The 24-year Genealogy Class

Me (1969-living)

Heather Ruth Buchanan Pack

In the fall of 1988, I registered for a Rel C 261 class.  It's official name was "Family History-Genealogy."

Our entire grade was based on a single project.  Completing our pedigree chart.  All semester long we were supposed to collect photos, certificates, and other documents of our great grandparents and great great grandparents.

I had a problem.  I didn't know who all of mine were.    My Dad's line ended with his grandpa, John Buchanan.  So I filled in what I could and turned it in.  My grade?  D+.

 The very next semester I took HIST 262R, also known as Family History Research Lab.  This was a much better class.  My grade was either Pass or Fail.  You passed based on how many hours you logged researching, not what you found.  I logged lots of hours, I found nothing.  I passed.

Now, I could have been discouraged and frustrated.  I could have said, "I guess when it come to researching my ancestors, I'm a D+ student.  I'll let someone else do that."  But I didn't.  I didn't give up. 

Those two classes sparked a desire in me to continue looking for John Buchanan and his parents.  I never stopped looking.  Well, actually I did stop looking.  I stopped on March 22, 2013.  I stopped, because that  day I found him. I didn't just find him, I found his parents, siblings, half-siblings, in-laws, nieces, nephews, cousins, grandparents, great grandparents, and so on, all the way back to the 1500s.

Do you think it's too late to ask for a grade change?  After 24 years I think I deserve an A.