I began researching family history around the time that I discovered I was going to have my first  child - that would have been in 1983. Suddenly I wondered what sort of history I was about to  participate in - and what stories I could pass along to my daughter (I had a premonition it would  be a girl and I was right!). A lot of time has passed since then and whenever I can steal a few  hours or minutes I like to go poke around and see if there is anything new to be unearthed. I  mostly make use of free resources - familysearch.org, census records online, and family name  message boards. I've been able to locate a few relatives who have shared with me the data they had  collected. I'm not the only one out there who's curious about where I came from! Thank you to all  who have helped me over the years. I have been very lax in recording sources especially when I  first started out assembling my tree, but am beginning now to close that gap. Happy hunting to  those of you who have landed here at my invitation. Please e-mail me if you have questions  :^)