I fell in love for the first time when I was 4 years old. No, the object of my affection wasn't the little boy down the road - it was the railroads. It began when I traveled with my parents from Rome, Ga., to Chicago. More than 50 years later, the memories of that trip are still vivid. ...more

February 15, 2009

Most people are thankful to have their parents and children in the same house for Thanksgiving, but one local family has a five-generation Turkey Day tradition that started in the 1950s and is still going strong. ...more

November 27, 2008

Planning to start your holiday gift-shopping this week? If you have a genealogist to buy for, here's my gift to you: my annual Santa List, with something in every price range. ...more

November 23, 2008

In 1936, a photograph was taken of my extended family, the Klafehns, in front of our old homestead in Walker, N.Y. We were at our annual reunion. The black-and-white picture shows siblings, aunts, uncles, grandchildren, parents and cousins. I am a little girl age 5, sitting in the first row. ...more

July 13, 2008

In 2008, plenty of learning opportunities will be available to genealogists, from seminars on cruise ships to lectures closer to home. ...more

January 6, 2008

Newspapers aren't as important to some folks today as they were before television and the Internet. But if you are a family historian, you can't afford to ignore historical newspapers as a research source. ...more

December 23, 2007

Back when genealogy was of interest only to blue bloods looking to prove relationships to royalty or war heroes, researchers didn't closely embrace the black sheep in the family. ...more

December 16, 2007

A tired expression to describe a genealogical puzzle we can't solve is to say, 'We've hit the brick wall.' ...more

October 14, 2007