California, here we are.

There's a joke in Southern California that nobody is actually *from* here. To a certain degree that's true. Most of my friends here when asked where they're from will tell you Illinois or New York or Michigan or...well you get the idea. California is a relatively young state. It doesn't have the kind of historical ties that someplace like Massachusetts can boast. (We won't even get into how young it is compared to my European friends.)

That's why when I would tell people that I'm a 3rd generation native on both sides of my family, there was always a mixed up sense of pride and confusion on my part. California isn't some place you're from, it's where you move to. For many Californians there isn't the same multi-generational history here that's found elsewhere. It's always tied to someplace back east. Until recently, I was never quite clear on where all that "back east" took place for my family.

About a year or so ago I started doing some research on both my mother's and father's families. It started as a casual interest by someone who has always been somewhat fascinated by the more mundane aspects of history and has now grown into more than a bit of an obsession. Over the course of the year I've been amazed at how much information I've found.

I've also been amazed at how much more interested I've become in my own history, including the more recent past of my grand-parents and great-grandparents and their time in California. It turns out there are some things that last here.