Hello, I'm Debby Masterson.
Welcome to My Home Page

This website was updated February 1, 2001.
You are my Counter visitor since March 9, 1997. Thanks for stopping by!

A Little About Me

 I'm 53 years young and have been married for 15-1/2 years to my wonderful husband Del. I worked in the defense industry for 20 years, first as a draftsperson, then as a technical writer. Due to defense budget cuts and the resulting downsizing, I'm now "retired" and enjoying it very much!

My Home

 I live in Tucson, Arizona at present, but my home and my heart is in Geneva, a small rural town in Central Florida. We have a post office, a historical museum, two convenience stores with gas pumps, a feed store and a veterinarian! Most of us live on 5 acres or more and the community as a whole is fiercely anti-development. I've seen photos of Geneva in the '50s, and it hasn't changed much, a testament to the determination of Genevans to keep the developers out.

My Pets

Del and I have two dogs, now. Muffie (aka The Muffer or The Old Lady), our 17 year old Pekingese female, died September 19, 2001. We miss her very much, but we still have our seven year old male Schipperke named Nicky (aka Nicky-Nick or The Wild Thing), and our six year old German Shepherd-Chow mix female named Ginger (aka Pookie). I adopted Ginger from the Humane Society when she was four months old. Pets don't have to be purebreds to be loving friends! If you're looking for a lifetime of love and devotion, please consider adopting a pet from the Humane Society or ASPCA. You just might be saving it's life and you'll certainly be enriching yours.

My Family Tree

My passion is genealogy. Surnames I'm currently researching are Ant(h)is, Bailey, Brown, De Fore(e)st/DeFreest, Kinne(y), Masterson, Noel, Oswald, Sharp/Scherp, Spengler/Spangler and Van Al(l)en. To see the results of almost 20 years of research, please visit My Genealogy Page.

My GenWeb Site

In 1997 I adopted the Rensselaer Co., NY GenWeb site. I've been asked many times how come I live in Arizona, yet am a coordinator for a county in New York, a place I've never even been! The answer is simple: I have a lot of Dutch ancestry in Rensselaer County (on my mother's side), and during my years of research there I've accumulated a lot of research material which has, in turn, become part of the Rensselaer Go. GenWeb. Judging from the nice comments I get, I don't think not being a native has hurt the quality of the site. It's exciting helping others find their New York ancestors, especially if it turns out we're related!

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support of the Rensselaer Co., NY GenWeb. YOU, the visitors, are what make the project successful! My goal is to provide as much on-line information for researchers as possible, so if you have resources in your possession that you'd like to see included on the RC GenWeb, or would like to volunteer to do some typing, I'd love to hear from you!

My Library

I read a lot. I'm hooked on Stephen King, but I also like mysteries and psychological thrillers. My favorite all-time book is "Silence of the Lambs," although I was disappointed by the sequal, "Hannibal."

Some of my favorite authors are Jonathan Kellerman, Sarah Paretsky, Sue Grafton, Patricia Cornwell, and James Patterson. Their main characters are immensely likable, and the stories are completely engrossing. Lately I've become enthralled by a series of books written by Diana Gabaldon about a woman who travels back in time to 18th century Scotland. To me, a satisfying read is when my present surroundings completely disappear and I'm transported into the place and time being written about and the characters are old friends. Through books I've been to places I'll never physically see and have experienced things I'll never experience (although in some instances I wouldn't want to)! I can't imagine a life without books.

My Artistry

When I'm inspired, I like to paint and draw - mostly animals and Indians. I prefer to work with oils, pastels and charcoal, although I've done some work in watercolor and pen and ink. Check back later for a link to a page containing photos of my artwork.

I also do a variety of crafts to give as gifts - ceramics, toll painting, cross stitch and flower arranging. One of my Christmas wreaths decorates our vehicle every year. Last year one went from FL to Tucson, AZ and back again on the grill of our pickup!