I started my search of family ancestors in 1992 after retiring from Puget Power in Lynden, Washington. Knowing nothing about our family, on either the maternal or paternal sides, I started with the theory that we just got off the boat a generation or two back. With some sketchy records that had been passed down from my aunt, I got lucky and found that we had indeed been in this country since the mid 1740's and I found that my gggg-grandad had actually been in the Mohawk Valley militia during the Revolutionary War and his service had been documented. That, my friends, got me going on my genealogy quest with a passion that continues to this day. All those history lessons about the Revolutionary War and the Civil War all came to life as I continued to find ancestors that had participated in both. It is a challenge that continues to surprise me with new twists and turns as I keep sifting info from all sources.