Jeffrey Kagan

Site Historian

In 1985, I was a junior in high school. Our Health Class teacher decided to give a lesson or two on genealogy. This was a new subject to me, never having even considered the thought of plotting out my ancestral history on a piece of paper. The instructions were to go home that evening and interview the oldest relative we knew to find the names of ancestors going back 4 generations from myself. We were old to indicate a male as a square box with the name inside, and a circle for a female. For marriage, draw a line connecting the two shapes. And for children, a perpendicular line extending down from the "marriage" line. Seemed like easy logic to follow.

At that time, my paternal grandmother Bertha was the oldest living relative I knew, being a ripe old 72 years-old. She told me the names of her parents and I added them off to the left on my large piece of beige oaktag. I also asked my Mother to provide me with her ancestors, as her parents had passed away already. I completed the assignment and got an A+. I showed it to my grandmother the following weekend and she was very impressed, seeing me at the bottom, my parents just above, their parents, and their parents. My grandmother asked me if I needed to know the names of her brothers and sisters, as she was one of eight. And also, her cousins. That question opened a door in my brain. 

I had never thought that my grandmother had cousins, just like I did. It made me think, and I started to realize that this simple assignment could turn into a huge project. I had set out to take it on and track down everyone who was related to me either through blood or marriage. Over the next few weeks, I added over 100 new circles and squares to the oaktag, so much that I had to buy another piece and tape it together. A few months later, the canvas had expanded again. I added new cousins, great-aunts & uncles, great-great-grandparents. New information was coming in from all of my new connections. I set up an office in the basement and started calling cousins all over the country. At one point, my parents approached me about the phone bill, but we were able to set up a new plan with the phone company and things worked out. 

Since 1985, with the initial 15 people on the family tree (me, my parents, grandparents and great-grandparents) I have expanded the population to over 4,150 relatives. It continues to grow year after year, as I not only keep track of the names of relatives, but I record births, marriages, deaths and other important events. 

Ironically, as the family genealogist, I do not have any children to add to the Family Tree. I have decided that this website will be my legacy. My research will be how I am remembered throughout the generations of family members who enjoy the fruits of my labor. 

- Jeffrey Kagan

Suggestions

I am always looking for ways to improve the content and usability of this site.

Please don't hesitate to share suggestions by clicking the button bellow.

I look forward to hearing from everyone.