There is a hi-tech historian hiding out who maintains a genealogical database of thousands of obituaries, family trees, and at least as many newspapers on microfilm as the local library

Nellie Landon, a former resident of Abingdon and one of 16 children found herself curiously researching her own family tree back in 1993. That budding curiosity has transformed into a hugely time-consuming hobby the self-effacing researcher pursues quietly from her home in Galesburg.

"I just love it," the member of four area genealogical societies said. "It's like a big crossword puzzle to put all these people together."

She not only maintains her own family tree on computer but also in a binder nearly 10 inches deep, but she also keeps track of the genealogical history of more than 25,000 former or current residents of Abingdon. And she is adding more each day.

She proudly boasts that 99 percent of her own family is from Abingdon and that she has traced her family tree as far back as 1775 on her father's side and as far back as 1400 on her mother's side.

However, compiling and maintaining the paper trail of her own genealogy and that of thousands of other Abingdon residents became frustrating for Landon due to lack of space and time in relocating a certain person or file. Now, the technology she uses to research and maintain her hobby includes a microfilm printer/reader, a scanner, two home-based PC's, two portable photocopiers, and a laptop computer that is available for her to quickly access or log information anywhere, anytime.

"It is costly sometimes to continue to do this, but I've never thought of charging people," she said. quietly. "It's just a fascinating game."

And even as inconspicuous as this hi-tech historian tries to remain, Landon said she receives 10 to 20 e-mail messages or several phone calls a day from all over the country from individuals seeking genealogical information about a former or current resident of Abingdon.

"I'm not sure how they find me or get my e-mail address," she laughed. "But I get a lot of requests for information on people who are from Abingdon or have Abingdon ties."

Landon graciously accepts the numerous requests she receives on a daily basis and often ventures out of her in-home research center on a request from a friend or acquaintance with a genealogical query.

"I went to the library on Monday with 150 different names to research," she said modestly. "I only found three in a few hours."

Landon, however, continues to persist in maintaining and researching the lives of the past and present with a little help from modern technology and requests from the curious seeking a glimpse of Abingdon's historic past.