2025 Genealogy Wish Grants Winner!

2025 Genealogy Wish Grants Winner!
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The winner of the 2025 Genealogy Wish Grants Program has officially been selected! 
Please join me in congratulating Kathy Rood from Arkansas, this year’s recipient, for her compelling, heartfelt, and long-standing genealogy mystery.

About This Year’s Winner

Kathy Rood has been researching her family history since the late 1990s and has been a loyal follower of Know Who Wears the Genes in Your Family for over two and a half years. Like many genealogists who begin with limited family information and early loss, Kathy’s journey into genealogy was shaped by missing voices, unanswered questions, and a deep desire to understand who came before her.

Her initial spark began with a simple but meaningful artifact — the Baby Book her mother kept, which included a small family tree. That single page became the starting point of decades of research, discovery, and determination. With both parents and grandparents passing before she had the chance to ask questions, Kathy relied on her sister, cousins, and records to piece together her family’s story.

Over the years, she has overcome challenges many genealogists know all too well — incorrect names, nicknames mistaken for given names, and incomplete information — slowly building her tree while facing one particularly stubborn brick wall.

A Tough Choice, Once Again

Choosing a winner is never easy, and this year was no exception. There were multiple thoughtful and meaningful entries, each with deserving stories and worthy goals. Ultimately, Kathy’s entry stood out for its clear focus and compelling backstory, along with the broader impact her research could have on an entire extended family.

Her story reflects decades of persistence, careful research, and respect for the sacrifices made by immigrant ancestors — all while acknowledging the frustration of working with common Irish surnames and limited records.

This Year’s Winning Story
Kathy’s wish centers on her maternal 2nd great-grandparents, James McCabe Sr. and Ann(e) Duffy, Irish immigrants whose origins remain unknown.
What is known:

• Both James and Ann(e) were born in Ireland, possibly County Longford
• Their first child was born in New York City in 1835
• They later settled in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania
• Together, they had 11 children

What remains elusive is where they came from in Ireland, who their parents were, and whether they had siblings — a challenge compounded by extremely common Irish names and a lack of definitive records.

Kathy shared that without breaking through this brick wall, generations of McCabe and Duffy descendants have been unable to trace their family further back. Her wish is not just personal — it’s about honoring her ancestors’ immigration story and preserving that history for the many descendants who came after them.

Looking Ahead

As the 2025 Genealogy Wish Grants winner, Kathy will receive up to 10 hours of genealogy research focused on her McCabe and Duffy brick wall. While genealogy always carries the possibility of inconclusive findings, the goal is to uncover new clues, evaluate existing evidence, and move her family story forward as far as the records allow.

I’m truly looking forward to working with Kathy and seeing where this research journey leads.

Thank You

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who applied for the 2025 Genealogy Wish Grants Program. I’m continually honored by the trust you place in me when sharing your stories, your mysteries, and your hopes.

If you didn’t win this year, please don’t be discouraged — I hope you’ll continue to follow, participate, and apply again. Details for Genealogy Wish Grants 2026 will be announced in the coming year on my Facebook Page, Facebook Group, blog, and the Genealogy Wish Grants Program page.
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Stay tuned — and congratulations again to Kathy!