Family History, one of my favorite past times!

One thing that most people don't know about me is that I LOVE doing family history. It's one of the things that will keep me up into the wee hours of the morning when I should be sleeping. I just love finding long lost ancestors. It's so great to feel connected to others who've gone before us.

Something else I love is to hear stories. I remember when I was a little girl and we used to sit around my dad and he would tell us stories of when he was young. Now days, I love to listen to grandparents and parents talk about days passed.

I also love looking through old pictures. When you see these pictures don't you just wish you could go back in time and see what was going on in the lives of the people that are in the pictures? I just love that these pictures give us some sense of connection.

this is my Dad with his siblings and his dad

This picture is cool because it's the only one I have of my grandfather and the only one I have of my uncle who passed when he was little. A picture can say a thousand words!

this is a picture of my great-great grandparents on my mother's side

This was obviously back in the day when they didn't smile :) I'm so glad that I scanned these photos in the last time I was in Texas. Priceless!

this is my great-grandmother & grandfather who adopted my grandmother (my great-grandmother adopted her cousin's daughter--my grandmother)

I just love the story of my grandmother's adoption. It always brings tears to my eyes. Basically my grandmother was born #6 in her family and she was a really sick preemie. This amazing woman pictured above adopted my grandmother and basically saved her life. It helped that she was a nurse! It was a blessing for both of them, because she had tried, but could never have her own children.

this is my grandmother and my mom

Everyone was young once and I love to see pictures of what they used to look like. Grandma is gorgeous!

this is Matthew's Mother, both his Grandmothers and his Aunt.

I also love to see the styles of the day. Aren't' these women styling!

I'm so glad that all these pictures give me faces to go with the names that show up on my family tree & they give me a glimpse into the past. I know there are so many more pictures and stories just waiting for me!!

My newest exciting thing is that I set up a Facebook group for my Dad's side of the family. My Dad is from Hawaii and his grandparents were immigrants from Korea and the Philippines. We've always lived on the mainland, so we haven't had the opportunity to get to know many of our extended family. And let me tell you, once we start connecting the dots, it's like we're related to everyone on the islands :) The group is growing everyday and it's so exciting to see the legacy of our Great Grandfather and to be a part of that legacy! If you're a Han Family member and haven't joined, join us today!

this is my Great-Grandfather on my Dad's side

I think it's so awesome that there's a picture on his headstone. I wouldn't even have this picture if there wasn't such a cool site as http://www.findagrave.com/ where people volunteer to take pictures of headstones in the cities where they live. I try to volunteer & you can too!

There are so many resources for doing family history & I'm so glad that technology is so helpful! Start your family history today and you'll find out just how exciting it can be!!

Here are a few of my favorite resources:

http://www.findagrave.com/

http://www.ancestry.com/

http://www.cyndislist.com/

http://www.familysearch.org/

http://www.ellisisland.org/