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February 6, 2021

Happy 25th Birthday to OliveTreeGenealgy.com!

 

Olive Tree Genealogy is 25 years old this month!  It was one of the 1st in 1996 to bring genealogy to the Internet with ships passenger lists. It has grown over the last 25 years into a huge site full of free content for genealogists and historians. 

After my husband died, and I was injured at school, and had not worked for a year (due to injuries), one of my good friends encouraged me to start a website on that new-fangled thing called "the internet". I had no idea how to do that, but he just kept telling me "You're smart, you'll figure it out!" Well I'm not sure how smart I am, but I'm stubborn. 🙂 Back in those days there were no editors, so I had to learn through trial and error, how to code a website using html. 


I started small on a lovely battle-ship grey background (anyone else remember those days when all sites were battle-ship grey with no bells or whistles?) One ship's passenger list from the early 1600s that I found with my ancestor Cornelis Van Slyke's name on the manifest - and it got such a response from folks online that I put up another. And another. And another. And that is how it all began 🙂 Thank you to everyone for your support and encouragement, for visiting over the years, for offering ideas -- I appreciate all of you.

Hoping I will still be around for a few more decades at least

Lorine



11 comments:

Linda Stufflebean said...

Congratulations, Lorine. 25 years is a huge accomplishment. Thank you for all you've contributed to the genealogy world.

Nancy said...

Congratulations on 25 years! In the blogging world, that's nearly a lifetime. I see so many blogs that last a few years, then their owners lose interest and stop posting. How wonderful that you're so committed and provide such a great service to so many family historians. Here's to another great 24 years!

Olive Tree Genealogy said...

Sorry if my post was confusing. It's not my blog that is 25 years old, it's my main website.

agrarian said...

Congratulations! I've found many gems on your site over the past 15 years, and found new info as late as last week! Thanks so much.

Taneya said...

Congratulations indeed!!! Thank you for all that you've done and provided through your work these past 25 years!

Jessica said...

Wow, congrats!! That's quite an accomplishment!

Marina Dececo said...

Congratulations! I've been researching for 23 years, and can't remember just when I found your site, but it's got to be about 20 years ago. Your site has been helpful to so many of us, and I hope you can continue another twenty or more years. Bless you for all the hard work you've put into your wonderful site.

Best,
Marina

Marian B. Wood said...

Wishing you a happy 25th anniversary for Olive Tree Genealogy and many more anniversaries to come! Quite an accomplishment.

Willeneg624 said...

Congratulations Lorine. Your site has been one of the first I go to, especially when I am working on my Canadian line. You also inspired me to create a couple of memorial books that I had printed and gave as gifts to family members at Christmas 2017 & 2018. Now I await your next mystery as I enjoyed the first. May you be blessed with many more years in the shade of your Olive Tree Genealogy. Thank you very much indeed.

Willeneg624 said...

Congratulations Lorine on the 25th anniversary of your web site. It is one of the first I go to when researching in Canada. You have also provided both inspiration and guidance in the creation of family memory books. Because of that, I was able to gift two different books to members of my family, one at Christmas 2017 and the next at Christmas 2018. Your website has been a great help to me and I thank you for all you have done. May you be blessed with many more years in the shade of your Olive Tree.

xiginous said...

When you think of everything that has come and go e over the past 25 years, it makes your anniversary much more special. Congrats on reaching this landmark.