52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - START!

Welcome to my first family history blog post! I have accepted the challenge from blogger Amy Johnson Crow called 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. The goal is to write about a different ancestor each week for a full year. I love this idea because it will force me to look at each chosen ancestor through a new lens, perhaps seeing detail not noticed before, and hopefully leading me to new areas of research.
The subject for the first week is START. I am choosing to write about the start of my research, which came about because of one person - my mother. My mom had questions about her family that inspired me to start my research 17 years ago.
I always knew that my mom didn't know much about her grandparents as they had all passed away before she was born. As a result I had little to go on when i started my research. It was so exciting to find little bits here and there! I did everything on my own and learned as I went. My kids were very small when I started, so sometimes I would go years with no research, but I always started up again. I discovered very little over a very long time span as a result, but each new find was a victory. I am so glad to have persevered - now I am starting a career carrying out research for others.
Mom and I 1965
2018

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