Roots & Rabbit Holes

Week 30 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge is “Boats.” My grandfather Fred had a strange sense of humor. Fishing with his boys was...

The theme for Week 7 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge is Outcast. My husband, who is ethnically a Jew, said I should write...

Week 2 for 2023’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge is Favorite Photo, which is always a fun theme, though it’s hard to narrow it down...

Welcome to a brand-new year of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge! This week’s topic is a fun one: I’d Like to Meet. The trouble,...

I can’t believe it’s the final week of 2022’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge, and I actually followed through with it! Because I...

Week 51 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge is Perseverance, a topic that makes me think about some of my first ancestors to settle...

Week 50 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge is Traditions. One of my favorite family memories and traditions is “Pony Boy” with...

Week 49 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge is New Horizons. When I think about my immigrant ancestors, I imagine their perilous...

Overlooking an ancestor here or there is a common occurrence in genealogy, especially when it’s a collateral ancestor and not someone in...

Grampy Phil relished sharing the tale of his Uncle Joe Laviolette, who was a bootlegger. Uncle Joe was my great-grandfather William’s...

Finding a topic for Week 44 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge was a struggle. The topic is Shadows, so we were supposed to write...

My Grampy Phil rarely spoke about his time in WWII, and I was taught from a fairly young age not to ask him about it. It was therefore a...

Week 41 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge is Passed Down. I’ve become the de facto keeper of family heirlooms. I’m not great at...

Week 40’s theme for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is Preservation. During WWII, creating and maintaining Victory Gardens became an important...

Week 39 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge is Road Trip. Back in 1931 when my Grampy Phil and his cousin, Wilfred Barr, were...

New to You is this week’s topic for week 38 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge. My paternal grandfather, Frederick Wagner Turner,...

In elementary school, the beginning of the school year in September always meant cooler days, crisp air, and apple-picking season. ...

Week 32 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is At the Library. I recently took a trip to the New England Historic Genealogical Society in...

Fun Facts is the topic for week 29 of 52 Ancestors in 52 weeks. I learned a fun fact earlier this year on one of my Maine genealogy...

Part II of week 25’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks covers the impact of my great-great grandfather John’s alcoholism on his family members and...