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Steve Lacy's genealogy Web site has earned him a taste of fame, great satisfaction and even a little cash. But it all began with one decidedly untechnical desire: To help his mom.

By KATHLEEN LAUFENBERG
Tallahassee Democrat

After his father died in 1984, Steve Lacy said, his mother stayed in the family's longtime home, and slowly grew isolated and lonely.

"She was essentially all alone on a Kentucky farm," Steve Lacy said of his now-deceased mother, Irene Lacy. "She just seemed sort of empty."

Lacy figured if he could post his genealogy newsletter on the Internet, it would save him the time and expense of photocopying, addressing and mailing them out. Photo by MIKE EWEN/Tallahassee Democrat

At her grown children's urging, she tried water colors and acrylics, as well as other pastimes, to engage her mind and spirit. But nothing really clicked.

Until, that is, one day in 1988. That's when Steve Lacy -- the director of a forensics unit -- came home for a short visit.

Along with him, he brought photocopies of parts of a book. Little did he know that those pages would be the key that would unlock his mom's zest for life again.

"Somebody had told me that he had been in a library and seen a book on the Lacy family," he recalled. "So I tracked it down and bought a copy."

While talking to his mother long-distance, he mentioned the book. It sparked her interest. So before coming to visit her, he copied a few sections to bring along.

Later, during his visit, he could see that the material did more than just interest her.

"She was fascinated," Steve Lacy said. "That's when I first started noticing a change in her."

THE SITE http://www.gengateway.com/

On books, newsletters and getting online
When he returned home -- he and his family live in Grand Ridge -- his mother called to let him know that she'd ordered a copy of the Lacy genealogy book for herself.

Then she began wondering if anyone might have done research on her side of the family. Oddly enough, Steve Lacy said, there was indeed a book in print that traced the surname of Minor, his mom's maiden name.

A cousin then sent her a copy of that book -- and she was hooked.

"She called me up and said, 'Guess what? I got a book today on my side of the family, and I am so excited!"

Lacy, meanwhile, was likewise growing more intrigued about tracing his family roots. In 1989, he and two cousins began a Lacy Genealogy Newsletter.

About the same time, he also got his first computer and ventured online. Soon, he was surfing the Internet and meeting other people with the surname of Lacy.

And whenever he mentioned the newsletter, they always wanted one.

"Within a few months, I had over 100 people who wanted this newsletter," he said.

Soon, the demands of the newsletter, coupled with his job and family -- Steve and wife Denise have a 15-year-old daughter, Kara -- became too much.

That's when he decided to create his own Web page.

He figured if he could post the newsletter on the Internet, it would save him the time and expense of photocopying, addressing and mailing them out.

Little did he know that soon he would fall in love with computers, too.

A new hobby and 15 seconds of fame
That was the beginning of the Lacy Genealogist Homepage. But as he began to teach himself about the Web, a strange thing happened: He discovered he was fascinated by computers.

"I have never had a computer class or anything, so I was teaching myself. I literally had to learn everything from scratch."

That was 1995. Today, Steve Lacy has a variety of genealogy Web sites. Of most interest to those eager to discover their roots is his Genealogy Gateway, which he first established late in 1995. It's a basic, simple-to-use genealogy research tool.

"I try to find all the resources on the Net that are related to genealogy or family history, then I categorize them, alphabetize them and put them up (on his Web site).

"What I'm trying to do is provide a comprehensive, quality Web site that anyone can access for free."

He didn't realize how successful he was, Lacy said, until Dec. 6, 1996, when his site was featured in a report on "NBC Today."

It came as quite a surprise.

"A friend called me up and said, 'Steve, guess what? You're on 'NBC Today.'"

Since then he has also been featured in USA Today's Tech Report.

And the number of visitors that come to his Web site continues to grow. The highest number of people to visit in one 24-hour period is 7,405, Lacy said.

Maybe the large number explains why a corporate sponsor -- Family TreeMaker Online -- called him and asked if it could sponsor his site.

The company now pays him more than enough to cover his Web-related expenses of roughly $100 a month, Lacy said. His contract, however, does not allow him to reveal how much the corporation pays him to place its advertising on his Web site.

Getting e-mail and a new perspective
Needless to say, Lacy's mom decided she, too, wanted to get in on the computer genealogy wave.

So about a year and half ago, Lacy returned to the bluegrass hills of Kentucky to help her pick out a computer. Later, other family members helped her get online.

"It wasn't hard for her," Lacy said. "She just seemed to have a knack for it."

Soon, she was getting six and seven e-mails a day.

"I looked at some of them, and about one-third of the letter would be about genealogy, and the rest on what a beautiful sunset there was, and things like that," Lacy said. "It was just amazing how engrossed she was with the computer."

Her goal was to create her own Web page, but cancer intervened. She died last year.

Lacy, however, is sure that exploring her roots and learning about her ancestors made her last years more meaningful and enjoyable.

"Genealogy helps you understand yourself a little better," Steve Lacy said. "It helps you put yourself in perspective."

Write her at tdfeatrs@tdo.infi.net .

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