The picture shows me, Dmytro Stepanenko. I am a practical historian, professional genealogist, researcher, local historian, and family history researcher with more than thirty years of experience. I conducted my first polls and made first records back when I was a child. My grandparents, two great-grandmothers and their many siblings in the first, second, third and farther generations were still alive. Back then, as a child, I had a chance to learn not just names of my ancestors, but also their life paths, dozens of family stories about people whose names are no longer known to anyone. So, I jumped at this opportunity.
Memory is the only thing the living can give to those who are no longer with us.
To dispel the idea that the job of a professional researcher is easy and cloudless, see some examples:
With the development of archives and the spread of the Internet, opportunities for a more profound archival search of one’s roots appeared. Today, my Family Tree consists of over 2,500 relatives, 165 straight ancestors who had 26 last names and are at most as far as 13 generations away from me. My oldest known ancestor had a son in 1657 - my great-grandfather.
A publication in "Kirovohradska Pravda".
I am offering you all of my practical experience and theoretical knowledge.
I love this job. I love it for its excitement, for the opportunity to communicate with extraordinary people, and for the feeling of immersion in the living history of my native land.
For me, genealogy is, first and foremost, a favorite activity, an exciting hobby, and only then business comes into play.
