In the beginning...

  

Mary-Jane Roth Summer 1949

 As you may know, I began tracing my family tree about 20 years ago.  I had always enjoyed visits with our extended family, and listening to the stories told around many dinner tables.  As the years went by and older family members slipped away, my desire to record our stories for those who come after me got stronger and stronger.  As I have gotten older the task seemed more urgent, and I have put a lot of effort into collecting information about all of the branches of my family tree, Roth, Lieberman, Grosser, Tepper, Fried, Kandel, and their siblings, spouses, and in-laws.  Over time, I have learned a lot about documenting sources,  how to research all sort of records, and how to ask leading questions.  I have collected hundreds of photos and continue to track down and meet cousins who I had not seen in many years, or perhaps whose existence I had never suspected.   I have also expanded my search to include my husband Steve's family, the Crimes and Neumanns, Gormans, Fergusons, and McCanns.
    Today's technology has made it easier to share information with many people.  I have connected with many relatives over Facebook and with e-mail.  This blog is the next step in sharing my adventures in genealogy with everyone out there who may be interested.  As time goes on, I plan to highlight relatives I know about, sharing what I know of their stories, a photo if I have one, or a copy of some record I have found (naturalization, birth, tombstone, newspaper article etc), and my adventures in archives, libraries, and other repositories as I continue to work on the family history.  I hope that you will enjoy the stories I share, and perhaps add to my trove with some stories of your own about the person I highlight.  Feel free to share this blog with your other relatives if you think they will be interested.  I'd love to hear from them.