I have no descendants…

Many genealogists that I know are researching their family history and preserving family documents for their posterity. That begs the question, why do I do family history research, since I have no descendants? Well, I’ve been actively researching my ancestry since the 1970s, long before I knew that I was unable to have children. But my passion for genealogy is rooted in the thrill of the hunt, rather than what I’m saving for future generations.

I do have a lot of extended family members who may or may not be interested in all of the research I have done, so I’ve decided to start this blog to share some of me and some of my findings with them (and anyone else who is interested).

I thought I’d begin with my autobiography that I wrote when I was 11. There are references in the text to images that I removed long ago and no longer remember what was there, but I’ve found some postcards in my voluminous collection that are probably the images referred to. The text is fun to reflect back on and to think that I had lived long enough at that point to write an autobiography, such as it is. Here’s the cover:

Here’s the text with context added in brackets [ ] (I kept original spelling and punctuation):

Liz Kelley

Sept. 7 [1967]

A few days ago we went to Charleston [Illinois]. The first day we ate at the sorority [Delta Zeta where my grandmother was house mother] and slept in the dormitory on the 3rd floor. The next morning we ate breakfast and went into Mattoon. We saw some real oil wells. My Gram showed us the hotel we were going to eat at.

After that we ate at the CCC (Charleston Country Club) and danced to old time music. The next morning after breakfast we went to the Hotel. They’re food’s delicious! Then we went down the Lincoln Trail passed two Historic places that Lincoln lived and the third one was Shiloh Cemetery where Lincoln’s Father and Stepmother were buried. I don’t know how it’s possible but the X is where Lincoln’s father was buried also. [I couldn’t find an X on this postcard, but here’s their grave.]

Then we went down the road aways and came to the copy of the Lincoln Log Cabin. Then we went down the road more and came to the real house Sarah Lincoln lived in. Then we started back for the lake (not Michigan) and went back home. That night we had something like supper but not as much food. We watched T.V. and went home. Next morning after breakfast we got packed and left. We got home at 12:45 A.M. July 16th we went on our Summer vacation. It is in Wis. (King’s Haven Resort) [which no longer exists]. Our beach:

This is our cottage [above]. Here is a picture of Sandy as a baby. [Sandy was a tame deer that visited the resort. I no longer have this picture.]

On the back is a picture of the street where I got most of my postcards on. This is the Main Street. Here is most of the town of Spooner where we stay.

On the next page is a picture of a junkie town we visited. [Don’t know what this was.] The X is the store we bought a lot of grocery’s at. Across the street, the red building, is the gift shop my brother got his goggle and mask at. Then we went back to our cottage. You’ll notice on page 5 the top post card in left hand bottom corner is a little building I forgot to tell you about. [Don’t have this image.] That is the main place where the owners live. It’s called the bar. You can get soda’s and candy and potatoe chips and other things there. I met a girl up there last year, her name is Jennifer Dittmer. This photo is a picture of Sandy right now [the little boy behind Sandy is my younger brother, Scott].

The owners have probably taken Sandy to a deerfarm by now because it is around hunting season and he might get killed.

This is our dog, Pepper.

Well, that’s my autobiography. Guess I don’t need to write one now. Anyway, I’ll put memories and family information up here as time permits. I hope you enjoy.