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I speak her name: Kathleen Hogan Smith

 Today I'm remembering my grandmother, who would have celebrated her 113th birthday today. Affectionately known as Grammie K in the 21st century, Gram lived to be 103 years old! What an amazing life she led. Gram was the first girl in her family who didn't have to knit her own socks before being allowed to go to school (her store-bought socks were ordered from Halifax). When she did go to school, she didn't stay. One of her older brothers had contracted tuberculosis in World War I and was recuperating at home. He told his sister that if she cried, they would send her home. If they sent her home, they could play away the day! Much to her brother's delight and her sisters' chagrin, Kathleen complied with his instruction.  Kathleen's two sisters closest to her in age (Kathleen was twelfth of thirteen children, there were LOTS of brothers and sisters!) were asked by the school to comfort her and encourage her to stop crying. But she wouldn't stop. Home she went ...
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Welcome to There and Back Again - A Genealogist's Tale

 This past weekend I spent over twelve hours with my daughter in a movie theater experiencing The Lord of the Rings , extended version (of course) on the big screen. These movies, and the book that inspired them, are family favorites. I'm often reminded of the title of Bilbo's tale when I'm researching: the physical shifting of ancestors through immigration, and the time shifting of the genealogist through immersion in the past punctuated by real life in the present. Hence the blog title: There and Back Again - A Genealogist's Tale . This week, I have a lot on my genealogy plate! Last night was the first monthly DNA SIG of 2026 for the Cobb County Genealogical Society. As the coordinator, I led the group in setting some genealogy intentions with respect to our DNA research, and helped them prepare for a productive year of discovery. Next month we'll embark on our own genealogy journey to really dig into our DNA test results, using the methodology described in the bo...
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