About Budget Genealogy

My grandmother Lydia  passed away in 2005 in her Bronx apt. While my family and I were sorting through her belongings, I realized how much I didn’t know about her life and family. I remember sitting beside her going through old photo albums. She shared stories in her native tongue, Spanish, as we looked at each picture. So sadly, because I am not fluent in the language I felt what she had shared with me was utterly lost. 

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Or was it? 

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Looking back I think of her imparting a special blessing to me, one that she knew I would one day delve into, welcome and walk in; a path dedicated to preserving our family history. Her Bible was the starting point. Of all my grandmother’s belongings that I could choose to bring back with me, what drew me most was her worn, black leather-bound bible and another religious book. Hidden inside was a funeral card with a name I had never heard of, William Horacio Vargas. William I learned was her father, my great grandfather. The first clue.

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Months later... after I had forgotten about the other book, on a particular day I felt drawn to it, pulled. When I opened it up, numbers were written across on the first page. “Why did she write these numbers down?” I thought to myself.

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With both of my grandparents gone and no known family history, I was surprised to learn the mystery numbers were their Social Security IDs which then led to their applications. The applications gave their full names, birth-dates, birth places, both parents' names, where their parents were from and more vital information. The second clue. 

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This was key to the beginning of my genealogy quest. 

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It all started with my own family, building our tree, one branch at a time. Every clue led to new discoveries and family lines. Connections with lost family. Oral stories considered myth or legend  proven reality! A rich and colorful family history and a few ancestors remaining hidden waiting to be discovered. There’s an Indian princess and ancestors who met Columbus on the shore. Young Spanish maidens and a bishop knighted by the Queen of Spain. French settlers in New Orleans. The Jews who survived the Spanish Inquisition in 1492. The President of Venezuela and his family who fled to Puerto Rico during the War of Independence in early 1800s. The African slaves and highly suspect white slaves too. There are stories of pirates, story-tellers and writers, witch doctors, the wealthy and prominent settlers falling in love with the despised and rejected lower class (the poor and minority), family dramas and political wars.

 

And it doesn’t end. 

During my years researching my own family history, I joined a local genealogy group. Soon after, I was asked to lead the group and it was then that I met my genealogy partner, Tom Kanagie. Together we co-founded Genealogy Detectives. Through Genealogy Detectives is where Budget Genealogy initiated and I had my first client. Since then I have completed over 33+ genealogy cases and managed several of my clients’ DNA accounts; connecting them to their genetic family. 

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Fast forward 19+ years later... I am ready to take this journey to the next level. Trusting God every step of the way moving forward. I invite you to partner with me as our ancestors resurface from the dusty old pages, stored in a web covered chest, forgotten in musty basements and attics... waiting in silence to be found... for their stories to be told and their lines to flow once again in us, through us, down into the ages yet to come. 

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Welcome to Budget Genealogy