Kin and Konnections: A Family History Blog

Researching my family history has changed so much since I started in 2000.  Then, I had a frustratingly slow dial-up connection.  I mostly surfed and posted on message boards.  I spent my lunch breaks in the bowels of the Los Angeles Central Library.  I remember stumbling upon my Burwell ancestors in the DAR lineage books.  I was excited when I found the biography of John H. Bryant, linking my Illinois Bryants to Massachusetts, and eventually, my immigrant ancestor, Abraham Bryant of Reading.  Even more rewarding, was piecing together the clues from city directories to my long-lost uncle and reconnecting the family after over 50 years. Many of those same resources I used back then are now available online.  Increasingly, you can access them for free. Today, I started with a short article on the remarriage of Moses T. Burwell, Jr. to Ada (Smith) Burwell on December 10, 1904, in Kansas City, Missouri.  [The article was published in the Col...

The Christmas season is a feast for the senses: a freshly cut evergreen tree to decorate, the warmth of a favorite sweater, the tasty goodness of homemade cookies, the twinkling lights, the sounds of familiar carols.   These things all remind me of my precious childhood memories…   Hiding under a pile of stuffed animals so that Santa could not spy on me.   Arguing with the big kids (2 nd graders) about the existence of Santa. Extra helpings of my grandmother’s Snickerdoodles.   Creating works of art in school to decorate our family tree.   My surprised delight in finding a Barbie dreamhouse from Santa.   My mother helping us to bundle up just to play outside. Long treks to the hills by our house to go tobogganing with my dad, brother, and dog (poor dog!).   We always fell of the sled!   Christmas dinner with our Canadian grandmother. Sticking out our tongues to catch falling snowflakes. Building a giant snowman a...