Genealogy and family history

So, I have really gotten hooked on Genealogy. I have found out so much! For a history teacher, this is like manna from heaven!

I joined Ancestry.com after receiving a free trial at a workshop. I splurged after it was over for the world membership. I have traced my family back to Scotland and have found that my ancestors came over in the late 17th century as part of the head right system. My sixth great grandfather has even had a book written about him. How cool is that?

What makes this unique for me is that my mom was not raised with her biological family for whatever reason. (She doesn't talk about it and her brothers and sisters all tell me different stories.) So, I knew absolutely NOTHING about my biological family on that side. With the help of my  mom's sister-in-law, I have been piecing together the puzzle.

I have found that I had an ancestor who fought in the Revolutionary War in Virginia (hello to the DAR!) and an ancestor who was a Confederate Soldier in the Civil War. (He actually fought where I grew up - how freaky is that?) I also found that my grandfather was in the US Navy during WWI. Pretty cool, huh? I must say it is very settling to find my connections after all of these years.

I am working on my dad's side of the family, but, they are from Kentucky and a little more difficult to learn about. Apparently, Virginia kept really good records of people's coming and goings. Kentucky, not so much.

I found a new magazine called Family Tree Magazine that had a great article about finding your Appalachian roots. This has been very helpful. Their article about familysearch.org was helpful as well. This has become a great new hobby for me. Have you tried finding your family history? Let me know if you have!