I’ve been interested in my family history, primarily through stories, since I was a small kid, but it wasn’t until my late 20s that I discovered genealogy as a passion. I began to research in earnest after one of my grandfathers passed away in 2007. Since then, I have striven to learn not just my own family history but how to be a genealogist, working through different sources, using proper citations and research methods, and breaking down my brick walls.
Professionally, I’ve completed Boston University’s Genealogical Research Program (OL20) and for nearly a decade served on the board and as webmaster of the Fairfax Genealogy Society. I’m a member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, the National Genealogical Society, and the Fairfax Genealogical Society.
In addition to the family research found on this website, I am tracing the ancestry of Kelly Groucutt and Frank Hinkins. Kelly Groucutt (1945 – 2009) was the guitarist for Electric Light Orchestra. Groucutt is a family name, and most of them are from Staffordshire, so I’m trying to see if there’s a relationship. Hinkins (1885 – 1934) of Falls Church, Virginia, was a firefighter with the Falls Church Volunteer Fire Department who was killed in the line of duty while responding to an alarm. I was a firefighter there, and the current members know very little about Hinkins.
I have two other blogs I encourage you to visit:
The Wartime Letters of Private Charles Lowry, U.S. Army: An early effort to transcribe my grandfather’s letters home from World War II.
YTown is My Town: My retired blog, which started in 2004, chronicled the successes and failures of saving Youngstown, Ohio. It now serves as a bit of an archive for news, photos, and occasional commentary.
About Sources
I try to post sources where I have them, and conversely, I try not to post material that isn’t sourced. Sometimes I will post material that is conjecture in an attempt to make it available to others who can help me verify something.
About Photos
Most of the photos I post here are from my parents or grandparents. Others are from family friends, genealogy contacts, and other random sources. Like my other documents, I will cite photos whenever possible.
About the ‘Topics’
I didn’t just come up with the idea of Tombstone Tuesday, Wordless Wednesday, etc. There is a vast genealogy blogging universe that explores these topics. Geneabloggers.com crowdsources about 3,000 genealogy blogs and posts relevant topics on its homepage each day, along with the blogs that are using them. The #1 source of traffic to this blog is family through Facebook. The #2 source of traffic is the random individuals who find it through Geneabloggers.
lowry genealogy 