Beginnings of an Interest in Genealogy

Our trips to Kentucky for the summers were full of fun and where a deep interest in my family origins began. Mom was the great organizer of the family trips. First we had to go to Illinois to pick up one of her sisters then we had to make a trip down to Tennessee to pick up another sister before we all got to go to Kentucky to stay at Mammie and Pappie Conner's for the summer. We would spend the time while there going on the dreaded Yard Sale day-long trips. Us kids would ride in the back of her pick-up truck and we made the best of it because we got to spend time with our cousins. Then there were the days we would go visiting - cousins, aunts, uncles, childhood friends. My mom and her sisters were very close even though they lived miles apart. All these people and the places we went I took in every minute. I have a very good knack for reading directions, memorizing maps, and remembering small details. Then we would spend at least one day visiting cemeteries where our family was buried. But one day we made a very interesting trip around to several new cemeteries looking for the elusive GreatGrandfather. No one seemed to know where he was buried or what had happened to him. I don't quite remember how she said it but mom said she wanted me to find him someday - find out about our family, it was very important. That always stuck with me - my mother's wish!