My Genealogy Story: How I Started

I’ve always loved stories – reading them, writing them, sharing them. Precisely pinpointing where my love of genealogy started proves challenging, but several memories from my childhood come to mind.

Though it may seem odd, one of my favorite first family history-related memories took place in a swimming pool while my mom, Grandma Kimball, and her sisters and cousin were doing water aerobics.

I didn’t know it yet, but gliding in and out of their conversations, hearing bits and pieces as I splashed with my siblings – started me on a life-long path of searching out and sharing family stories.

Why did their stories intrigue me? Because these were my people! I loved my Grandma Kimball and her sisters. They always seemed so wonderful to me (then and now!) I figured if they were sharing stories about these “ancestors” they must be wonderful, too! You can read more about family stories that have helped me here and here.

I was a voracious reader as a child and read every family story I could go my hands on. My mother’s family names of Ashby, Kimball, Watkins, and Stromberg were all well-documented and provided ample reading. Stories of heroes on the Sweetwater River, cowboys on Antelope Island, and musical Swedes in mountainous Huntsville.

My Great-Aunt Lynne traditionally gave my Grandma Kimball a family story to add to their Watkins/Stromgberg family binders for Christmas. I have many fond Christmas morning memories curled up by the fire reading these stories.

I’ve also always loved pedigree charts and family group sheets. While other 7th graders were playing MASH, I was creating family group sheets for the fictional characters in my stories and my own future family. And I’ve always been obsessed with baby names and meanings/origins. Baby name books were regularly on my my library book card list.

I had an off again/on again journal throughout my childhood, but for the most part I absorbed family history in whatever form I could get it in.

It was in college when I got my first taste of family history research. My Great-Aunt Lynne wrote me a letter – which I loved. Getting mail always made my day in college. She asked me to look up a newspaper article in the college catalog regarding her father in law who had been a professor at Ricks.

It was so fun for me to find this photo and newspaper article for her (photo below). I was majoring in journalism so combing through microfiche and old newspapers was right up my alley. I’ll never forget that thrill of discovery.

My time in Rexburg, Idaho, made me curious about my Idaho/German roots on my Dad’s side of the family. I knew my Grandpa Trost had grown up so I was eager to learn anything I could. You can read more about my discoveries in Rexburg here.

I dabbled in family history here and there until I was invited to attend Rootstech as a social media/blog ambassador. Attending Rootstech blew out all four walls of the box I had put family history in. I had no idea the possibilities! I went from thinking my family history was “done” to spending time every day doing family history.

My definition of “doing” family history changed as well. Now I travel to my ancestoral hometowns, search newspapers for pictures, chat online with cousins overseas, crowdsource information in Twitter parties, teach Rootstech classes and more!

I channeled my areas of expertise – journalism and social media – into doing genealogy in new and fun ways. It has been quite the journey, but I love that I can do genealogy in my own way that I love! During the pandemic, I helped to start the 21 Day Family Connections Experiment – an experiment exploring the psychological benefits of doing daily, fun family-history based activities.

Through this all, I’ve discovered that more I seek to connect, the more family connections come to me. My heart has expanded to love not only my ancestors, but also my living family members who have I come to know better.

I would love to hear about your experience with discovering your family history? What gets you excited? What discoveries have you made lately?