Hello New Blog!

Welcome to my new blog.  What does What Cheer Roots mean, you ask?  What Cheer (pronounced watt cheer) is a small town in Keokuk County, Iowa, United States.  The story has it that many miners from Wales settled in the area long ago.  A common greeting in Wales is What Cheer.  My father's family settled in What Cheer several generations back.  I never lived there but have visited many times.  I remember seeing a sign when I was a girl that proclaimed that we were entering What Cheer - town of flowers and blooming idiots!  I don't remember there being a lot of flowers there.  You can find out more about What Cheer from the town's Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/City-of-What-Cheer-407492026070885/?fref=ts.

What does genealogy mean to me?  I'm not on a mission to prove that I'm the long lost heir to a foreign crown.  Although I admit that would be a big perk. I'm not in it to leave a legacy for my family.  I don't have children.  And, frankly, most of the family members I've shared information with act as though they'd rather be somewhere else.  I'm in it more for selfish reasons.  I want to know who I am.  Where did I come from?  As I stated in my profile, genealogy is the ultimate jigsaw puzzle and I'm the picture.  Who are the piece parts that make up me?

Like most genealogists, I'm more than happy to share any information I've found.  I've been the recipient of data from several wonderful cousins.  Their research and guidance have been of tremendous help.  I only hope I'm able to pass on my findings to other researchers.

I consider myself to have intermediate genealogy skills even though I've been at it over 15 years. I'm not a very structured genealogist.  I'm never quite sure where or when my research will take me. But that's the fun part for me.  I welcome you to come along for the ride.  I'll share the sad, funny and downright odd information we'll come across on our adventures.