I started doing genealogy in the mid-1990’s. It is said that once you start having children you begin to wonder about your own roots. For me I wanted to know more about my dad’s family; he passed away when I was thirteen. I knew one of his uncle’s had written a book on the Morley family and I figured I would start there. what started as a small quest has turned into a crazed passion!
As my children started school, I decided it was my time to finish. Before I was married I attended San Diego State University. At that time I decided to take a semester off that lasted twelve years. My first thought was I should at least get an Associates Degree to make something out of those past credits. Once that was accomplished I thought, “What am I going to do with this? I need a Bachelors!” Since my love of genealogy was growing, so was my love of history as they go hand in hand. My last semester in my under graduate program (BA in History) I remember asking a professor, “Now what?” He told me I could teach… not really what I wanted to do, I wanted to work in archives! He told me I would need a Master’s degree in Library Science…. ugh, more school. I took his advice and received a Masters degree in Library and Information Science with an emphasis in Archival Studies.Edit
Genealogy isn’t about gathering names and dates. it’s about bringing ancestors to life. There are always those that boast they have thousands of names in their family trees but the people listed are usually far removed from the individual. Those that approach genealogy like this can’t tell you facts beyond birth marriage and death. That is not how I do genealogy.
Michelle's Genealogical Website 