Humble Beginnings....

I began “thinking” about genealogy when my father was diagnosed with an incurable cancer in 1998, but when I would ask him about certain things (family, military service, etc.) he didn’t want to discuss it, so I just quit asking.

Then one evening, I received THE phone call from my stepmother that my dad was giving up and I needed to come down (950 miles away) and spend time with him now.  I packed a suitcase, included several old photos that I wanted to have identified, and was armed with lots of questions I was finally hoping to get answers for.  The night I got there, I spent several hours just watching him and listening to him.  I was asking random questions (about how he was feeling, not the questions I needed to ask).  When I left, I told him I had lots of things I wanted to talk about tomorrow (it was late and I was tired having spent 2 days on the road and thought we would both feel better after a good night’s rest).  Tomorrow never came, he passed away about 2:30 a.m. (3 hours after I left).

So, I have more questions than answers when it comes to the Modrell part of my family.  I have unidentified family photographs, antiques with no story, and heirlooms with no meaning.

This blog will be a place to share my successes, failures, brick walls, photos and anything else I can find that relates to my family as I begin my quest of "Searching For Ancestors".