I have always found issues of identity fascinating (loved the book and movie The Namesake).  One of the things that attracted me about genealogy was having the opportunity to really dig into the who/what/where/when of identity. 

My grandmother, Eva Marshall Totah, gave me a large box of family photos when I was about twelve.  She sat with me and told me about each picture:  who it was, how we were related, about when it was taken.  I took notes on a couple of sheets of binder paper.  When I got into genealogy about 35 years later, I dragged that box out of the garage.  Remarkably, those old notes had remained with the photos, providing information critical to piecing together the puzzle of identity and relationships.

I got into genealogy through a free online reading class that Barnes & Noble used to offer.  I had taken a couple of classes on non-fiction books (history, mostly, if I recall).  Then I found myself casting about for what to read next.  Scanning through the B&N list of available courses, I saw "Unpuzzling Your Past," a class on getting started with genealogy.  That's it!  I bought Emily Croom's wonderful set of books, took the class, and was hooked.  That was in probably about 2005 or 2006.  A group of us students from that class formed a Yahoo group and still keep in touch, although the list has been extremely quiet for the last couple of years. Members of that list were so very helpful to me in my detective work that is the joy of doing genealogy!

I view this blog as a space to discuss my journeys in genealogy, family history, US and world history and all the threads that weave into that endlessly interesting tapestry:  identity, relationships, harmony and lack thereof in the world, leading into issues of faith/religion and interfaith relations, making the world safe for future generations (gardening, composting, sustainability, urban farming, water issues)  and how all these things interrelate.  These are the things that matter to me and interest me.  I look forward to hearing from those of you out there who are fascinated by the same types of things.