History

I’ll be honest. Growing up, I hated history. I could never remember dates, how many presidents there were, or if King Tut was the ruler of England. I also couldn’t comprehend why anyone cared about “old” stuff. Ugh, booooringggg.

After I graduated high school, I purchased a book called 1,000 Places to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz (and later, the companion book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die in the United States & Canada). I wanted to see the world now that I had a job, money, and my very own car. Using the book as a guide, I started small, visiting places in and around my home state of New Jersey (or, “Joisey” for everyone else). In October 2007, I planned a four-day road trip to Delaware to see various sites, particularly the Hagley Museum and Library and Winterthur Museum, Garden, & Library. That trip changed my life. I know, sounds pretty dramatic, but it did. I loved everything about those two museums and since then, I have visited them several more times. I loved learning about how the people lived, what kind of tools they used to ply their trade, why homes were designed a certain way and what they looked like. It was such an enriching experience.

Ever since that trip, history became a passion, a love that has never died or ceased to disappoint. I plan vacations around what history sites I can visit, I buy books on various history topics, and I even try to stay in historic B&Bs as much as I can. And, in August 2021, I decided to go to college to earn a Bachelor’s degree in History (I graduated from the University of South Florida - Saint Petersburg campus in May 2024). And, in case you are wondering, yes, I still don’t remember dates.

Genealogy & the Birth of Moonstone Genealogy

I planted the seed for family history back in 2016. At the time, I was living in Georgia (I moved there from New Jersey in 2014) and wanted to find a hobby that involved my passion for history and research. When I first started, I knew next to nothing about how to find ancestors I didn’t know existed, how to build a tree, and where to even begin. I created a free account on FamilySearch and jumped right in. I began attending lectures and workshops on the different types of records a family researcher could use to prove a familial relationship. Eventually, I decided to upgrade to Ancestry, which is now the main site I use for building family trees. Over the next ten years, I worked on my family tree off and on as a hobby.

As a New Year’s Resolution for 2026, I wanted to get back into working on genealogy more consistently. I jumped right in starting January 1 and something clicked in me that I wanted to share this love of genealogy and history with others. And, in May 2026, Moonstone Genealogy was born.

Why the name Moonstone Genealogy? Moonstone is the official gemstone of Florida, where I moved to from Georgia in May 2021. I absolutely love it here and have nestled my roots deep into the limestone Earth of this beautiful state, hence the genealogy part of the name (and because I love genealogy!)