Published: October 10, 2009 07:41 am      

Buffalo native returns for book signing

Author and Harper County native Carolyn B. Leonard will discuss her new book, “Who’s your Daddy? A guide to Genealogy from Start to finish,” today from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Buffalo Museum.

“It took thirty years of fun research to write this book,” said Leonard. “My goal is to share the passion and serendipity of finding your family’s place in history.”

Leonard will also sign copies of her book, which was just released two weeks ago. While she will have a few copies of her book on hand Saturday, the book is also available from Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com as well as from the publisher, Awocbooks.com.

“I think hometown folks will especially enjoy reading the true story which begins on page 131 of the first murder in Harper County when it was still part of Woodward, seeing photos of unusual tombstones such as the petrified wood marker of Forrest Benton in High Point Cemetery, the well-ordered Harper County Clerk’s record room, and other scenes and stories they will recognize,” she said.

The murder story is included to demonstrate how to locate court records in courthouses and learn the inside story by reading old newspaper microfilms. Readers will also find tips on writing their own history, collecting family information and interviewing family members.

“My book is about writing memoir,” Leonard said. “I think people enjoy reading stories that tell what their ancestors' lives were like, put some flesh on the bones to know how they lived, who they loved and where they died. That is what I want to help them learn to do.”

Leonard and her husband, Jon Heavener, live in Oklahoma City, but maintain a second home in Buffalo to visit often with her son James Leonard and granddaughters Kadi and Kinzi Leonard, and many friends.

Leonard, a former Harper County Journal editor and Buffalo High School alumni, has been a freelance writer for many years and remains a commissioned writer for Persimmon Hill, the award-winning magazine of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.

She has contributed to several books including the best seller “In Their Name,” a state-endorsed book on the Murrah Federal Building bombing in Oklahoma City, and “Heavenly Patchwork II, Quilt Stories to Warm Your Heart.” This is her first completed non-fiction book.