Genealogical Musing with Fran

 (Thanks to former StLGS president, Fran Behrman, for being our guest writer this week.)

Hello from St. Louis. So glad that you have entered the “blogosphere” with us. This is the place to get all the news from StLGS. Obviously you know how to get here, but when you talk with others, please mention us and how to reach us. I just met someone the other day who had no idea about our blog and I was glad to share what it is all about with them. In the earlier years of StLGS we sent a newsletter  every month to our members alerting them to society happenings and events, but this blog as well as our Facebook and Twitter accounts and, of course, our website www.stlgs.org have become the way we communicate today. So we are glad you are here and hope you will spread the word.

The DNA seminar that we sponsored at the end of July was a sellout, and we thank everyone who came to learn how to interpret information from their DNA test results. Our speaker, Diahan Southard, was outstanding!

At the end of the day it seems that all roads, including using DNA, lead back to good old-fashioned genealogy research. Yes, you have to do your own research to see who on those online trees connects to your family in exactly which way.

Well, I say, YEAH! Nothing is better than a new research adventure. Yes, an adventure! Where else can you spend time traveling, researching, exploring, and meeting wonderful people all in the name of research?


I recently had the opportunity to go back to the roots of my paternal line in this country, New York City. If I ever win the mega, mega lottery (never play so I don’t know how it will happen) then I will buy a place in New York City. I have been there many times and it never disappoints. Records and history show my ancestors arrived in New Amsterdam/New York as early as 1653 and were notorious in a number of ways that makes it somewhat easy to find articles and papers about them. Remember when we go hunting for our ancestors,we never know what we will find.  It is always exciting to walk on the same ground as our ancestors and seek out their stories. We are all descendants of emigrants and I wonder if I would have been brave enough to leave my homeland and start all over in a foreign country. Don’t know. What about you?

What is your favorite family story? So many! Each ancestor does have a story and all are worth finding and chronicling.

We are gearing up for hosting the 2019 National Genealogical Society Conference. Hotel registration is now open for those of you who will be traveling here from out of town. Please check the new conference page on our website https://stlgs.org/2019-ngs-conference-journey-of-discovery for a link to the NGS site for more information. I hope that all of you will have the opportunity to attend this exciting event, spending time meeting, sharing, and generally relishing the opportunity to mingle with others who share our passion for genealogy.

Glad you are staying in touch with us and as always, happy hunting!