Welcome!

Well, I've finally taken the plunge and I'm writing my first blog post, even though I technically created this blog months ago. Better late than never, right? I guess listening to Lisa Louise Cooke's podcast has finally rubbed off on me. Thanks Lisa for always encouraging everyone to put themselves out there and test the blogging waters!

So let's start off with an introduction: My name is Matt Mapes and I'm addicted to genealogy. It's not a bad addiction, at least not most of the time. But when I don't get enough sleep because I'm lying awake at night thinking about all the information and documents I don't have, or if I tend to neglect my family a little too much, I suppose my passion for genealogy can be a bit destructive.

I've been researching my genealogy for a good 20 years, since about the time I was in high school. Yes, I was so cool when I was in high school. But I am certainly glad I started early. If I hadn't, I would not have had my maternal grandmother, or a number of other older relatives to guide me and help me understand my family before they joined all the others who have gone into history.

I'm not promising much for this blog. My life is a bit busy, with two kids, a wife, a house and we both have full time jobs (and my wife is also going to graduate school). But I'm going to offer some unique perspectives on genealogy and our ancestors and I'll throw out some family information along the way in hopes of finding some new cousins.

Sign up, comment, email me and enjoy!

Happy hunting...