Time to Get Serious

I’ve been researching my genealogy seriously for about ten years now. Earlier this year I applied for a “First Families” certificate during the 150th anniversary celebration of Isabella County, Michigan. This is a certificate presented to descendants of pioneer families who settled in the county prior to 1899. Little did I realize how much effort that application would require.

My research over the years has been devoted to tracing my family backward starting with my great-grandparents. I’m pretty good at referencing the sources I use. But, I knew the facts about myself, my parents and my grandparents were correct. The First Families certificate required proof. That’s when I realized my careful research back to the early 1600’s was not based on a solid foundation.

I am now going back through my family tree from the present day, and citing birth and marriage records that prove my descent. I’m amazed at how much information I took for granted. Not only will this strengthen my existing historical research, but I will leave a much better legacy to future generations.

Author: Mike

By way of background, I have over forty years experience as a software engineer. I enjoy genealogy as a hobby, which I started in earnest in 1994. I've always liked family history. Now whenever I uncover some fascinating fact about an ancestor, I also take time to read about that era in history. Whether it be the Napoleonic Wars, the Erie Canal, Steamships, the Port of Hamburg, or hurricane tracks, there's always something new to learn. By 2000 I published my family tree on the Internet. Unfortunately there were no software tools then that did precisely what I wanted. So I created GED-GEN, a Windows program to automatically generate a genealogy website. It converts a GEDCOM data file to a series of web pages in family group sheet format. Since 2002, people from all over the world have used GED-GEN for their websites. Today I continue to research my family history, with the help of distant cousins. I am also actively creating digital images of my collection of genealogical evidence. View all posts by Mike