I have spent most of my earlier years not knowing who my family was or where they came from, so that is the reason I became a family researcher. I do my best to connect family members to long lost family members. I treat each individual that I research as if I were a private detective, on the trail to solve a mystery. I leave no stone un-turned in my quest to find the truth. I spend hours researching old records that I can get my hands on, if the search does not match I do not add it to my data base. I have found that with each wrong information it is like a shotgun blast and it is very difficult to reclaim all the pellets of wrong information put forth. I even look at some of these blocks as a brick wall that has to be chipped away at until I can knock the wall down for the true information needed to build the family history. For this I truly believe that I am a good researcher, putting forth the truth and only the truth. When I receive much loved photos of loved ones that have passed I relish in the knowledge that you might have gotten to know them, where as I have missed out on knowing my grandparents and to hear stories of the past. Lastly I do not mean to offend anyone in my quest for knowledge of my family history.
Since I have returned to college to finish my education in art history, I spend what time I have during the summer months on vacation, tending to my garden (sigh) by adding new Iris flowers, rose bushes or new flowers. But, then when the weather is either too hot or rainy to get out I spend time connecting family members, but this only after much research to connect correctly those family members. You don't know how sad I get seeing children not connected with parents and other siblings. So on to the next connection.