For years I wondered exactly who I was. For most of my life I didn’t know much about even my grandparents’ lives, and certainly nothing beyond that.
Trips to libraries in the ’90s didn’t help much. But time went on, the internet came along, detailed historical information and official vital documents appeared online and family members helped uncover old photo albums and papers. As a result of actively pursuing this material over the last several years, I have suddenly become the family historian! The “Family History” folder on my computer is about to hit 100 gigs of photos and data. My digital family tree chart includes over 3500 names. Yet there is always more to learn and discover!
I dare say I currently have more perspective about my overall extended and historical family than anyone who came before me, but of course each of those previous generations would have known more about their particular times and circumstances. I’ve made it my job to keep searching and digging so I can fill in those details for myself and the current and future generations.
The cameos above represent but a small selection of the family I have met, the majority of them long after their passing. They hailed from England, Ireland, Eastern Europe and Germany and ended up in New Jersey, in the industrial city of Paterson and in the port area of Jersey City. Through circumstance and happenstance their descendants came together and here I am. This blog will be the story of these people, rescued from the murky mists of time.
These findings will of course be of interest to my family members, but also to those of you looking to research your own pasts. I will offer research tips and tricks I have discovered along the way while I tell the tales of my ancestors.
I hope you enjoy these posts! I’ve very much enjoyed making each new discovery, then putting the pieces together into a larger picture.