Family is becoming more important to me as I grow older. Unfortunately, I'm also aware of the fact that I don't know many people in my family or my husband's family. This is my attempt to learn about my ancestors, my husband's ancestors, and all of our family that we have, but may not be able to see very often.
For me this family tree is a doorway into a world I was never able to know. I want to open the door and find out where my ancestors grew up, what they did for occupations, and who they knew as their immediate families. I want to learn about names that haved flowed down through the generations, and I want to pay respect to my ancestors by learning about their lives. I want to know about all the people who were part of why I'm here in this world doing everything that I'm doing now.
Also, this family tree is a way for me to learn about my family who is still living. I have never really had much contact with my family and, therefore, my knowledge of them is limited. With the exceptions of my Grandpa Wally, Grandma Jane, and Uncle Dwight, I usually seen other family members on a yearly basis or even less often when I was young. However, most of my family I never met. It may have taken almost twenty-seven years, but now I'm trying to rectify this by finding out about my family and maybe even getting the chance to start a relationship with them.
I would also like my husband, Ken, to learn more about his family lineage. It is my hope that he will become interested in this project and that he will be inspired to reconnect with family he hasn't seen in years. It is also my hope to learn more about Ken's family because I have recently become part of it, and his family is a part of who he is.
I don't expect this family tree to come together overnight, but I will enjoy putting it together. With everyone's help it will eventually become a work of art that I will treasure. I appreciate everyone's imput and patience. I have many questions that I've bombarded people with and everyone has been generous enough to help me even if we don't know each other well. I thank you all for being part of creating my masterpiece.