About Michael

About this Blog:

Rootdig has no sponsor and does not want one. Rootdig does not copy/paste press releases or accept any submitted posts. What you see typed in our posts comes from our fingertips, not the control V command.  This is not one of those blogs where posts often vibrate with excitement over the latest new genealogical website, gizmo, or gadget. If I don’t use it or think it’s worth using, I don’t suggest buying it or using it. Many times I won’t even write about it. We also occasionally slip into the third person. You have been warned. 😉

I want to share some of my research experiences, help readers to make their own genealogical discoveries, and encourage people to think about how they search, what they search, how they interpret their results, and how they decide to move their research forward.

About Me:

I have researched my own genealogy since the early 1980s and my children’mjn-web-270x300s ancestry since shortly before their birth. These families cover most US states east of the Mississippi as well as Iowa, Nebraska, and Missouri–including Mayflower immigrants and mid-17th century Virginians. In addition to the early immigrants, over half of their ancestors immigrated to the United States in the mid-19th century. Ethnic origins of my children are roughly as follows:

  • 1/4 Ostfriesen
  • 1/16 Irish
  • 1/16 Belgian
  • 1/16 French-Canadian
  • 3/32 German
  • 1/32 Swiss
  • the rest are generally from the United Kingdom with another German, Frenchmen, or Dutchman thrown in the mix.

I written on genealogical research topics since the late 1980s and have lectured nationally at a wide variety of local, regional, and national conferences and workshops. Presentations are down-to-earth, informational, full of real examples. and practical. I also lead annual research trips to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City and the Allen County Public Library in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.

In my non-genealogy life, I am a community college mathematics instructor and have a master’s degree in mathematics from Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois–my mother’s alma mater and where my daughter is currently a student.

My blog is about anything that crosses my interest of a genealogical nature–along with a little bit of occasional attitude.

If you or your group would like to have me present a seminar or workshop, please contact me at mjnrootdig@gmail.com to discuss particulars.

 

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