HELLO TO ALL OF MY WONDERFUL FAMILY:)  This is it!!!  I am very excited about our family heritage.   I have been working on collecting information about our ancestors since about 2001.  Although I  spend a great deal of time confirming facts and researching my research, it is a work in progress and  by no means perfect.

WHY I AM SO PASSIONATE:  Times lost to the living, but not forgotten. It connects us to our past and  tells us where we came from. Honoring previous nurturers of our lives and the lives still to come. We all have a history. History we are proud of and history we want to hide from. We are leaving  a legacy and 200 years from now I want my descendants to know, you are not known by me, but you are loved by me. I was not perfect and it is ok to not be perfect yourself. Whatever changes the world has gone through, your time is precious. Above all else God loves your imperfect self.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:   The most important way you can help is by sending me the story of your  parents and grandparents from your unique perspective. I want to honor the lives of every one in our  family. You know more then you think.  Examples: Did your father/grandpa/grandma/aunts/uncles work? Did grandma sew, knit, crochet?  Who cooked, shopped, made clothes, milked the cows, gather eggs, till the grounds? Maybe someone  churned butter. How about college?  Did anyone sing and what kind of songs did they sing? Maybe  grandma was stern. Maybe you remember a old apron or overalls. Did anyone have horses or  livestock, grow fruits and vegetables? Even sad or tragic events are part of what shaped their lives.  Think of one person at a time. 
 Other ways you can help. Old photos you want to include so they don't get lost to time, even if they are damaged (I can help) or you don't know for sure who the photo is of.  Id be happy to come to you and scan or copy. If you live near a resting place you can offer to visit them and take a photo. I create memorials  of our resting family members as well.  Offer to spend a great deal of time with me to organize and  put binders together for all head of houses. If someday its my time to join my ancestors in heaven or  events make it impossible for me to continue this website, all will not be lost.

HOW IT ALL STARTED:   It was my son that got me started.  In school he needed to make a family  tree. The goal was to try to go back to our ancestor immigrants.  At some point during the assignment  I realized just how much I did not know about our family, past or present. It seemed to me that our  family had gotten much smaller.  Then I began to see that there were many, many family members we  have just lost contact with.

WHAT I HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH:    Mostly, this is just fun and interesting for me.  However, it would  please me if those who take the time to read and go through my research and the research shared  with me from trusted people, will get excited and remember the importance of family.  Resulting in a  renewed commitment in getting reunited with lost family, remembering the old and welcoming the  new. 

“To Forget one’s Ancestors is like a river without a source or a tree without roots.” -Chinese Proverb

Please note: I make every attempt to obtain permission from the owner before posting any  copyrighted material.  However, it is always possible that I may get submissions which are posted  without proper attribution.  Please  let me know if you assert ownership of any materials found here  and I will either give proper attribution or remove it promptly according to your wishes.