I am a redhead.

Okay, probably not the fact you came here to find, but it does say “about me” up there and when you’re a redhead, that tends to be a defining characteristic. As I truck deeper into my 50s I become more and more aware that the red hair isn’t going to stay red forever, and I may be a wee bit obsessed with how I’m going to know who I am once it’s gone. So this seemed like a good time and place for a public declaration. 🙂

I’m Helene Moore D’Auria and I’m also a genealogist. That’s probably more what you wanted to know. I’ve been a genealogist for upwards of twenty years and, unlike my hair, that’s not likely to change anytime soon. My identity as a genealogist is only going to get stronger as my kids get older and encroach less and less on my research time. Look out Philadelphia Public Archives, here I come! (Just give me five or six years . . .)

Genealogically speaking, I’m Irish, German, and deeply, deeply Pennsylvanian. I don’t live in Pennsylvania, I’ve actually never lived there, but except for one rogue Maryland/Delaware line, every immigrant ancestor I’ve found came to Pennsylvania and stayed, generation after generation, right down to my mom and dad. They took off for the wild west, so I mostly grew up in Montana, then as soon as I was old enough I took myself off to Southern California, where they don’t know what the word “winter” means.

My major surname lines are Moore, Scott, Houseal, Galheber, Kenton, Duckett, Hinkle and Starke. I hate super-long, unwieldy, out-of-context lists, so I’ll leave it at that and let the others come up when a post calls for them.

One of the reasons I started this blog was to connect with other researchers, maybe even some cousins, so please feel free to e-mail me at mooretothestory@yahoo.com or hit the contact form and send me a message!