With the explosion of genealogical information on the internet and the popularity of TV shows like “Who Do You Think You Are?” and “Finding Your Roots,” more and more people have found searching their family tree a fascinating and challenging hobby.

Digging into the past can also provide the hobbyist with some perspective into their own lives and an appreciation for how their ancestors lived and the challenges they faced.

Although it’s a business for her now, Lori Jackson Black started out as a hobbyist herself. The Moon resident first became interested in genealogy in the late ’90s after listening to her first husband’s elderly grandmother and her family stories of the Civil War in Arkansas. The woman was the unofficial family historian and, although blind, her mind was still sharp.

Black set out to write down these family stories for her children (and their children) because “once she was gone, they were gone.

“That’s wh...