[originaltext] After the death of my grandfather, I got the genealogy bug. I

After the death of my grandfather, I got the genealogy bug. It started with the gathering of family photos and progressed to writing a family history. Several years ago, I took another step and began creating a Website for the Stovalls. During this initiative, I also pursued the Wallace, Cox, Raney, and other related family lines.
    One day I received an email about the Wallace line from a fellow named Ron Ritchie. Although I lived in Birmingham, Alabama, and he lived in Dallas, Texas, he had some Wallaces from the same area from which mine originated. We corresponded several times, after which he passed the baton to his daughter, Connie. She emailed me, and after six months or so, we reached the conclusion that we were not related.
    With no more data to work on, we chatted about other interests and one thing led to another. The end result? This shy Alabama-born boy found himself flying to Dallas to meet a girl. During several subsequent trips, we explored the sights, met each other’s families, and plotted our lives. In December of 1997, my genealogical penpal and I were married. Our search for roots had led instead to a fresh branch on our now combined family tree. I think it’s only fair to give our ancestors the credit!