WELCOME! 

I come from a family of keepers: objects, pictures, paintings, letters, and journals have been preserved in private homes and libraries. But for the first forty years of my life, I knew little about our family's papers and memorabilia, and what I did know, I took for granted. Then my father died. Like many adult children who lose a parent, I realized too late that I had never fully known my dad. I had inherited a box of papers from him, and as I read them, his world began to open. David Steele and his tavern in the Shenandoah Valley became a way for me to connect with my father; Steeles Tavern became a perpetual geographical mooring. What follows here is a kind reckoning about my family, and what I've learned about searching for them. I know I'm not alone in this quest. So many people are searching for their roots these days. How will they record their discoveries? How will they communicate about the stories they discover? Who wants to read a file on dates and names? I tried to capture my ancestors through fiction. I explored the themes that arose from my research.  I'm so grateful for this experience. And I'm hoping this blog will serve as an inspiration. There's more than one way to present genealogical information. If you decide to do a blog like mine, please let me know. I'd love to watch your site as it grows.