Genealogy by Brecca

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Henderson, KY
Genealogy by Brecca

Genealogist (genetic genealogy as well), cemetery research, & local historian. TSGS, KHS, and KGS. Twenty-five years of doing genealogy under my belt as of 2025!

I started the old fashion way at seven years old in a library with my nose in census records. I opened up Genealogy by Brecca in November of 2016, and made this page in January 2017! Ancestry has been a Godsend to me in my own family tree search. I know the ins and outs of the website and I'm willing to teach anyone! I also am pretty proficient in the use of Find a Grave. My family tree is up to 131,590 people and it grows every single day. My personal mission is to figure out how I'm related to every person buried in my home county, Henderson County, Kentucky. I'm probably, realistically, 30 to 40% completed in that goal. I am the last woman standing in the original Henderson Ky Cemetery Research Group. I love to go out and document old, long forgotten cemeteries. My favorites are the ones that are "off the beaten path." The ones that "no one has looked at in decades." The group was featured on the front page of the Gleaner on Sunday, October 16th, 2016.

03/10/2026

I’ve been incredibly MIA on this page, and that’s going to continue for the foreseeable future. 2026 has been a rollercoaster. Ups and downs. A lot of good, and only a few bads. But the bads have been so hard. Today? The hardest yet.

I will share with you all what I wrote on my personal page, about someone very dear to me. Someone who shared my love of our family history, and encouraged me and inspired me in every aspect of my life.

*****

In one way, the light shining on earth seems dimmer and in another, it seems brighter now that you’re a star shining down upon us from the Heavens.

God called one of His most loyal servants home this morning. If y’all were fortunate enough to know my Uncle Charles, or you may know him better as Charlie — then you’ll know there was no better man besides the Father and the Son themself.

He was a scholar, and instead of being greedy with that knowledge… he shared it with all of us. He shared it with many of you, being the GED professor at the college for many years. He worked with the inmates, too, to earn their degree. He believed education was for everyone.

I remember when I went into homeschool, so many people judged me and my parents for that decision. Not Charles. As a professor, he told them that in his opinion — he’d have homeschooled his own children if he’d ever had them. Because “if you can teach a child to read, then they can and will learn everything else on their own.”

He said there were three books that he considered the most important to read in one’s lifetime — the Bible, 1984, and Animal Farm.

I read Orwell years ago… and I’m checking the Bible off that list this year. I know he’d be proud of that.

You are loved and you will be missed. Until we meet again on those streets paved in gold. ✨

Charles Richard Blanford
May 20th 1933 — March 9th 2026

12/23/2025

[[ If it's not too much trouble -- please interact with this post so it gets more visibility to all my followers. Heart and care reacts would be appreciated at this time. ]]

I didn't want Christmas to pass by over here without stopping for a moment and saying Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all.

Unfortunately, this genealogist isn't up to returning to work. Not yet. (And maybe not for the foreseeable future).

Just when I thought life was calming down, and albeit our holidays would be dim because of depression, bad health, etc -- I thought life was... "even-ing out." "Feeling normal again" in a way.

And then yesterday happened. Y'all remember last November that practically on the same day I lost my tortie girl, Zira -- Marcel, my youngest boy, had to have a major surgery. A femoral head ostectomy. (He made a complete recovery from that, btw!)

Well, yesterday - Marcel appeared and I won't get into gory details... but it was bad. He was gurgling, and I was just so sure he was a goner. We rushed him to an emergency vet and after a ridiculous amount of money spent that we do not have... they saved his life. (On top of a bit of miscare and negligence, tbh). Two trips to the clinic here in town today after they opened. Probably a trip to the clinic again tomorrow, maybe even once a week for God knows how long. My boy has a long, hard road ahead of him.

I'm just a wreck, y'all. I'm a mess. My own health is *severely* deteriorating. The health of all in this house is. Now to add this onto the proverbial plate... I'm at my breaking point. Right at what should be the happiest time of the year.

So yeah, I might go ghost on this page for a while. I would say that I'm sorry for that, but ultimately, I'm not. I have to focus on real life - myself, my parents, and my animals.

I love you all, and thank you so much for 'doing life with me' so to speak. For being here for the ups, the downs, and the in betweens. Thank you all for the help you've given me, and the love you've shown everything I do: genealogy, cemetery work, DNA, and beyond. Especially my historical write-ups (I'm quite passionate about those).

For now, I just gotta step completely and totally away. I know y'all understand.

Once again -- Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year to all of you over here. ❤

11/28/2025

I’ve been horrible about wishing y’all a happy holiday over here. I forgot to post on Halloween, and even Thanksgiving yesterday. Despite some ups and downs in life recently, we had a great day with family yesterday. I hope you all did, too.

I’m still out of commission. Trying to get through the holidays and work on things y’all paid me for 3+ years ago.

I’ll let you know if I ever get caught up. ❤️

10/31/2025

A few photos I wound up in last Saturday. I joined our local Masonic Lodge in cleaning up veteran headstones in Mt Zion Cemetery— the one across from Fairmont. I cleaned while the men did the harder work. They lifted, corrected, leveled, and more. I photographed a lot of their hard work, and of course, I never shut up talking so they were never bored 😂

I had a lot of fun! It was after this that James— “JT” took me out to Moss Cemetery so that I could see the graves of my numerous Moss relatives. Most importantly my 5x Grandparents, Joshua and Sarah (Griffin) Moss.

Yes, my pain kicked in to overdrive by that night and especially the 2-3 days after. But at least while I was out and about, my pain wasn’t too bad. I guess adrenaline helps me forget about it. Same with my tinnitus.

A big shoutout though to JT and the fellas of the Jerusalem Masonic Lodge #9. 👏

10/29/2025

Someone here on Facebook that lives in Henderson ‘checked in’ here — (I’m a physical business, technically) — with some sort of crummy number joke. 🙄 Not sure what in the world it means. Seemed iffy so, blocked on here and on my personal profile.

Just wanted to let y’all know that, just in case you see it floating around Facebook or are friends with the person. Even though I blocked him, it still shows my page name associated with his post. 🙄

That’s why I turned reviews off and got rid of ‘em was because of all the sc*mm*rs infiltrating and leaving sc*m reviews.

Anyway — as a general update, I apologize for not getting back with anyone as of late. I’m trying to get through a hectic patch here. I’ve got two out of eight cats very sick. One getting spayed next week. Still a fulltime caregiver. I’ve got jury duty next week. Hoping I’m dismissed / not picked for it, but if I have to serve… there goes the entire holiday season.

Just a very busy rest of the year. I’m definitely drowning. Fingers crossed it calms down soon.

10/16/2025

Sometimes fact is stranger than fiction. I was trying to scare up some obituaries to accompany those buried in the Pauper Graveyard out beside Mt. Pisgah in Graham Hill... and I come across these three about Mr. Patrick Norton. I'll let the articles speak for themselves because... wow.

Sources being the Henderson Morning Gleaner of March 4th, March 5th, and then the Gleaner of March 6th, 1911.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14842222/patric-norton

10/10/2025

Ancestry updated their ethnicity estimates for all of us over there. Here's my October 2025 update. Not surprised to see an uptick in the Ashkenazi Jewish. I know that comes through the Meffords.

I'm *heavily* English, Scottish, Irish, and even Scandinavian. That comes through both of my parents.

For me, my German and French are lumped into 'Northwestern European.' For Mom and Dad, they're separated (slightly, at least. Especially Dads Germanic European).

10/05/2025

I have such a love / hate relationship with Find-a-Grave. Amateur family researchers muddy it up *so* bad.

I’ve been trying this morning to straighten up the Reeder family buried out in Pleasant Valley in Niagara. Talk about a nightmare. 🤦‍♀️

And no, this doesn’t mean “I’m back” (although pity donations would totally be welcomed). Just trying to put my mind to good use today while I feel like I can.

Address

1136 Madison Street
Henderson, KY
42420

Website

https://www.facebook.com/groups/145580232474472/

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