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I’m a Buffalo, New York native, back in my hometown after working in New York City. I have a Masters degree in Journalism from DePaul University in Chicago and also studied journalism at St. John Fisher in Rochester.
Professionally, I work in digital media with extensive experience in content publishing, social media & audience development.
And I love doing genealogy. I’ve been researching family history for more than 25 years with most experience in the United States, Canada, Germany, Poland, and Ireland, but I’ll also go to other records, wherever the branches lead.
At 12 years old, I had to build a family tree for a school assignment. After filling in the boxes, I asked my parents, “But what were their parents’ names?” Soon I was chatting with my grandparents too, “And their parents?”
I wanted to go back as far as I could, learn more about their lives, see pictures of them, on and on. I never really stopped. In recent years, DNA has opened up new avenues of research, verifying lines, tearing down brick walls & leading to surprises along the way. That included meeting someone with my surname who lives in Ireland today.
While living in New York City, I used the time on subway rides to start writing a book about my family, focused on my Irish-Canadian roots and the impact of WWI. That book, “Wallace Wounded,” took about 4 years to complete and I self-published it through Lulu. It wouldn’t have been possible without numerous interviews with family members, particularly phone conversations with my great-grandaunt Marlene from Canada. Research trips were also part of the effort, including to the Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa (thanks to my Grandpa for driving me).
In 25+ years of research, my family tree has expanded to 60,000+ individuals and 900+ ancestors. It’s taken me on travels to archives, libraries, churches, and cemeteries in the U.S., Canada, Ireland, Germany & France. Endlessly curious, I’ve interviewed hundreds of relatives and corresponded with thousands of people via email since starting on my quest. It just keeps going, there’s always something new to be found or a new project to tackle. I’ll be using the blog here as a way to share some of the latest things I’m working on.
Craig Kanalley 