A Guy Called Frog

This all started with a guy called Frog and a history project.  That has a nice ring to it, don’t you think? If I ever form a band, I will call it Frog and the History Project.  Anyway, like so many kids in school, I was asked to write down my family tree going back three generations for a history project. Simple enough, right?  Except ... it kind of wasn’t.  

First of all, I had to ask my mom for pretty much every name, and second … well, even she didn’t know the name of her own father.  Not really.  She knew his last name, of course, because it was her maiden name:  Michael.  Otherwise, she only knew that they had called him “Frog.”  

So, there I was, making up a first name for “Frog” because I thought I might get docked for not knowing my own grandfather’s name (I was by no means concerned about genealogical credibility back then), all the while not realizing that I had just generated the question that would, 27 years later, lead me into a place I once thought only older, retired people cared to visit:  The Marvelous Land of Genealogy.

Who was Frog? 
 

As it turns out, Frog was only the beginning of an incredible voyage.  I have made so many wondrous discoveries in this land.  With its fertile valleys of census records, paper(snow)-capped peaks of birth, marriage, and death certificates, trickling streams of newspaper articles, and flowering blooms of church records, I stroll through the Land of Genealogy and pick what bounty I can find.  You would not believe the harvest of information a person’s obituary can supply, and I frequent those fields as often as possible. 

If all of this sounds morbid or boring to you, then the genealogy bug has not bitten you. Because, although it’s true that this is a land mostly dedicated to (dead people) those who came before us and have moved on from this life, it is not morbid or gloomy for me or, I venture to say, anyone with a love of genealogy.  Here I can honor and remember each person who lived.  Here I can hope to gain more knowledge about the experiences of those who made it possible for me to be here today.
  

Having only started in earnest in 2015, I am new to genealogy, and there will be mistakes made and lessons learned.  That’s why the Land of Genealogy is my happy place.  I am constantly learning. Add to that the many great people I have met on my journey, and you might understand why I keep coming back.

So, who was Frog, really?  And what does it have to do with the name of my blog, “Grandpa Was a Blacksmith?”  Come with me into the Land of Genealogy, my family and friends, and find out. Let me pluck the fruit and serve it in a nice bowl for you.  I have much to share, and I hope you will find it an enjoyable treat.

Exhibit 1: Early Genealogical Crime c. 1988