How a School Project and a Bible Sparked My Genealogy Journey
I didn’t know I wanted to go ancestor hunting until my sophomore high school French teacher threw a family tree project my way. At 15, I was already a self-proclaimed history nerd, so the history part of the assignment had me hooked. But when it came to actually putting together a family tree? Total blank. Naturally, I did what any self-respecting teenager would do. I went home, sat down at the dinner table, and let out a dramatic sigh about the project. How was I supposed to build a family tree when I barely knew the roots?
Little did I know at the time, but my family’s roots in America ran deeper than I ever imagined, and my dad had something hidden away to prove it.
A Treasure Hidden Away in a Cedar Chest
That weekend, my mom opened the cedar chest that sat at the foot of their bed. The lid creaked a bit, releasing a waft of mothballs, but the contents it held started me down a path through history. Among the treasures was the largest bible I’d ever seen with its own fascinating story.
Midway through the bible was a page of names and dates written out in looping script that spilled onto the back pages. Some of the names were familiar – my grandparents, for instance. But the earlier entries? Total mysteries. That day, I was introduced to Joseph LeMaitre and his wife, Veronique Voirol, who were married on December 24, 1852 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Shortly thereafter, they moved to Hutchinson, Minnesota where he died in 1870 and she in 1883.
Until that moment, history was mostly a collection of dates and places that I learned in school. I had limited experience with its people and their lives. But now? Now, history came to life in a completely new way. Suddenly, I had family connections to those dates and places. I had a way to make history relevant to my own little world – and that world grew so much bigger that weekend in 1989.
Looking back, I can spot exactly where my family history journey began. Names scrawled in a bible, an assignment in a French class, and a teeny spark that lit my path for the last 36 years.
This post is part of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2025 challenge from Amy Johnson Crow.
The Week 1 challenge prompt is “In the beginning”, which I agree is a very good place to start.
