Relics: Genealogy, family stories, history & other curiosities.

Yesterday, I planned on searching the probate records that  Ancestry had been heavily advertising over the Labor Day weekend.  Something sidetracked me and I started searching for records of my great grandmother Olga Poyhonen (spelling very fluid) and I came across a small article in the Monessen, Pa Valley Independen t newspaper from July 13, 1981.     Seeking Help- the article was captioned and the author was indeed looking for my great grandmother or her family.  The author of this article, a woman in Montana was quoted as saying, "this is very important to me."   The surprise of this person being out there (in Montana of all places) and searching for us since 1981, is one of the reasons I love family tree research.   I was hoping this woman was still alive and after a quick search found her address.  I wrote off a quick letter and hope to hear from her soon.  What are our connections?  I wonder what information she may have th...

This is the new forum for my thoughts and discoveries.  I have been an amateur genealogist and family tree researcher for the better part of ten years now.  I love the thrill of the chase for a date, a place or a person. Whether it's found after hours of research at the computer, on a field trip to a cemetery or the municipal archives or stumbling onto a new person or new information quite by accident, I find researching the lives of my ancestors fascinating and constantly surprising.   I have been thinking a lot about a genealogy re-do, or perhaps trying to write narratives about who and what I do know in hopes it will help me refocus my thoughts and efforts. So, after years of collecting binders and notebooks and slips of paper, I am making the leap and starting to organize my people and my thoughts here.