I began researching my family in 2002, grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles all long dead. My maternal grandpa, with Irish grandparents, always said the Quill's were from Dingle Bay. My maternal grandma, of German grandparents, taught me to count in German and talked about the farm in Mannheim, in what is now a suburb of Chicago. One day while my dad was visiting I asked him about his family, his Danish and Swedish grandparents. He had 43 first cousins and I sat and scribbled names on a piece of steno paper. Most of those had the last names Johnson and Smith.
One day at school another teacher who had been working on genealogy for many years showed me the 1920 census online. I typed my great-grandfather's name, John Quill and Chicago and sure enough, there he was, with wife Kate and and couple of my great aunts. I was hooked! Every spare minute I spent online, searching census records and the Family Search website hoping to find more information. That folded up piece of steno paper was still in the address book and that came out and names were typed into any database I could find. I was certain I would find the family trees all ready for me.
Well, it has been eight years and so far the only family trees I have are the ones I have created from my own research. Some relatives have surfaced along the way and have added wonderful information and even some pictures. But my journey continues into finding the mysteries of my family, Irish, German, Swedish & Danish. Not so much of a melting pot as some families, but a fine mixture never the less.
This is where I am going to share my genealogy journey: my family, my research, the successes, frustrations, challenges, research tips, and links.
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