Having been raised literally as an only child, I had a substantial amount of time on my hands during which I needed to find things to keep myself amused. An avid reader from an early age, as a young girl I developed a consuming love of history. I found I could not get enough of it and I was a constant visitor to my library throughout my formative years.
 

This love of history led me to becoming actively involved with my local historical society, and I guess it was just a natural progression that I would take that further step into the world of genealogy. I had always planned to do so anyway because of the stories I had grown up with about the origins of my surname. Occasionally people would wonder why I was so involved with our local historical society, given I was in my early 30's at the time and interests along these lines were more perceived as an activity of the older generation. However, I saw the locality I lived in as an integral part of my family's history.
 

A few years later, a family history group was formed in Melton and, not long afterwards, the local library, in conjunction with the family history group, started working in earnest on building an excellent local and family history research collection. As a part of this, we conducted regular genealogical workshops at the library covering basic research topics including Census Records, Genealogy on the Internet, Shipping Records, and Using Indexes. While Melton Library had a basic genealogical collection prior to this, the facility became a hub for research, not only in Melton, but throughout the surrounding district as well. Melton Library is to be commended for its vision in this area.
 

The continuing growth in numbers of those undertaking genealogical research over the last few decades never ceases to amaze me, and I must admit it is truly pleasing to see the excitement of a fellow researcher when they discover some long, lost, relative or story. Over the years I have made some exciting discoveries, and uncovered some interesting and at times moving stories. I will be sharing some of these with you, with the hope that some of them may offer encouragement when we think we have exhausted every research avenue available. One such example is the story of my English paternal grandfather, George Erwood, whose moving story can be read here.

Please enter my world and enjoy. If you have the time and feel so inclined, I would appreciate your feedback.