About Kris

I began my genealogy journey waaaaaay back in 1995 (when the internet was in its infancy), when I did my final project for my bachelor’s degree in English at St. Mary's College of Maryland. Through the course of doing that project, I found my grandfather a whole living family of cousins who didn’t even know he existed.

 

One of those cousins had spent a significant number of years safeguarding and maintaining an extensive collection of records and an enormous family tree – almost all of which was handwritten. 

 

Giving my grandfather that gift was the high point of my life.  I cannot think of another time when I felt like I had facilitated something so important.  

 

Pop had been abandoned, orphaned, abused… a street kid who was taken in by strangers and who lied to get into the Navy at 16.  He had family by marriage, but none of his own to speak of.  The newfound cousins were so happy and excited to know him, they had a family reunion to celebrate his “discovery.”  Pop and his cousin Doris communicated with each other until his death.

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It has become clear that this is what I want to do with my life. 

I want to find people families - whether that’s by doing genealogical research and creating family trees and/or by reuniting or finding families.  Sure, not all stories turn out to have happy endings.  Not all families want to reunite.  Skeletons are always lurking in closets that people have feared to open.  The services I want to give are access to information AND healing.  I want to create stories for people to share and with which they can anchor themselves in fulfilling needs they might not have known they had.