My Obsession with My Family History

OMG. I’ve found a new obsession that is better than Netflix! At least for me, ok. 🙂

I’ve been meaning to do some research into my family history but have found TV to be more interesting, so haven’t done it.  I researched my family tree years ago (turns out 13 years ago. Ouch, I’m old!), and did a bit with my grandparents when I first moved to Arizona, but that was only with them.

Over the weekend, I decided it was time. I went and set up a free 14 day trial at ancestry.com, opting for the trial of the higher package, because I had a feeling….

Oh dear, was I right! Not only is the ancestry.com website pretty easy to use for anybody who is remotely tech savvy, it comes with an awesome iPad app! Yep, that is how I ended up researching until 2:30 in the morning.

I’ve started out with a few goals that are driving me in my search. Now, I’m becoming even more obsessed! Here is what I’m out to accomplish, not knowing if it is really possible…

Finding my Swedish Roots

I lived in Sweden for two years and still run a blog all about Sweden. It is natural for me to wonder if I have Swedish roots, but luckily I know I have Norwegian roots! The two countries were one at a point.

My grandfather’s mother was born “Sophia Carolina Grindem”, who came over from Grindheim in Norway (the area of Bergen).  My father didn’t know that she had a brother in Detroit.  I can’t seem to find her grandparents in Norway though!  Its only been a few days, I’ve just started.

My goal? Find living relatives in Sweden that I can say “hello” to!

A Long Line of Warstlers

My husband is C William Warstler, Jr, and he loves to say “I’m William Warstler, and I come from a long line of Warstlers!”.  How long is that line in fact? Where does the Warstler name come from and what is it all about?

I plan on seeing just how long the Warstler line is and how related are all the Warstlers in the United States?

History of Powerful Women

Etta Jane McKinney I always knew my great grandmother was a powerful woman. She was one of the first women to get her masters degree (in teaching). What I didn’t know was the long line of powerful women that she comes from. My goal is to go back through my woman line and see how powerful we can get!

My Black Heritage

From Virginia to South Carolina to Kansas, my family has lived a long time all over the United States. They were white, and farmers in the south. They most likely owned slaves.

As history has shown us, people make love no matter what color their skin is and sometimes it doesn’t matter if they are married or not. I’m guessing my ancestors had some slaves, made love to those slaves, and I have some black relatives that I need to say “hello!” to (and perhaps sorry that we kept you as slaves?  I haven’t thought that far ahead.)

I’m wondering if I don’t have some black genetics myself with my beautiful lips, dark eyes, and dark hair. I may have to shell out that $99 to see if that DNA thing is worth it!


These are my three main goals that keep me up until 2:30am and has me calling my dad 3 times a day.  The exciting thing is, as I go through my journey I will share it will all of you. So you can see the interesting things I find, and admit to yourself that you are going to have to see what this crazy Ancestry.com is all about!

Leave a Comment

I accept the Privacy Policy