Family Roots

4 Generations have graduated from our high school

Holey Family about 1942

The town I live in is full of my family history. We may not be the "big name" in town, or have all the money, or know the right people, but my family has been here for 5 generations (or more). I have relatives buried in nearly every cemetery in the area and you can hardly turn a corner without a family story being told. "So and so lived there..." "Remember when we....".  My children are the fourth generation to graduate from our high school.

Several years before my Mama passed away, she and her sister came to me and asked for computer help to search for a long lost relative. It was when Google was just starting and they weren't sure how to use it. We typed in some information and soon we were going back generations!

Martin and Maria Smeby Family

Now, granted, this particular branch of our family tree is large, prestigious on the East Coast and nobility in Scotland, ensuring there are many records and a proliferation of information. I was able to trace my maternal grandfather's family (on both his mother and father's side) back many generations and found many stories of notable and notorious relatives, including a pirate, noblemen, soldiers, and even a Vice President.


Family Stories

I have relatives who are helping me do the same on my maternal grandmother's side. And my father's side is already done. It is amazing to hear the stories, to see the pictures, to piece together the lives of those that have gone before me. It gives me a sense of belonging, giving me a knowledge of who I am and where I came from!




Family Tree

There is something to be said for appreciating where your family comes from and thankfully I have been dubbed the Family Historian.  Relatives send me pictures, old letters, and stories. I have funeral cards, obituaries and birth notices.  I have copies of birth, death, and marriage certificates, wills, land titles and census records, all tracing my family back through the years.

And now, Princess Pea's social studies teacher has assigned a project creating a family tree. The more generations she can add, the more extra credit she can get. I told her she has an unfair advantage. She laughed and said "I know". She wants to ask her teacher if she can just bring in my books and binders instead of drawing it all out on a piece of tag board. We will figure something out I'm sure.

Princess' Project

In the meantime, we will put it on the tag board and squeeze in as many as we can. And I get the pleasure of teaching my beautiful daughter all about her heritage. I love to see her engaged and excited about this project. I love her asking the questions, her eyes lighting up to hear stories. Praying she will be the next family historian!


My Parents with their Grandchildren

3 Generations, My mom, Princess Pea, and me



Yesterday!

Well, Yesterday seems to have gotten by me a bit. I will have to catch up.

I am soooo excited! Paul and I are planning a vacation with our blended family this summer. He has 4 kids himself, 2 of which are still at home, and then I have 2, so we will be taking 4 kids on a cross country road trip to Rapid City, South Dakota!! I am so excited to go! We haven't taken them anywhere since our trip to Michigan 3 years ago for the family reunion.

We are planning on staying at KAO campgrounds, but renting out the cabins they have. There are some that have 2 room cabins or even lodges! They are reasonable too and with the lodges, you have the bathroom and a kitchette right there, plus a private master bedroom. I think this is what we are going to get. Another hint, if you are military, ask about a military discount. One of the KAO's we stayed at in Michigan gave us 10% off our stay! Each KAO is independently owned and operated, so it is up to the discretion of the owner if they offer the discount, but ya gotta try right?

Something else that was exciting to me is that I got a note from my cousin's 13 year old daughter last night. She is apparently doing some family research for school and wanted to know what I knew about my Grandfather's family (her Great-Grandfather). Well, over the years I have become known as the family historian. I have traced this particular side of the family back to 1160 in Scotland and another branch back to 1499 in England.

By her asking for information, it has opened up the desire to start the research again. I love delving in to the past and finding out about the people who made me who I am today! You never know what you will find, good, bad, funny, sad, intriguing...it's all there in the past!

Well, better get back to work here! Whoops!! I will try to get a better post up tonight before bed!!

Have a great day!

What I am Thankful For from Yesterday
- Healthy Happy Children
- Time with Paul
- Vacation Plans
- Family History
- Bed!
- News of impending homecomings!

Who I was Praying For Yesterday
- My Children
- My family as the 1st anniversary of my mother's passing approaches
- Deployed friends
- Family who lost their house in a fire
- Friends mother who was in a car accident last night