadelphia (I am doing it solo, any volunteers?). Prior to that, I worked on the Descendants of Thomas Sheriff. Another solo project in the sense that my goal was to attach all available documents on FamilySearch and have all of the descendants connected, sourced and accurate all on one site. Not solo in the sense that the research for this family is widely published and accepted and much of the work already well documented on the site. I compared the FamilySearch tree with the actual sources and the work done by L. P. Allen, author of the authoritative book for the Shreve line and more recent research publications for that family. I went generation by generation, family to family. It took a few years. Anyone familiar with FamilySearch knows it is one big free collaborative tree, so when it is correct it is great. The downside to a collaborative tree is that anyone can change the tree, and they do, often to the frustration of advanced researchers. Usually by persons that are just copying what they find on online trees found elsewhere that have not been researched/sourced properly. I have found that these kind of errors happen less frequently when we have added all of our sources, including details of the sources and our work in notes with images of sources in memories (when it does not violate copyright laws). Which is why, even though this family line has been extensively researched by professionals, I found it important to make sure it was correct on the site (many families throughout the US descend from Thomas Sheriff). I had a lot of fun on this project, on a family that is very interesting and includes people from all walks of life: blue collar, politicians, professional athletes, authors, entertainers, war heroes, military officers, etc.

Along the way on both projects, others have been invaluable help, either with their research work; sharing their knowledge; adding sources I did not have; collaboration when our research differed; pointing out mistake I made [I don't make them too often, :) ]; etc.

Collaboration is crucial in genealogy! It is just not possible for any one person to have all the answers and we all make mistakes from time to time. I am proud of the collaborative relations I have developed with other genealogists and find having contacts in other countries and with those whose expertise and knowledge differ from mine is invaluable. When researching one of my lines, it was the first time I really had to utilize colonial court records and old England court records, others with that knowledge respectfully (in all but one case, LOL) and selflessly shared their knowledge with me and taught me what I needed to learn. Some even were kind enough to check over my work for errors. I always appreciate a second (or more) pair of eyes! The great advantage to genealogy research today is we can collaborate online without ever meeting in person. And most of us share our research and expertise willingly and freely.

While working my project, I pause to help others with their tree, when asked. I take pride in getting getting back to people that contact me via FamilySearch within a few days, usually with answers to their questions. In most cases I have gone beyond what they expected because I just can't seem to help myself. I love research and solving what I call mysteries or puzzles. Finding that source that has eluded others. When helping others, I only research online records (for personal reasons I am unable to do field work at this time), if field work is necessary, I can usually point you in the right direction. I do not charge for my work because I think the lesson of genealogy is if you go back far enough we are all related somehow. If we think of each other as family the world might just be a better more peaceful place!

If I had to give advise to other people involved in genealogy -
1. Understand the difference between a primary, secondary and tertiary source. Tertiary means it is third hand knowledge, not collected at the time of the event; oral family histories, published books, articles, online databases, etc. are examples - they are not proof - their value is to point you to where the proof can be found. If a tertiary document does not give the sources they are using to form their conclusion it is worthless; except maybe to provide you with a clue as to where you might want to begin your search. Never trust on online tree, instead, read the sources that tree has used and if it is unsourced, DO NOT COPY IT TO YOUR TREE. Do not mistake Ancestry.com compiled databases (ie: US and International Marriages, Births, Deaths; U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index) for a primary source, they are compiled databases and are intended to be used to help you find original records, these databases contain errors because in addition to primary sources they have included information gathered from numerous online trees, many that are wrong.)
2. Think "outside the box". Many of my breakthroughs came when I hit a brick wall searching traditional sources. Some sources have been lost, destroyed or never existed. Some regions, for example, did not require filing births, marriage, deaths etc.