I'm a native Californian & have lived in Salinas, CA for the past 20 odd years. I grew up listening to my maternal grandfather tell stories of our ancestral castle in Ireland & daring exploits of the males in his family...always on the high seas, of course!  My mother's older sister was the family historian.  She made at least annual trips (from her home in Texas) to Salt Lake City for research.  Her letters to my mother were filled with her discoveries.  As one, who at a young age had a passion for history & folklore, I became a mini apprentice to my aunt until University & then a career kept me otherwise occupied.  Late one night, about a month after I retired, bored out of my mind, I googled my paternal grandmother's name. I found a website about her family & a question mark after her name!   I had discovered a cousin, & a whole branch of my family I never knew about. Through my "new" cousin, I connected not only with family I didn't know, I also rekindled my fascination with genealogy.

I'm very interested in patterns of immigration, & the "immigrant experience"---especially the experience of women.  As my family members/ancestors are all relatively recent immigrants to the US, much of my research focuses on family lines in Australia & New Zealand (who came from Ireland, Scotland & England) as well as family lines in Germany & Sweden.