Happy Third Anniversary to Us!

It's hard to believe that three years have gone by since I began this blog.  My original intention was to create a venue where I could share my love of my county's history and genealogy in a way that might be helpful to other researchers.  While more and more historical records and documents are becoming available online, sometimes it still takes a trip to the Court House or the local library to ferret out bits of information that might not be readily accessible.  Since I live in PWCounty, that makes it a bit easier for me than the out-of-state family researcher.

Ironically, I didn't start out in PWCo.  I was born and raised in Philadelphia.  My father, Howard Moore Lynn, was a Philly police officer and in my mind he was always "Philly."   He passed away of a brain tumor in 1969, several years after he and my mother divorced, and I suppose I just assumed he was buried in Philly as well.  It wasn't until after I'd moved to Virginia for a better employment opportunity that I learned he was a Virginian by birth.   About 1991, with the help of the most excellent staff at RELIC in the Bull Run Library, I "found" my father's father -- Earl(e) Lynn.  To my surprise, grandfather Earl was born in PWCo, the county that I had only recently begun to call home.  As my research progressed, I learned that HIS ancestors went back to the 1740's -- all in Prince William, some making significant contributions to the county they called home.  The LYNN family increased, multiplied, and married into many other "old" PWCo families -- Cole, Keys, Lowe, Abel, Pridmore, just to name a few.  

The more I learned, the more I came to love PWCo, its families, and its rich history.  In addition to being a an armchair history/genealogy geek, I'm a computer nerd, and that, essentially, is why this blog came into being.  I wasn't certain how many folks would be interested in my little blog, and am frankly amazed that it's had more than 27,000 visits!  THANK YOU to all of the folks who have taken the time to stop by!

Which brings me to today -- the beginning of Year Four at Prince William County Genealogy.  If you're a frequent visitor -- thank you!  If you're a new visitor, please enjoy!  To all -- I hope that you will find something on these pages that will help you with your own genealogy/family research.  Who knows?  It might help someone break down a research "brick wall" or two.