(Originally written 10/21/2011)

I just got an email from my cousin in Beulah, Michigan, to let me (and other cousins) know that the property and the shop in Beulah have finally sold, to the fresh-air market next door.  A chapter in my family history has come to a close.

A large segment (and a surprising plot twist) in my current work-in-progress, Snoqualmie Bound, takes place in the United Kingdom during World War II. I was determined from the start that it would be centered in Southeastern England. Not Cornwall, or Wales, or Ireland, or Scotland, but along the coastline that was closest to France. I thought it made sense, because that was the area, along with London, that was most heavily bombed by the Nazis.

Recently I was doing some research on a client’s ancestor, Philip Geissinger, who lived in Tamaqua, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania in the mid nineteenth century. According to his entry on Find A Grave, he had died on January 20, 1867; that date was carved on his gravestone.

When I started writing Home to Beulah two years ago, I had no idea it would turn into a series. And whenever I encountered a plot twist (or three) in a book I was reading, I would think to myself, "How on earth does the author think of these things?"

Well, now I know.

Genealogists like to live in the past. When I was writing From Pie Stand to Icon three years ago, I couldn’t help wondering: what was it like to live in the little village of Beulah in Northern Michigan 100 years ago? Soon after came the thought, what was it like to do genealogical research in the days before internet and DNA?

When I became interested in genealogy after I inherited my grandfather's family papers, I turned to the public library (as always) for more information. Searching for Your Ancestors by Gilbert H. Doane was the perfect start for a beginner genealogist.

In April of 2021, as I was sitting in my car dealership waiting for my oil change, I got a text from my cousin Dee, in Beulah, Michigan. Her husband Bob had died in March, and she was letting me know that there would be a short graveside service on Saturday, May 15. Up until then, I had no plans to travel because Pandemic, but just out of curiosity, I looked up plane fares to Traverse City. And found a round trip ticket for $275. That was too good to pass up, so I booked a flight and landed in Traverse City on May 13, for a week's stay in Beulah.

In my ten years as a professional genealogist, working with hundreds of clients and thousands of records, I have learned a lot about judging the quality of a source.Genealogists know that the closer a record is to the event in question, the more likely it is to be accurate.