Today not only is the first day of 2017, but it is also the 6th Blogiversay of Claiming Kin! This year I’m celebrating this special milestone with a new and improved look for my favorite space in cyberspace. This new design represents how I plan and want to express myself and share my ancestors and family’s history with you this year and beyond!

Special thanks go to John S. (@kooldesignmaker), who has done lots of graphic work for me through the years, for transforming my old family photos into the awesome  – Claiming Kin Ancestor Collage – you see when you visit my Facebook profile page. This collage is a visual representation of ancestors and family members I celebrate and honor each day since I started this genealogical journey in 1989.

Sending virtual (((((hugs & best wishes)))) to all my family and genealogy friends who visit this blog and interact with me here regularly. THANK YOU so much! I appreciate your friendship, guidance, patience, and support very much. I wish you and yours a —

Happy New Year Everyone!

I am so excited that this is the first day of 2016 because . . .
Claiming Kin turns 5 years old today!

That’s right, my blog here in cyberspace is growing up and I owe my growth to everyone who continues to support me. I’m so thankful to have a mom and brothers who get a big kick out of my passion for genealogy. As a result, I can call them any time of the day (or night) with questions and information about our family without them checking caller IDs to screen my calls — LOL!

I want to (((THANK))) Zachary Montz (Ph.D. student at University of Texas) and Thomas McWhorter (grad student at University of Houston), for contacting me to learn more about my dad and the class action law suit he and others filed against the discriminatory practices of the labor seniority system at Houston Armco Steel Corporation. Yes, I have an activist in the family that I will be blogging more about this year.

I also must (((THANK))) Amanda Fishel for contacting me last year when she discovered  my mtDNA GedMatch kits were a match to her great-great Aunt’s kit, to one of her cousin’s kits, and a small match to one of her own kits. Even though I was excited to have this DNA match, I was a little hesitant about responding to her at first. Why? I wasn’t sure how Amanda (who is not black) was going to feel about her connection to me and my African/African-American Ancestry. Well, it was a relief to know that she was not only cool with our connection, but willing to collaborate with me to find out how we’re related. I have a strong feeling this is the year we find that connection!

To all my genealogy friends who visit my blog and interact with me regularly via Twitter, Google+, and Facebook — THANK YOU! I appreciate your friendship, guidance, and your family’s history very much. I wish you and yours a — Happy New Year!

2015 is finally here!
Not only is it a new year, but it’s also the 4 year anniversary month of  — Claiming Kin . . . . woo-hoo!

2014 was filled with challenges that kept me from blogging as regularly as I would have liked. But having little time to blog, thankfully did NOT keep me from squeezing in some quality research time. How was I able to do that? I was able to do that by staying connected with other genealogists at the Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research and via my membership with the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society’s Wille Lee Gay, H-Town Chapter. I’m excited about my genealogy journey in 2015 and I look forward to sharing that journey right here with you!

I send virtual (((((hugs & well wishes)))) to my ‘genealogy & Downton Abbey bestie’ – True Lewis – who sent me a happy blogiversary tweet on New Year’s Day!

And to all my genealogy friends who visit this blog and interact with me regularly via Twitter, Google+, Facebook, and LinkedIn — THANK YOU! I appreciate your friendship, guidance, and support very much. I wish you and yours a — Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

It is officially January 1, 2014  and  today, Claiming Kin Turns 3!

That’s right! I’ve been blogging about all things “genealogy” for 3 years today!

If I tell you these three years have gone by in a flash, you better believe it. It just doesn’t seem like I’ve been blogging very long; especially since I blog more when time allows than everyday. But I’ve been blogging and interacting with the genealogy community online more than I realize. To date, I have a total of  — 162 posts (including this one) and 542 comments (with 78 being pings & trackbacks). That’s 69.1% more posts and 80% more comments than the number of posts and comments I had at the close of my first year in 2011. So in light of these percentages I say  . . . it’s time to . . .

C E L E B R A T E!!

Special thanks and lots of LOVE goes out to all my family for their contributions to our family tree, this blog, and online family photo album. I am honored that you trust me to be “the keeper” of precious family photos and documents as I preserve them for future generations of our family!

I send virtual (((((hugs & well wishes)))) to all my genealogy friends who visit this blog and interact with me regularly. THANK YOU! I appreciate your friendship, guidance, and support very much and wish you and yours a —

Happy New Year!