Welcome to our newest maternal connection, Christy Hunter. She is going to jump in here shortly and tell you her connection to us and how she found me!
Her story is one we hear over and over, doing this type of thing, but Christy is the first cousin who has agreed to share her story with the world. I find her very brave, and I’m proud to call her my cousin!
Welcome, Christy!
Connie Dexter Spicer is a long-time family history buff. Her paternal grandmother got her started when she was a young teen. She took a high school class leading her to collect data and keepsakes over the years. At family reunions, she was the one that collected the family trees.
She built her family history well past her grandparents and great grandparents on both sides of her family. Like many amateur historians, she ventured out to courthouses and cemeteries, learned what to look for, collected documents and photos.
At the start, her family tree was just over 80 people. It soon had proven relatives from the US to England, Ireland, Scotland, New Zealand, Turkey, Australia, Germany and even Japan. It became an international family history project.
Her mother, Karen Dexter, asked whether she had any Revolutionary War Patriots in her lineage.
Her mother, Karen Dexter, asked whether she had any Revolutionary War Patriots in her lineage. Karen wanted to join the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) before it was too late. She views it as a great honor to be part of the society.
That request led Connie to research potential patriots. Although not familiar with the process, she got help from her cousin, Barb Johns, long involved with the society. Barb identified Patriot Ensign Mitchell, Pvt., of New York.
So, Connie pulled together the data proving hers and her mother’s lineage to Ensign Mitchell. Both she and her mother were approved just weeks later.
Now focused on building the stories of her people, she researches their lives through newspapers, Google and DNA sources. She hopes sharing the stories as part of her blogs encourage the younger folks in her life to take over one day.
Connie’s background is in arts/media. She’s been a disc jockey, AV producer and podcaster. She still maintains blogs in multiple family genealogy websites for her and her husband, David’s families.
Between them are 6 grown kids and 8 grandkids. They enjoy karaoke, photography and hiking together when they can get away.
You can read her blogs at DexterGenealogy.com, OurSpicerFamily.com or hear the first episodes of her podcast “Speaking in Relative Terms” on the DexterGenealogy website.
