Linda Garrison Robert Jones Wedding

Years ago, in my teens, my dad used to talk to me about our ancestors, and while I thought it was kind of interesting that they came from Germany, that was about the extent of my interest. I was pretty much "Oh, that's nice," about all of it.

It changed a bit the summer between my junior and senior years. That summer, my dad and I spent a few weeks travelling Europe, including East Germany, where we met several cousins. Hearing stories such as how grateful they had been to receive care packages from my dad's family in the early 50's, and seeing the tears in my dad's eyes as he heard that, all began to bring it home to me.

Now, quite a few years later, I have eight children of my own to tell about our heritage. For instance, I've discovered recently that my oldest boy has some Welsh blood in him, and I don't know that his mother even knew that. I've learned that my current in-laws and my previous in-laws may have lived within several dozen miles of each other in western Pennsylvania in the late 1800's.

So what am I doing? I'm going to use this space to document my efforts to find ancestors my dad didn't know about, like my wife's extended family, as well as my ex-wife's family. I feel I owe it to my kids to be able to show them where they came from, and remind them occasionally how easy life is in the 21st century.