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You probably have a family doctor, and a family accountant, do you have a family genealogist? Your family has a history. Shouldn't you know it? As your family genealogist I will take you on a journey into the lives of your ancestors. What were their names? Where did they live? What did they do? Who were their neighbors? Where did they immigrate from and when? Your own history will be the most interesting history that you will ever experience.

Laura Smith of Lineage Lost had a career in computers and was Vice President of data processing at major U.S. bank that specializes in family trusts. In 1999 she began her journey into the world of family history research as a hobby in order to prove or disprove a family tradition that named Commodore John Barry as her six-great grandfather. Commodore Barry, according to some sources, was the father of the American Navy and in Ms. Smith's birth place, Philadelphia PA, there is a statue of the Commodore, and a bridge named for him. She disproved the family tradition but did not disappoint her family. The Commodore was not her six-great grandfather, he was a neighbor who had the same name. Ms. Smith's ancestor was a merchant captain, Captain John Barry. Continued research revealed her descent from Huguenots who, due to religious persecution, fled Switzerland to settle and build a plantation in South Carolina in the late 1600's. Ms. Smith found documentation of a 'free gift' of 3000

acres of land in SC given by the English authorities in 1685 to her nine-great grandfather, Jean Francois Gignilliat, for "contributing to the industrial welfare of the colony". Further research revealed that Ms. Smith is a descendant of Charlemagne, Holy Roman Emperor. What began as a hobby developed into an obsession and Ms. Smith threw herself into genealogy research full time in June of 2004. Since starting Lineage Lost Ms. Smith has surprised and delighted clients by unveiling the mystery of their ancestry.