Ancestral Acres is not just about the land where our ancestors planted their roots. Of course, this is a very important piece of the story of their lives, but have you ever considered why they lived where they did? Where did they come from and why did they move on? How did the physical landscape affect our ancestors? This site presents articles about geographic concepts and tools (like maps) and how to use them in genealogical research. It also affords me the opportunity to tell the stories of my ancestors with a geographic spin.

Genealogy and geography are both life-long passions of mine and I have observed how these two disciplines are intimately related over the years as I have pursued my own research. While I talk about maps (a lot) there is much more to explore that will enhance your understanding of your ancestors’ lives.

I have been absolutely obsessed with genealogy since I was about 10 years old when I found out I have a third great-grandfather who was in the Civil War. It turns out that he is one of more interesting characters in my tree and he has fascinated me for years. But, I am also a professional geographer, working full time in the planning field, primarily as a geographic information systems (GIS) analyst and a self-taught cartographer. I also earned geographic information systems professional (GISP) certification.

The drive to uncover the stories of my ancestors has been a constant throughout my life, leading me on some pretty fantastic adventures (both real and virtual) that I will share with you here. To follow along, please subscribe to be notified when there are new posts!

Thank you for reading,

Sara Kidd, GISP