Until I was in college, I didn’t really pay attention to history. At the community college I had a history teacher who was amazing. Everyone loved him because his class wasn’t just memorization of names and dates. He brought history to life with his booming voice and many historical characters he portrayed in the classroom. He was even in costume. He told the stories. I have never forgotten him. He stoked the fire for me to know more.
My mom’s grandfather (Clinton Seitz) left the family when he was six years old. We knew nothing about the Seitz family as my great grandmother had no contact with the other Seitz family members. In my mid-twenties I went on a mission to learn what happened. I was blessed to connect with my grandfather’s cousin who had heirlooms from that time period, including my great grandmother’s wedding ring. Gus told me what he could. He told me how Clinton came to visit his mom when he was a kid. Clinton had left the family in 1898, and this was sometime after 1925. That led me to start researching on Rootsweb message board (long before Ancestry) and writing letters to inquire with court houses, churches, and archives.
Many years later I continue to love the research, the hunt for information on the lives of those who came before us. Not just through my own family research, I enjoy researching for others to preserve history. As the board chair of our local cemetery, I work in the background to keep our cemetery beautiful and relevant to our community, providing access for them and their loved ones. I research those who are buried in the cemetery and pay honor to veterans buried there through my work as a Location Coordinator of Wreaths Across America. As a Registrar and District Registrar of the Daughters of the American Revolution I help women of all backgrounds to research their families to become a member of this all-volunteer society. I’m proud of the change DAR has made over the last 85 years to add Native American, French, Black, Spanish, and Jewish Revolutionary War patriots.
Thank you for this. I have always had a yen for history. I think it was my mom's bodice ripper historical novels that I used to filch and read that got me started. The research came years later when I became a librarian and then, in retirement I had time to combine the two into projects that I have come to love.
I really love this. It’s amazing how one teacher, one family story, or one unanswered question can open the door to a whole life of research and service. Thank you!