Since I am still basically quarantining at home, I've done my best to keep busy during these last 9 months. I've cleaned out closets and drawers, redecorated my living room, created a new outdoor garden space, organized dozens of boxes of mementos that date back to 1975 (old letters, photos, trinkets, etc.) and have been writing regularly now for a new website called, "Always Pets." But my FAVORITE journey during this entire pandemic process has been tracing my family roots through Ancestry.com.

Twelve years ago, when my father was still alive, we spent an entire summer tracing his family tree. This was long before either of us knew how to use the internet, and I don't believe that Ancestry.com even existed. My research was conducted from old boxes of photos and papers that my parents had saved, along with countless hours spent at the local library. My father had always believed his family was of German and Irish descent. Well, he was right about Germany, but it was such a thrill to show him that a large part of his ancestry was Scottish (with nary a drop of Irish blood). After my father died in 2008, I lost interest in tracing my roots. It just wasn't the same without his input and enthusiasm.

My father and his brothers in the late 1940s

When my mother passed away eight years later, she left me a treasure trove of old family pictures, letters, and documents. Boxes and boxes, in fact. There was so much information that I became overwhelmed and shoved them to the back corner of my closet, where they have stayed until now. While doing my pandemic house purge, I came across the dusty boxes, and after lifting the first cardboard flap, it was like opening a portal to a past.

Mom, senior year
high school

I've always been fascinated with history, but when I read my mother's faint handwriting on the backs of the old black and white photos, I felt the familiar thrill of discovery and knew I had to get back to my roots.

I joined Ancestry.com, took the DNA test, and was excited about the results. As suspected, I am primarily of German, Scottish and English descent. But then I discovered a little Sweden and Norway mixed in my DNA. I didn't see that coming! A small fraction of blood from Wales and France, but much smaller than I had previously believed.

My grandmother, great-grandmother, an aunt,
and great-great-grandmother (maternal side)

The information doesn't stop there. I was able to trace my Scottish paternal ancestors all the way back to 1445 and found many from my English maternal side dating back to the mid-1500s. I already had some of the background information on file from my previous research and from documents my father had kept. For instance, I'm related to Robert Livingston, who signed the Declaration of Independence, and also to Gen. George Custer. I'm not too proud of that last one, but it was fascinating to see how my maiden last name Kester evolved from Von Kuster, Koster, Custer, and Kuster. On my mother's side, I have descendants that were French Huguenots, and oddly enough, a grandmother from Salem in the late 1600s who was accused of witchcraft (but later acquitted), which might explain where some of my great-grandfather's weird psychic tendencies came from, as well as my own.

My paternal grandmother (toddler), great-grandfather, great-great-grandmother and 3x-great-grandmother

I've also enjoyed discovering tons of old ancestry photos on the site as well as documents, maps, and even pictures of the weathered headstones of my relatives' graves. Even more fun---many of my distant cousins on Ancestry.com contacted me after my DNA results came in, and it has been fascinating to see how we are all connected!

My grandmother (paternal side) with her father-in-law on the beach. Yes, that is her bathing suit!

It feels good to step back in time--it takes my mind off this terribly bleak year of the plague. But most of all, I can feel my father smiling down on me for continuing the search we started so many years ago. And it's incredibly comforting to see how we are ALL truly connected to one another on this amazing planet.

***I have hundreds and hundreds of photos, but here are some of my favorites. Enjoy this step back in time with me!