Amy Johnson Crow from Generations Cafe is again hosting the blog writing prompt this year called 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2021. I'm going to try to participate more fully this year. I like that she gives us "permission" to interpret the prompt however we wish and share it however we wish. It doesn't have to be a blog post; it could be a family video, a letter to a child or grandchild, an e-mail, etc.
The Theme for Week 1 (Jan 1-10) is Beginnings. I want to share the beginning of my love of genealogy and family research.
My maternal grandfather ("Pop Pop"), Charles Morgan Tapley (1907-1973), passed away when I was only 6 years old. I definitely did get enough time with him. However, he left behind a steno pad full of genealogy research that sparked my interest in family history, and here I am 47 years later, still loving it and doing research almost every day.
Of course, I still have the steno pad. I keep it locked in a safe. It is one of my most prized possessions. It is made even more special since it is in his handwriting.
Here are images of a few of the pages from his steno pad As you can see, at some point, probably when I was a pre-teen or teenager, I started adding to his research!
Pop Pop's Family Sheet
His father's, Lusion Keman Tapley, Family Sheet
His paternal grandfather's, James Madison Tapley, Family Sheet
His maternal grandfather's, George Schwalls (my brick wall!!), Family Sheet
Then at some point, I started making my own legal pad sheets, and evidently doing research on my own! This was definitely before the time of computers!
Prior to 1977, Robert E Drake, M.D. - "Dr. Bob" - sent my father a preliminary outline of a book about the Drakes he was writing and asked that my father fill in the blanks on his family. Well, of course, my father ignored it and had no intention of helping Dr. Bob with his research. It seems I took it over and sent the information requested back myself. I still have in my possession a wonderful letter from Dr. Bob dated March 12, 1980, where he told me it "is wonderful you are interested in genealogy" and offering to take notes on Tapley information he discovered in his research travels. He was obviously a very kind man to entertain the giddiness and ignorance of a 13 year old girl.
Then in the late 1980's, Ray Tapley contacted my family about the book he was writing about the Tapleys in Georgia. Ray and I corresponded by mail and talked on the phone several times. I helped him with the information about our line of Tapleys, and once his book was published, he gave me a copy as a thank you for my help. He was another very kind and generous researcher.
So that is my beginnings in doing genealogy research. I have an unfailing interest in my families and where and how my ancestors lived. I have no desire to write a book, but I will share my research with a library one day so it will hopefully spark someone else's interest in genealogy.
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