TAMPA, Fla.— Jim Smith is not ashamed to admit it.
"I'm obsessed," he says matter-of-factly. "How often am I at this? 24-7."
It started with a simple quest. He wanted to know more about his namesake uncle, a 22-year-old pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force lost in action in 1945 in the Bay of Bengal in the East Indian Ocean.
Everyone always told him: You're just like Uncle Jimmy. But no one could tell him much about the man who died along with his crew in the Liberator bomber.
Not only did Smith learn about his heroic uncle - whose name is engraved in a Singapore war memorial - he started unraveling his widespread family roots with a zealous passion. Now the gung-ho genealogist details his searches on a blog and volunteers at the Family History Center run by the Tampa Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
He loves the thrill of the chase. Days turn into nights, with Smith scanning foreign-language documents, seeking clues on reels and reels of microfilm and researching old periodicals, Census rolls, military papers, birth certificates, wills and church records. His diligence has tracked ancestors all the way back to 1650 on his mother's side. He's uncovered blood connections in at least a dozen countries.
"I just keep looking for the next clue that will open the next door and I keep on going," he says. "Not bad for a guy with the most common name you could have."
Smith isn't alone in his addiction.
According to a Harris Interactive survey, some 87 percent of all Americans have an interest in their family history. The hobby spawned an NBC reality television show starring roots-seeking celebrities — "Who Do You Think You Are?" Its second season begins early next year.