Well, here goes.  I set out to just create a family tree that my sons and grandchildren could have  with which to find out who some of their ancestors and other related family members were.  The  more I have gotten into this, the more I am finding out that there is an amazing wealth of  information out there that describes where they have historically come from, and potentially where  they and their descendants are possbily headed.  I have gleaned a great amount of information from  a myriad of sources and everyone has been quite gracious in what they have shared.  I hope that I  have been as gracious in return.

When I read about some of the individuals I have researched, I am reading a portion of our own  nation's history, and how our individual families have played their parts in it.  I have found  ancestors that arrived before we became a nation, ones that fought in our war for independence,  others that were part of the Civil War (on both sides), names that were changed out of necessity,  unfortunate circumstances and sometimes ignorance.  I have seen the movement of families  geographically because of the opportunities that called to them and realized that even today, we  are still on the move because of these same opportunities.  And, this family is not just made up  of individuals that have been here since before this nation was born, but also of a first  generation of new citizens across the years as more and more of us settled, emigrated, married and  raised families with each passing day.  Quite an amazing bunch, don't you think?

I am hoping that more and more people will add to this page, editing and updating their individual  lines, aiding in my research of not just my family, but of others that are connected with it.   After all, it isn't just one family that inhabits the world, but a multitude.