This site contains the combined histories of our family, including the
Ancestors and Descendants of our children and their spouses. So far, our ties
reach into about 40 of the United States, from most of the counties in England,
and from the lands of France, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Ireland,
Canada, Australia, Hungary and Switzerland.
Some of these people are not directly related, but are relatives "by marriage,"
and many of their families are shown as branches off of our Tree. Eventually,
we'd all meet up at some point anyway, but it's interesting to see the
directions it has taken so far.
"Names" "Dates" and "Places" are a reasonable gathering of information from
many sources, and few official documents. Whenever possible we have posted the
source, or miscellaneous links leading to biographies or other documents found
online. Genealogical Purists will be happier checking things for themselves,
and this is fine. However, even the best records rarely agree with one another,
and "fact" in one entry is "fiction" in another. But this is a hobby, not a
religious quest. So, don't be surprised if some family members may be barely
more than "guesses" based on research into censuses and birth, marriage and
death indexes.
RECORDS USED
International Genealogical Index: Some are extractions from transcripts
from films of... These can be valuable in pinpointing a spouse, a parent, or a
child or children. Some are just statements submitted by some unknown person
without any source citation whatsoever. Less helpful, but a starting point
nonetheless.
Censuses: Images of actual census enumerations are found online through
subscription, and provide a trail of Life's events. The drawback is that these
records never agree. As a consequence, we must "average-out" ages, places,
names and occupations! The problem increases with each step along the line -
information givers, information takers, recorders, transcribers, etc.
Birth, Marriage and Death Indexes: Extremely helpful in finding spouses,
or finding the last name of a spouse when only the given name is known. These
indexes sometimes can provide other facts, such as a mother's maiden name.
Family Tree Charts: Several charts have been consulted, some very
lengthy and complicated. POWLEY, prepared at the Norfolk Family History Society
for a Mrs. [Powley] Smyth; SCULFER, collected and prepared by Mrs. E. Mortimer;
JARVIS, shared by Mr. K. Jarvis; POWLEY-2, a GEDCom sent by Mrs. J. Billington;
PARFREY shared by M. Heath; asundry charts and pedigrees found online.
Immigration Records:
Ellis Island
Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Olive Tree Genealogy
Correspondence: Many good folks have written with questions and answers
and their input has made a great difference. Thanks to Miles, Rod, Shirley,
Brian and Julie, Jack, Carl and everyone who has written to us about various
family members. We should also mention that the original pedigrees that began
this project were handed down by Renabelle with supplemental information and
photographs shared by her daughter Wilma.
Be sure to check the Ancestors and Descendants for different people. Contact us
if you see anything that needs to be corrected. Let us know if you find other
sources that can be helpful in our research. And please sign our Guestbook.