My Intro to Genealogy

Five generations of my family, including the two women who started me off on my journey into genealogy. Clockwise, starting with my son, Shawn (9 months), held by my grandmother, Merial Brown Walton, her mother, Mable Gorham Brown, my mom, Dolores Walton Williams, and me.  Summer of 1974.

In the summer of 1979, I received a box from my grandmother containing various family documents, pictures, and books. The two most interesting items were my great-grandmother Mable’s memoirs and our family tree, both handwritten on old mimeograph paper – the purple stuff!  As I typed her memoirs, I became fascinated with her life, her childhood, years spent raising my grandmother and her siblings, and her life thru her 70’s.  The family tree was also a wonderful read. (Mable lived to her 87th year.)

While working on the project, I was also very pregnant with my daughter, Emily.  Not long after the typing was done, she was born.  With a 6-year old son and a new baby and a job, I put the box of materials away and didn’t spend much time looking at any of it for many years.  However, any time we visited family, grandparents, etc., I would ask questions and make notes.  Into the box they would go.  For 35+ years….

Now I have many boxes of materials, and I’m very serious about sorting this out and putting things in order... for the next generations...