Branches Of Our Lives From The Roots Of Our Past
The Genealogist
Name
Jaylene C. Lineberry
Age: 26
Location: Clarksville, Tennessee
Email: jaylene_lineberry@hotmail.com
The Beginning
Growning up as a child I never knew anyone within my family. I was born an only child and unfortunately my family wasn't very close. I knew of a few Aunts or Uncles but, my parent never really even associated with them. When I reached my teenage years I began to become interested in my family lineage. I wanted to know where the name "Lineberry" came from and I wanted to meet my family members.
At first the side to interest me the most was my fathers. At this time in my life the only surviving grandparent I had was my paternal grandmother. Also, it seemed that my looks were rather unique and I was curious to know if they were a family trait that came from my father side. When I was 16 years old my parents agree to pay for a christmas trip to Washington State for me. Prior to this time I had seen my grandmother only a few times and couldn't even remember her.
During my trip I found out that the mystery of my family was still ever more present. My grandmother was able to give me some names to work with but, any questions about my grandfather and his family remained a secret. Even more she didn't know much about her side of the family. It became apparent that my grandmother was hiding something and this drove my curious wild. I then started my life long goal as the youngest genealogist I think of my time.
Amateur Genealogist
During the first few years of my research and collection of data I made little progress. Unfortunately, I was unaware of the correct process on how to obtain any family history. I didn't have much to start with maybe a few names and, that was about it. I decided to turn to the internet. I knew that my name was very original and as it stood I had never met anyone with my surname that wasn't related to me. If I could just find a family member that could fill me in to all the secrets my grandmother wasn't speaking about. I visited Ancestry.com and found that there were more "Lineberrys" then I had expected that were searching for family.
This fueled my intensity and I found myself reading the message boards on Ancestry.com almost daily. As interesting as I found each detail I was unable to link anything to me or my family. This was very upsetting to me and I again found myself at another brick wall with a rope to climb it. So I placed my own message on the boards hoping that someone would know me or my family and would reply. The waiting began and it was years before I found anything out.
The Big Break
At first I never thought I would make a connection but, the day came when I checked my email and found a rather interesting email from a distant cousin named Steve Gillett. After reading my message on Ancestry.com he was able to give me information about my grandfather and his father.This provided me with the first steps to my personal family research. The door opened up for me finally. Most of my family was in some way tied to every "Lineberry" from Illinois. Starting with the main man "Abraham". As it stood I was actually related in many ways to everyone searching for information on the message boards. Now when I re-read the message boards everything made sense and, a bigger picture came into view.
Thankfully, I was able to begin researching deeper into my family of the "Lineberrys". Interestingly enough this lead me to the State of Illinois. I was fortunate enough to be able to take some time and travel the country. I spent a large amount of time in the Cumberland County, and city of Mattoon. It was an adventure of a life time. Over the next few years I began the education process that has lead to me where I am now.
The Journey To Professionalism
My journey over the past years has been well worth all the time spent on research and education. I have learned many things and have come a long way from an amateur to professional. Although I haven't actually become a Certified Genealogist, I can say that I have developed a very professional career in genealogy.
I currently work at a Public Library in the County of Montgomery, Tennessee. I have graduated from searching for my own family ancestry to searching and assisting other with theirs in the library. Unfortunately, I find that my love and joy of Genealogy is personally put on the back burner more and more as I find I am all to consumed with my work. It's hard to work on Genealogy all day and come home to work on yours some more.
However, I was to promise everyone reading this that I have made a vow to set enough time aside for this website. My research has been moving forward but, I haven't had the chance to share it. So as I work towards my ultimate goal to become certified I promise to keep this website as up to date as I can. Just promise me this if it's not being kept up, let me know, give me a nudge through email.