Meet Our Researchers
We are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints living in Tracy, Manteca, and Ripon, California.
We are passionate about helping people find out where they come from.
ROBIN STROMBERG
I am a long-time Tracy resident. My interest in family history began many years ago, long before the miracle of the Internet. Research has become so much easier now. I have had the opportunity to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, where I assisted patrons in finding their ancestors from the nations of the United Kingdom (England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Australia, New Zealand, and other British influenced regions). I have German heritage and have done quite a lot of research with German records. I also have experience with US records. I believe that our family relationships continue beyond this life. Family history has helped me connect with my ancestors and has shaped my identity.
KIRK STROMBERG
I am a long-time Tracy resident. I began to be interested in family history in 1975 while in Germany as a US serviceman. I traveled with my wife to Sweden, the home of many of my forefathers, and searched for family names in the National Archives, and in the parish where my family lived. Along the way, I met cousins and we shared information with each other. With the advent of computers and the Internet, things became much easier and much more exciting. Often I am able to find answers quickly and send emails to my Swedish cousins to share what I find. I have been doing research in the US, and in Sweden, and have learned how to read some Swedish.
I served as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City at the Family History Library, the world’s largest repository of family history records, helping people researching their ancestors from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia, and also got a liberal dose of helping others with their Swedish ancestors. I love the challenge of finding ancestors for myself and others and love the feeling I get when I find a missing ancestor. In this way, I feel like I am finding lost family members and helping to reconnect my family.
MICHAEL JOHNSON
I have always seemed to have a curiosity about family history. I remember enjoying stories my parents and relatives told me about our family when I was young, even though I often found later that what I had been told was either wrong or not quite right. I have been actively engaged in doing the work for more than 30 years. Fortunately some of the information I gathered as a youngster proved to be invaluable in opening doors and following leads as family history technology developed and public records became more available on-line.
I grew up thinking that my family were relatively recent immigrants to this country, and some of that is true. However, I also learned that many of my family lines traced back to much earlier American roots. I have discovered I have direct lines going back to the Mayflower. My ancestors have been part of virtually every American event from the very foundations of colonization. I have become more passionate about this work as I have gotten older. I feel blessed to have the spirit of Elijah (Malachi 4: 5-6) in my soul and have developed a family tree with over 15,000 names. I look forward to helping others begin this same journey with their own families.
RAEDELL WARD
As a convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I realized that having Heavenly parents and being a child of God makes the family a very important unit in our Heavenly Father’s plan. Going to the temple and being married for time on this earth and all eternity is very special to me. I want all those who came before me and all of my family here on the earth to be able to partake of these same blessings. I started doing Family History work 36 years ago. My husband Gordon and I worked in the Family History Center for over 10 years, and I have loved watching the program change and grow over the years.
BETSY WHITE
I have been interested in genealogy since about age 12. Once I learned how to do it correctly, I was hooked. For about 45 years I have been driven to find "the needle in the haystack". I love to research and find items that others may have missed. I have done research in Germany, Switzerland and the Azores by learning to recognize the name, even though I don't read the other words, in their language.
BILL PHILLIPS
My mother got me interested in family history. She was a Duncan of Scottish ancestry. Before my father died he was trying to find his mother's heritage. She was half Native American. Sadly, he died before he found out anything. In January 2001 I ran into missionaries at the San Joaquin County Agricultural Expo. They were passing out Tell Me About Your Family cards and I reluctantly took one. Since joining the church with my wife in 2001, I have tried to unravel the mystery my dad started. I have my DNA posted on two sites and recently got a DNA match that solved the twenty-five year old quest that my dad started. I now know who her parents and many other generations are.