My Expanding Hobby

When I started the blog on The Pipes Family Foundation website last year, I didn’t expect to be spending so much time doing genealogical research. I mean, it’s been an interest of mine for at least twenty years, and I really started to immerse myself in it during the pandemic, but then it was just for me. Now I’m investing a lot of time in research and writing, propelled by my own curiosity and the excitement every time I discover something new about our family history. It’s partly documentation for the kids (and their kids), but also a way to add to the rich history of St. Louis. So now, when I can’t find what I’m looking for online, I make trips to area libraries to gather information – sometimes the Clark Branch of the St. Louis County Library (which has an excellent genealogy department), and this time I made my first visit to the Missouri Historical Society’s Library and Research Center. I even dragged Noah along with me.