What's so unusual about this Genealogist.

Naming blogs are hard! It needs to be memorable, unique and more importantly relevant. At the very least “Unusual Genealogist” hits the nail on the head of the last one.

I’ve always had a compulsion to search out “background” facts. I love falling through rabbits holes of information. This can include historical events, people, cinematic universes, literary backstories, to name a few.

This is probably my biggest draw into the world of Family Tree sleuthing, not only do you find out about relatives long past but you also gets glimpses into the world they lived in or the historical events that would shape not only their lives but the shape of your family tree.

Now enjoying the search into family history isn’t unusual, as recent explosion of interest in the hobby will show, but the age in which I was bit by the bug can be considered so. I’ve already spend a good portion of 10 years searching into my and my spouses family trees - right as I entered my early 20s.

I’ve never been comfortable in the bar scene, but sign me up for a history lecture!

The upside of this early interest has equaled the ability to ask older family information which always makes for a good jumping off spot. Even if their memory is not perfect I have always found it easier to go and fill in the cracks then to build the whole sculpture from scratch. It also fills in some of the human elements of a story that historical records don’t usually cover, unless you are lucky enough to find a personal journal or other source material.

The other element of the hobby that is both satisfying and frustrating is the mystery element. Sometimes you only have a name or a few, sometimes you have a ton of names but a dead end. It can be hard when the dead end can’t be cleared or even worse the trail you have been following has gone completely off course. It however pays off when a mystery is solved and you accomplish piecing together information that was no longer known or lost to the family at some point.

I hope this blog will be informative going forward as I share possible pitfalls and tips when navigating your journey. I also hope this site becomes a great resource for news, resources and hidden gems.