Hunting heritage: October is Family History Month

AUSTINTOWN — It started with a horn.

Growing up, Kristi R. McPherson-Burns was fascinated by a family heirloom: a horn whittled and drawn on with a knife.

One of the images on it was an American flag with 18 stars, which dates to sometime between 1778 and 1813.

“After that I was interested in genealogy,” Burns said.

October is Family History Month, but Burns celebrates researching genealogy year-round.

Burns, who moved to Austintown a few years ago from Michigan, said she has seen the popularity of genealogy increase with the advent of the website Ancestry.com and TV show “Who Do You Think You Are?”

“It’s really exploded in popularity,” she said.

For the complete story, read Tuesday's Vindicator and Vindy.com