How did you get started on the obsession known as genealogy? I love hearing the stories. I watched the Lisa Kudrow episode of Who Do You Think You Are? and decided to sign up for the free 2 weeks on Ancestry. I laugh about it now because I truly had planned to find out what I could within those 2 weeks and then cancel my subscription. Its now 4 years later. :) Before I signed up, I talked to my parents and got as many names, dates, places of birth, etc. of our ancestors that I could. Im embarrassed to say that before that conversation, I had never given a thought to my parents grandparents, great grandparents, etc. I knew the name of one of them (Moms maternal grandfather, Gerhard Henry Geisen from Covington) only because my Grandma had mentioned him once. Dad had told me that his grandfather, Anthony Kerkhoff, had owned a machinist business in the 1890s in Cincinnati, but he didnt know any details other than that. Anthony died when my Grandpa Joe (Dads dad) was only 8 1/2, so not a lot was known about him on our side of the family. One of the first things I found on Ancestry for Anthony was an ad for his business in the Cincinnati City Directory. When I showed it to my dad, who was then about 85, he sobbed like a little boy. Looking at the address, he knew exactly where it used to be. He told me that he, his parents and siblings used to walk past the building quite often when they were in Cincinnati. He didnt know if Grandpa Joe knew that was where Anthonys business was. Seeing my father cry over something that I found out about his grandpa--I was hooked. :) This is the ad.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 13:05:41 +0000
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