Getting to Know Me, Getting to Know We Tree

[Terry Thornton of Hill Country of Monroe County, Mississippi issued a "Getting to Know You" challenge to those who have genealogy-related blogs. He posed several questions and invited us to answer them. This post is the hat I've thrown in the ring. --Amy]

I'm Amy and I live in Texas with one husband, one son and two cats. We Tree is my genealogy blog. I started in July 2008 as a way to talk about genealogy and my family's history without driving everyone crazy with all my talk about genealogy and family history.

The purpose of this blog is to connect with others and preserve this history of those long gone. Maybe my family learns about their ancestors. Maybe my friends learn from my experiences. Maybe strangers are entertained by my stories. Maybe We Tree grows exponentially and becomes a household name (genealogically speaking). Only time will tell.

I've been asked to provide examples of the best, breeziest and most beautiful posts We Tree has to offer. Since this blog only has 60 posts so far, there isn't much of a pool from which to choose. Below are my choices to date, with the promise of much more to come:

Call Me Ahab is the brightest article I've written to date. In it, I conveyed the quest to find an original photo and the magic of making a huge genealogical discovery. At least that's what I was trying to describe.

I haven't yet had the time to be breezy or sassy, but And When They Met, It was MURDER!!! dances on the provocative side. The piece talks about a homicidal skeleton in my family closet. Murder is a tragedy, but the circumstances and tone of the newspaper account of this particular incident left me slightly (and inappropriately) amused at the demise of my great-great grandfather.

The Birthday Present is my choice for most beautiful piece. It explains how I spent the very last birthday money I received from my grandmother. Honestly, I don't think the piece is touching on a wide level, but it reached the people it was supposed to and that's what makes it special to me.

The way I write is exactly how I think. I have no brain-to-keyboard filter. There is no secret to getting to know me or the We Tree blog. Genealogy to me is like a big puzzle, and I love to solve puzzles. If you get enough pieces of information about someone, a picture starts to form. It doesn't matter how we are related or if we are at all. It's important to preserve the stories of those who are no longer around to tell them. If you understand that, then you understand my approach to genealogy and the purpose of the We Tree blog.