I work with people with different degrees of genealogy research experience. They seem to think I have some special talent for genealogy. I’m going to let you in on something. I sucked at genealogy the first couple of years I was researching. I made a ton of mistakes that made my new hobby very frustrating….
DNA Ethnicity Estimates Are Just That, Estimates
The title of the Gizmodo article “How DNA Testing Botched My Family’s Heritage and Probably Yours, Too”, screams out to DNA test takers: Danger Will Robinson! Oh, wait, that was something else. Still, the word botched implies that they’ve screwed up your results, but have they really? And, they aren’t the only one. Articles about…
Harry Jackson, I Need to Talk to You
There are many ancestors I’d like to invite to dinner if I had the chance. My great grandmother, Margaret (Jones) Jackson used to dance on tables when she was a little tipsy. That’d be entertaining. My great great aunt, Marie (Pacheco) Cosma, must have been an awesome person since everyone including my mom called her…
Who Am I? 20 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Me
I’m doing the Book of Me: Getting to Know You Series blog challenge. In this post, I’ll tell you 20 things that you probably didn’t know about me. Here’s 20 random things about me… I hide half of my money when I play Monopoly and Life. I make my own yogurt. If I have a…
A Friendship Reborn After Decades of Neglect
My grandma and grandpa had to uproot their family during the Depression in hopes of finding work. When they moved from Oakland to Salinas, my grandmother was like a fish out of water. She found friendship in her sister-in-law’s sister, Eva Nunes. The young mothers found common cause. There was a 40 year gap in…




