Who am I?

I am Thomas John Ragusin the owner of this website. I would like this post to be an example of an Introduction post.

I was born in Oak Park, IL but lived most of my life in Elmhurst, IL. I had numerous addresses while in college and in the Marine Corps, but finally settled in Arlington, VA. When I retired, I moved to Logansport, IN.

I ran Cross Country and Track at York Community High School under the legendary coach Joe Newton. I earned Bachelors and Masters degrees from the University of Illinois. I joined the United States Marine Corps and then I became a U.S. Federal civilian employee. After leaving government service, I worked at the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Library as a genealogist.

My study of genealogy began by preparing the family trees of Colombian cocaine kingpins and their Guatemalan and Mexican counterparts. On the day in 1993 when my paternal grandmother was buried I began my personal genealogical journey. In 1997 a girlfriend introduced me to the DAR Library which opened new opportunities for research. I added genetic genealogy to my tool belt in 2006. I have continued my genealogical pursuits into my retirement. Although my genealogical expertise is substantial and much more refined now, I could easily write a book entitled “How Not to Do Genealogy,” because of all the mistakes I have made.

Even though I have more genealogical work than I can accomplish each day, I still created this website to expand the knowledge of my Ragusin family and share what I have with others.

Copywrite 28 Dec 2021 Thomas John Ragusin