Akee Tree
Mentioned once across 1 show · first heard Feb 2026 on Ologies with Alie Ward.
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Alie Ward👍 Recommends
…genealogist stephen hanks chronicled family discoveries in his first book
“And you've established yourself as a genealogist. You've written multiple books. You've consulted on multiple documentaries. And, you know, going back a little bit to your own history, were you always someone who liked mystery novels, like detective novels? I did. Yeah. P.S. Wear this sleeveless cloak thing because it allows for easier access to their spore ran, which is their long, hairy fanny pack coin purse that hangs over their junk area. Anyway, yes. Sherlock Holmes loved a good problem to solve. And on the topic of clever Scots. But I love, love T.M. Sherlock was my guy. And then, of course, you know, James Bond. I mean, who's not going to like James Bond? You know, the Sean Connery. I know. I love you, James. But yeah, I totally was into the mysteries and the detectives early on. Definitely. For sure. And after you were handed this obituary and you started driving up to Seattle to look in the archives, you mentioned you're in your 30s. Have you been able to balance genealogy with other careers? Or did at some point, did you have to decide what you were going to dedicate your career to? Well, you know, that's a good question. And I did have to kind of juggle back and forth because I had, you know, the passion and the drive to want to be a genealogist. I tried to start up my own business. Actually, I did start my own business. It was called Genealogical Networking Services. And I went back to school and learned how to do computers because I didn't know that. And so I started up my own little entrepreneurship. And I was getting requests all across the country. It was amazing. It was amazing. I still have those inquiry letters to this day. And they were all over the country. People asked me to do this, that. Can you look this up, Native American? Just anything you could think of. And I had fun doing it. The only problem was people had a tendency to not want to pay you, but they want you to do the research first. And then, OK, now send me a payment. So it got to be kind of hard to make a living out of it. But I always had the passion for it. So I had to do other type of work just to, you know, pay the bills type thing. But finally, I was able to just recently, actually, five years ago, I finally got a really nice job that goes right along with my genealogy. I'm working for the school district here. And, yeah, I'm a records clerk. And it's amazing how many people come in, walk in or email or phone. They want to do research about this, that, and the other. And that's just right up my alley, doing research. And it ties right into the genealogy. So for the first time after so many years, I finally got, you know, they both together, genealogy and just doing historical research, you know, and local research. So it's cool. Oh, that's amazing. And, you know, I know that you chronicled these discoveries that you made with your family in your first book, the Aki Tree. Yes, yes. Yeah, I would love to hear more. I know it's the Aki Tree or Aki Tree. You can pronounce it either way. I know, I know. I say Aki Tree and then I've heard people say, no, Aki, you know. I know. I wasn't quite sure. So I just messed it up either way. But I guess it's my auntie who, she just recently passed away in St. Louis, Missouri, but she was my mother's sister. And she would take trips to Jamaica, you know, as often as she could. And so she pronounced it Aki. And she sent me a picture of it and I put it in the book.”
Ologies with Alie Ward — Genealogy (FAMILY TREES) Encore with Stephen Handsat 23:48
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