Genealogy Club Helps Participants Discover Their Roots

Pleasanton resident Caye Johnson recently traveled halfway around the world to meet family she never knew existed. The trip was fueled by 10 years of searching through her family tree. That search led to a small village in England, where she met long-lost cousins, aunts and uncles.

Caye is among the 14 million people searching through history books and websites to learn about their family roots. She’s one of around 20 residents flocking to a genealogy club at Stoneridge Creek senior living community. The retirees are spending their time researching, locating and meeting long-lost relatives, both locally and internationally, via websites like ancestry.com.

Gene Block is another resident in the genealogy club who’s met family around the country. He started the group shortly after the community opened, and shares his 40 years of research with other residents in the group. He can now trace his family’s history to the mid-1600s, where he’s found a relative who was both an elected official and a criminal.