Before I knew genealogy was a hobby and before I knew anything about that hobby, I had a desire. I wanted to know my relatives: Who they were, where they came from, what they looked like and what happened to them.

I had questions without answers. Did my relatives have blonde hair and green eyes? Were they right handed or lefties? Were any of them artists or writers? I felt I couldn't go forward until I uncovered the past.

Some of us grow up knowing our relatives and having information about our families. However, I was not one of the lucky ones. Let me explain. I was an only child, with two sisters. When I was born in 1941, one sister was 18 years old and the other was 20 years old.

Now if you are STILL following me, take that information to its logical conclusion. I assumed relatives I would pursue had all passed away many years before my birth. My sisters knew our grandparents on both sides but all I had of my paternal grandparents were photographs in a scrapbook.

I did establish a relationship with my maternal grandmother, Olive Aletta SPENCER VAN COURT, one I will always cherish. Unfortunately, my grandmother passed away at the age of 86, when I was 12 years old, leaving a gap in the family link.

Rarely would my father Harold Levinus STOCK talk about his family. One of those times he told me about his father, Sam, the butcher. Samuel STOCK left his family in England, booked passage on a boat to America, and eventually located in Detroit, Michigan, at the turn of the century.

Being resourceful, Sam opened a butcher shop, called Stock & Kuehn, on Grand Circus Park in Detroit. During the same period of time, Henry Ford worked in his Bagley Street garage testing and refining his horseless carriage. Mr. Ford was a frequent customer at my grandfather's butcher shop and over time he ran up a large bill.

To pay his debt, Mr. Ford offered grandfather shares in his new company. What is that old adage about being in the right place at the right time? Well, I would like to say my grandfather was, like Ford, a visionary but that is not how history would be written. Unfortunately, my grandfather turned Ford down and insisted on cash.

Years later, when I finally began my genealogy research, I was unsure of where to begin. Like many others, I went to the LDS Family History Library and spent hours in the catacomb-like underground, sifting through stacks of books, microfiche, the IGI, and census records. I read genealogy magazines cover to cover. I felt my progress was unbelievably slow, and hit brick wall after brick wall.

My paternal grandparents had both passed away. My father's brother Glenn died in 1966. My father passed away in 1977. Strangely, my father never mentioned his sister, his only remaining sibling. Aunt Elizabeth could still be alive but she would be well into her 80's. I would have to act quickly.

In February of 1992, I contacted a genealogy expert who specialized in Michigan records. I needed information on my grandparents, Nellie LANSING and Samuel STOCK; my uncle, Glenn E. STOCK; and my aunt, Elizabeth Marie STOCK-STEWART, possibly my only living relative from the STOCK line.

On June 27, 1992, the researcher contacted me with names, locations and dates for all my STOCK family relatives in Michigan. And the most wonderful news, she had found information about Aunt Elizabeth STOCK-STEWART in the Rose City, Michigan court records. Sadly, my aunt had passed away in March of 1992, at the age of 89, three months before.

Within an hour of receiving the letter I talked with my aunt's friend of 30 years, the executor of my aunt's estate. My Aunt Elizabeth and her husband Walter had lived in Rose City since 1956. Uncle Walter STEWART passed away in 1963, leaving Elizabeth a widow. She remained a resident of Rose City, living in her cottage on the shores of George Lake until her death in 1992.

Aunt Elizabeth had outlived all her siblings. My sisters and I were her only remaining relatives. From my aunt's friend, I received my father's silver baby cup with his name engraved on it, my paternal grandmother's locket with pictures of her children; my father and his siblings, Glenn, and Elizabeth.

I also received pictures of my great-grandparents, Mary Elizabeth ROSE and Louis Henry LANSING. Aunt Elizabeth rarely threw out anything and consequently, I received a large box containing baby shoes, a pair of red socks, and one leather fur-trimmed children's glove.

Tucked in the box along with the cherished baby items was the marriage certificate for Samuel STOCK and Mary (Nellie) LANSING dated 1907. There were deeds and mortgage papers to Aunt Elizabeth's property, a copper plaque with the name Glenn STOCK on it, Aunt Elizabeth's husband's parent's marriage certificate dated 1902, and family vacation photos along with newspaper clippings about Aunt Elizabeth and her husband.

The last treasure to arrive was a marvelous picture of my paternal grandmother in a large antique gold oval frame. This picture had hung in Aunt Elizabeth's living room for over 30 years. And, we three girls inherited Aunt Elizabeth's cottage on the lake.

In any genealogy story, one thread of information, one family name leads to another until you have a complete picture of your family history. This can take years on each family name; however, families overlap and intersect like a freeway overpass or the spokes on a wheel.

To obtain a starting point is important and now I had mine. My aunt had lived in Rose City, in the central part of Michigan. I contacted the local paper, the library, and the historical society. My grandparents had lived in Detroit and so I contacted Wayne County for their death certificates.

Before the wonderful treasure box of information and memorabilia from my aunt, I had no idea my grandmother Stock's real first name was Mary and that Nellie was only a nickname. I also didn't know her maiden name until that letter from the researcher.

Nellie's mother was Mary Elizabeth ROSE-LANSING. The ROSE family had settled in New Baltimore, Macomb County, Michigan. From there, I contacted the Macomb County Genealogy Society. A very helpful and knowledgeable genealogy volunteer took my family information sheets. She stated my information might be helpful to others researching the same family. At the time, I couldn't have known how valuable this would be to my research.

A year later, Chris, a cousin related to me through the ROSE family name contacted me by telephone, as a result of the information I left behind at the Macomb County Historical Society. Chris had gone there in search of relatives and the researcher had shown him my family information.

I had been using the Internet since 1994, joining on-line genealogy groups and subscribing to family name lists. Knowing my ROSE relatives had come from Ohio, I joined the list for Ohio researchers. Then I found another cousin, Don, on the Internet. He is related to me also through the ROSE line. We are three cousins who would never have known each other if we hadn't used the resources available on the Internet.

Aunt Elizabeth would be very pleased if she knew her family treasures have finally found a good home with all of her family, family members she didn't know she had.