So, what would you like to know about me? I got started researching my family history nearly two decades ago, much to the bemusement of my Great Uncle Bill Wingeard who’d been trying to interest me in his research for years. Since then I’ve spent time in libraries, historical societies, county courthouses, at numerous cemeteries, and online trolling for information. I only know I’ve been successful, because I’ve got so much more to research!

What qualifies me to be a family researcher? Curiosity. A love of history. And an inherit skill in problem-solving. I both love and hate my brick walls. I hate them because I need find answers; those dead-ends gnaw at me, at my need to know. I love them because they force me to think, to focus on the problem, and to find new ways to approach it.

I’ve authored several reference books for Pennsylvania family researchers (see my Books section). And I spent several years working a both as a volunteer and a freelance researcher with the NEHGS (if you need help with New England research, I highly recommend them; they’re great!).

If you need assistance with your research, please contact me. If I’m able, I’d be more than happy to help.

About This Site

Goals

I put together this site to share my research with an eye to both help others with their research and to gain assistance from fellow researchers and family members on my brick walls. I chose this style of site in order to share not just names, dates and places, but instead a narrative of my ancestors’ lives as I’ve come to know it through my research.

I want to share how and what I research so that others can perhaps learn from it— both through the process and sources I’ve used, and also in how I’ve come to my conclusions. I’ve tried to footnote as much as possible, so that others can review my sources and draw their own conclusions. (Hopefully, I’ll be able to post some of the original documents.)

Organization

The site has several sections that of interest to family researchers.

First, there’s the Blog. This is where I share research projects, answers I’ve found to a specific research question, resources I’ve found, record transcriptions, photos, and essays on various topics. I’ve also provided quick links to popular topics within the blog: Along the Pequea (land ownership research long Pequea Creek in Lancaster County), Hacker-Hocker Genealogy (personal family research items for the Hocker family), and Hoover-Huber Surname Study (Lancaster County Hoover family research).

Researchers may also be interested in the Books section. Here you will find links to information on the books I’ve authored and where you can purchase them.

In the past I’ve also posted biographies for family members I researched on the blog, too. But because the blog is ordered by date, these posts quickly become hard to find. So, I created a section called Collections. A collection is like a family binder. Each will contain biographies I’ve written using my research for various family members or individuals I’ve researched.

The Galleries section is where I upload photos from my family collection, gravestone photos, and copies of family documents.