Jodi Stevens thought she had little time to live after experiencing a basilar artery aneurysm at the base of her brain in 2009. Jodi said she thought about her two young daughters and what she wanted her legacy to be. “From my hospital bed, I made my husband, Robert, promise me that he would help me prove that I’m a daughter of the American Revolution,” Jodi said. “My soul needed that question answered.”

A quest to uncover Jodi’s genealogy began as she beat the odds and recovered. It took time for Jodi to learn to talk, walk and read again. Through this traumatic time, Robert kept his promise and researched Jodi’s family. “I love history; I love a challenge and doing genealogy research is like being a detective,” Robert said.

Their passion for history and family heritage grew over the years into a self-proclaimed “obsession.” In addition to Daughters of the American Revolution, Jodi was approved for membership in more than 45 genealogical societies. Robert has earned membership in more than 35 prestigious lineage and heritage societies, serving in senior leadership roles. The couple, who have been Winterberry residents for four years, attend events all over the country, sporting multiple costume changes and connecting with fellow descendants of Charlemagne and Mayflower passengers, among others.

Jodi enthusiastically described discovering that she is a distant cousin of George Washington. Robert delved into his own family history and learned he has a living cousin who is a duke. The couple joked that while some couples play golf or pickleball together, they share an excitement for genealogy that keeps them close.

Jodi and Robert have professional careers in the securities and venture capital sectors, and they own and operate Heirloom Cartography (HC), a design platform specializing in uncovering ancestral legacies. Robert explained, “We get as much of a thrill out of doing someone else’s tree as our own.”

Jodi and Robert’s daughter Abigail (Abby) is vested in her parents’ genealogical interests and other daughter Anabelle is a recent graduate of Denver University and studying for the MCAT.

Abby, who is vice president of design and production at HC, together with her mother, wrote a children’s book entitled William the Marshal: The Greatest Knight Who Ever Lived!

“We need to help little ones find a love of where they came from and their history,” Jodi explained. The book includes a genealogy section where readers can record their unique descendants, inviting parents, grandparents, or family members to celebrate and trace their connection to history’s legendary knight. The family is working on another book about the wife of King Edward III.

Jodi shared that becoming an author, while sharing her love of ancestry, is an accomplishment she is proud of, especially after overcoming the hurdles and difficulties following her stroke. “You can accomplish anything you set your mind to,” she said.

For more information about HC, visit heirloomcharts.com. The book William the Marshal can be purchased on Amazon.

 

 

By Lisa Nicklanovich; photos courtesy of Jodi Stevens