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Buried Secrets: Looking for Frank and Ida
Location
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Tell us a bit about your genealogy/family history journey
My book, Buried Secrets: Looking for Frank and Ida, describes my quest to uncover the secret past that my grandparents, Frank and Ida Hanson, took to their graves. It will be published by Adelaide Books in April 2022.
When my dad first asked me to investigate his family tree, little did I know where that journey would lead. For two decades, despite all my genealogical digging, I failed to unearth even the tiniest speck of evidence that the families of my grandparents had ever existed.
When I finally uncovered Frank’s and Ida’s true identities, I journeyed into an early twentieth century drama of pain and heartache. Yet Buried Secrets is, at its core, a love story. My discovery of Frank’s and Ida’s pasts revealed the truth depth of their love for each other. Buried Secrets also illuminates the bond between a dad and daughter. My discoveries gave my dad answers he had longed for his entire life. Through our shared voyage into Frank and Ida’s hidden past, I helped heal the pain that my revelations caused my dad.
Favorite food or beverage
Red wine! Malbec and Mouvedre are current faves
Surnames of interest
Many
If you could meet one person from your family tree that died before you were born, who would it be and why?
My great, great grandmother Ingar Persdotter, who was born in Sweden in 1836 and immigrated to “Amerika” with her nine surviving children in the 1880s. I wish I could hear her perspective on her life and journey. I have oral histories that present her as a kind woman who loved to have her grandchildren come over to play in her yard. Photos of her in old age reveal a graceful woman, her hair still more dark than gray, clad in long dresses covering her from neck to ankle, who gazes calmly at the photographer.
Genealogy pet peeve
Sloppy research.
Favorite place where you’ve traveled
Spain
From a genealogy/family history research perspective, what would you have done differently?
I’m happy with my research, but I wish I were more organized with my documents and photos.
What are you currently working on and what’s next?
Right now I’m preparing for my April 2022 book launch. My next project, who knows? Perhaps a novel based on the true dramas of my ancestors’ lives in the 1910s and 1920s.
