Categories
General Zinn

Jackpot!

Recently I was searching the Fold3 website, a site providing military records including stories, photos and personal documents of those who have served.  I’ve spent time on the website in the past and come back to it occasionally to see if there is anything new. Not only did I find a new file about a family member, but as I opened it and found a full 75 page document, I felt as if I had hit the jackpot! 

Bailey Garrett’s Widow

The file was the Civil War pension record for Bailey Garrett’s widow.  Who was Bailey Garrett and who was his widow?  And just what do I mean by jackpot?  Let me explain….

Bailey Marshall Garrett was married to Mary Ann Gardiner.  Mary’s second husband was Merritt Zinn.  Merritt and Mary are my great-great grandparents.  

The pension document contained seventy-five pages filled with family information, affidavits by family members, real estate records, marriage records, all the information needed by Mary to prove that she was Bailey’s wife and that she had a right to be paid Bailey’s pension.  This document held so many details previously unknown to me, that it felt as if I had collected enough gold pieces to fill a pot at the end of the rainbow.

First, who was Bailey?  He was a farmer, 6’ 3” with blue eyes and light colored hair with a light complexion.  He was married to Mary Gardiner on May 17, 1860 by Justice of the Peace Dudley Foley.  Here is the marriage record from the pension file.

Standard of the 11th Kansas Cavalry

During the Civil War Bailey served in the 11th Kansas Cavalry along with some of his brothers, several Zinns and Gardiners.  He participated in the following battles:

Old Ft. Wayne – October 25, 1862

Cane Hill, Ark – November 28, 1862

Prairie Grove, Ark – December 7, 1862

Raid on Van Buren, Ark – December 28 & 29, 1862

In an Officer’s Certificate to Death of Soldier, Jerome Kunkle, Captain of Company D, 11th Kansas Cavalry, reported the following: “having been in pursuit of Quantrill and band after burning the City of Lawrence, Kansas…after riding nearly all night of the 20th of August and all day of the 21st & 22nd of August laying out upon the damp ground without any blankets both evenings – namely of the 21st & 22nd of August he (Bailey) was taken with a severe cold  and was shortly afterward unable for duty. Shortly afterwards he died while absent with leave.”

Also included was a letter from Lieutenant P. Thomas of Company D. which explained how he came to be at home.  “… Private Bailey M. Garrett of  Co. ‘D’ 11th KN. C. who died at Rising Sun, Jefferson Co. Kansas was left at this Station when the Company had gone on a scout.  All but a few who had no horses or were left behind sick in my charge, as was the case of private Garrett, who was then so sick he had been given up to die.  At that time there were rumors of another raid similar to that of Quantrell’s into Kansas.  Excitement was at the highest pitch.  About this time his parents came here and took him to his home in Rising Sun, Ks. where he died in a few days.”

It was a comforting thought to know that his parents were able to bring him home and be at his side.

At the time of Bailey’s death, he and Mary had three children: 

William Evert – 3 years

Eliza Ellen – 2 years

Lydia Eldora – 1 month  

Two affidavits of proof that these were his children we given.  One by Thirza Ann Zinn Garrett wife of Bailey’s brother Robert Garrett who attended the birth of William and Lydia.  Eliza Gardiner, Mary’s mother, also provided an affidavit as she attended the birth of Eliza.  Guardianship of the children was granted to Robert Garrett as witnessed by none other than Willis Zinn, father of Merritt and Thirza.  

On September 18, 1863 Mary began receiving pension payments of $8 per month.  She received those until her marriage in May of 1869 to Merritt Zinn.

Merrit & Mary Zinn

As proof of their marriage,  Merritt and Mary’s marriage record was a part of the file. They were married by Bailey’s older brother, William Caldwell Garrett. The location, I learned, was in Newman Station, Kansas which is just south of Hwy 24 between Grantville and Perry. This very small town was laid out along the railroad in 1867.  A post office was opened in 1868 but closed in 1869.

William Caldwell Garrett
MerrMerritt & Mary Ann’s Marriage License

The proof of Merritt’s death was much harder to come by as explained in Mary’s own affidavit.  Merritt died on January 20, 1893 outside the city limits of Topeka, Kansas.  She asked the county for records, but there were none kept at the time.  Next she went to Rochester Cemetery where he is buried to check their records and found no perfect records were kept until several years after his death.  She states that the undertaker who had buried Merritt had gone out of business and left town. 

As evidence of his death, Mary had two witnesses who saw Merritt in his coffin and attended his funeral.  Affidavits were given by  A. D. Jones who was the minister that preached at Merritt’s funeral and L.M. Penwell who belonged to the same Insurance Order, Ancient Order of the United Workmen, and took charge of his burial rights of the Order over his remains both at home and at Rochester Cemetery. These affidavits gave proof that Mary was no longer married to Merritt.

Mary then provided proof of her marriage to Dexter Wiley. They were married on February 28, 1901 in Oakland, Kansas.  She was 59 an he was 68 years old. The document was witnessed by Jared Cox, the husband of Mary’s daughter Eliza. At the age of 75, Dexter died on August 15, 1908.  L.M. Penwell was the undertaker for Dexter who shipped his remains to Tonganoxie, Kansas on August 17, 1908 so he could be buried at the Tonganoxie Cemetery.

Deck & Mary Wiley

Dexter and Mary owned 27 and 11/100 acres in Topeka Township which was just south of the Topeka city limits.  Because they had a mortgage on the property, when Dexter died, Mary sold off the property to pay off the mortgage.  After a survey, it turned out that they really owned only 25 acres.  Mary sold J.D. Elliot 8 acres for $808.00 and sold John B. Deever 10 acres for $1050.00.  This left Mary with a house on 7 acres. 

1913 Plat Map of Topeka and Topeka Township. The red square indicates where the Wiley property was located. As reference Washburn College and the State Fair Grounds are noted in red.

She rented the three-room house for $7 per month, her only source of income and not enough to live on. That is why she again needed the pension which then paid her $20 per month.

Mary went on to live with her daughter, Eliza Cox, in Carnegie, Oklahoma until her death in 1918.

Another fun find in this document are the signatures of so many relatives

For me, the Civil War pension file Bailey Garrett’s widow was just a thrill to find and a jackpot of information to share.  

If you’d like a copy of the full document, I’d be happy to share.  Send me an email. You can find the link below. To find out more about Mary Ann Gardiner Garret Zinn Wiley, click here.

Categories
Ellison General

Oregon Trail

Over 350,000 people journeyed on the Oregon Trail, the most famous wagon route across America, with ruts still visible today. Our Ellison family is included in those 350,000. Larkin Tuggle and Nancy Emmeline Ellison and family traveled the trail for six months in 1865.

Larkin and Nancy were both born in West Virginia and were married on December 13, 1841.   That year, Larkin’s father, Asa William Ellison, granted Larkin 46 acres on Tom’s Run in Giles County. Ten years later, in January of 1851, Asa granted him 50 more acres. During this time, their family bloomed with six children born in West Virginia.

In 1853 they migrated to Missouri along with Larkin’s parents and Nancy’s brothers John and Peter Cummings and their families. They settled northeast of St. Joseph on a rented ranch. In 1854 they took claims on Deer Creek, four miles north of Atchison, in the Kansas Territory. It wasn’t until 1855, after their daughter Mary Adeline was born, that they built and moved into their cabin. After two years and dissatisfaction with the location, they migrated seven miles southwest to Camp Creek near Parnell Junction, Kansas in 1857. Two more children were born there, Sallie and Preston.

In the spring of 1865, Larkin and Nancy decided to move to Oregon. The impetus for this move was likely a house fire that claimed their home and all of their possessions. Eliza, Larkin and Nancy’s youngest daughter, told the story in her biography.

“Larkin was working on his father’s (Asa’s) plantation and Nancy was at her folks’, two miles away, for the day with the smaller children. Amanda, Olivia, and Jane were doing the washing down at the spring when the house caught fire. When Nancy came back around five, everything was gone.”  

“She (Nancy) was a wonderful house keeper and homemaker. She had woven all the cloth and had two everyday outfits or changes of everything for each one of her family and nice clothes for Sunday. Grandpa was a Baptist minister called missionary Baptist. Those days they went to different homes and rode 30 miles some times, mother said. Grandma had the cellar full of fruit, vegetables and jellies and jams. And all their meat for winter. Which was a great loss in those days.”

Larkin & Nancy: Photo taken in Atchison, Kansas before the trip to Oregon

On the 16th day of May, they began their trek to Oregon. Among their belongings were a light wagon with a team of fine mares for the family and two heavy wagons with two yoke of oxen and provisions for six months. 

The Oregon Trail was well-established by 1865, having begun in 1843. By then, some of the dangers and challenges had been eliminated, but the trip was a perilous one, lasting a full six months. Just as many others encountered hardships, so too did the Ellisons. 

Nancy went blind while crossing the plains. They thought it was from neuralgia, which was treated by pulling all of her teeth. Can you imagine having your teeth pulled probably with pliers and no pain killer?  Her eyesight never returned during her lifetime.

Preston, the three year-old son of Nancy and Larkin, died while on the journey and was buried in an unmarked grave along the trail.

Larkin and Nancy’s oldest daughter, Martha Jane, married Thomas Ashpole in November of 1864 and was pregnant on the trip. She gave birth to her son along the way. He died in infancy and was also buried in an unmarked grave along the trail. Martha Jane was very ill after giving birth and spent many days in her bed in the covered wagon. Her husband also became ill and died shortly after their arrival in Oregon.

In 1866 the family settled in Yamhill County, Oregon, southwest of Portland. Larkin continued farming there. One more child, Eliza Ann, was born to Larkin and Nancy in 1867.  

Oregon was the final destination of the Ellisons, for they didn’t move after that. Larkin died of typhoid fever on July 1, 1877. Nancy then lived with her oldest daughter, Martha Jane who had remarried to Henry Parrott. She died June 2, 1902. All their children lived out their lives in Oregon except for Overton, who had remained in Kansas.

Find out more about Larkin Tuggle Ellison and Nancy Emmeline Cummings Ellison here.

Categories
Beems Zinn

Songs Close to My Heart

“How great it would have been had our family had good singing voices.  Well, it would have been great, but I don’t believe we would have enjoyed singing anymore than we have.”

Marjorie Zinn Beems

This is the introduction on a cassette tape created by my mother entitled “Songs Close to My Heart.”  On this cassette she relates the many melodies that sang through her life; songs that were sung by her grandparents and parents, songs that she learned as a child and young adult, songs that she taught us children to sing, and songs that she created for our family.

What a treasure this collection has become!  Just to hear my mother’s voice and to hear her describe family members and the impressions of what their life was like is a simply, beautiful gift that she gave to us. 

I have included several songs on the website for Ivan, Everett and Ursula.   You’ll find them under Marjorie’s Musical Memories on their individual pages.  Here, I would like to share some other songs that made a lasting impression on me and a few that just say, “This is my family.”

Here is one of the first songs, Mom remembers teaching.

“Goodnight Ladies”.

Goodnight Ladies

I love music and have always loved a silly little song.  Children’s songs tend to be some of my favorites as I often sang them to my children and now sing them to my grandchildren. “Three Little Fishies” and “Mairzy Doats” are such songs.

3 Little Fishies
Mairzy Doats

One of my favorite songs to sing with my sisters and cousins was “Playmate.”  It was a fun action song involving patterns of clapping and slapping.  We sang this song for many an hour.

Playmate

Of course, my favorite songs from my mother are the ones she composed for our family.  

First there was “Daddy-O,” a song we could sing to look forward to our daddy coming home after a long day’s work.  

Daddy-O

Then there was “The Name Song”. It was an especially important song as each one of us kids had our own verse.

The Name Song

I hope you have enjoyed listening to these treasures.  

Do you remember these or other special songs that we sang at family gatherings?  Please share your memories in the comments below.

Categories
General

Overton Asa Ellison

I’ve been busy posting several new pages about my great grandfather, Overton Asa Ellison. He seemed to be quite a character. He worked as a farmer, but he was one who loved to retell historical accounts and orate poems. When he was the auctioneer for boxed lunch socials, some said he missed his calling. He was called “Judge,” but never was one. A cousin thought he looked like a judge, nicknamed him, and the nickname stuck. He liked to drink milk with cream, but trusted very few to make the drink, and he wouldn’t drink it unless he witnessed the cream being poured in the glass.

Many years ago my mother, Marjorie Zinn Beems, wrote an article about him and his family. I’m including it here as a way of introduction to Overton Asa Ellison.

I live in Topeka on a street where there is a sign indicating the Oregon Trail meandered by here over a century ago. For me this has special significance. The fact that I have always lived in Kansas could be attribute to a twist of fate that kept my grandfather from going on the Oregon Trail.

In the “Life History of Overton A. Ellison” as related by my grandfather to a grand-daughter, he states, ” In the spring of 1865, his parents (Larking and Nancy Ellison) decided to emigrate to Oregon and on the 16th of May they started from Atchison.” The Oregon Trail was a well-established route by then with some of the dangers and challenges eliminated that had been in existence in the year of its origin, 1843.

That year, 1843, was also the year Overton Asa Ellison was born. In 1865 he was a young man of 22 who had traveled the Santa Fe Trail from Ft. Leavenworth to Ft. Union as a government “bull whacker” and had served in the Kansas Militia. Then, along with his parents and seven siblings he was headed to Oregon.

They started, he continued, “with a light wagon and team of fine mares for the family and two heavy wagons with two yoke of oxen and one of cows which belonged to Overton and had provisions for six months. They went as far as A.D. Simmons in Grasshopper Township (a friend’s farm in western Atchison County) that evening. There they joined twelve to fifteen other families and were to start early the next morning, May 17.”

“That night was a sleepless one for at least some of the party and by morning it was rumored that there might be an extra passenger as the young man Overton and little Miss Anna Simmons were going to be married and that he might take his bride along. But her parents seemed to want something to say in the matter so inquired of the young man and learned of his intentions but altered them somewhat by saying, they could have their consent to be married, but not to go to Oregon that day, for if the Ellison’s got there all right and liked the country he (A.D. Simmons) would sell out the following spring and take them and go too. So Overton decided to stay but let them take his equipment and the rest stayed as scheduled.”

His father started without an experienced bull whacker. The next oldest son was only twelve years old. Did he and the older sisters have to share Overton’s responsibilities? The other son, not yet three years old, died in September while en route. His mother made a stark recording of the date of death in the family bible with no details given. The oldest sister was married with 3 step-children. She gave birth to a son on the westward journey. He did not survive. Two unmarked graves along the trail were left by this family. They were en route six months before settling in Yamhill County, Oregon, southwest of Portland.

Overton and Anna, who had just turned 15, were married the 25th of May. He recalled, “the Civil War ended in June and this altered conditions so his father-in-law decided not to go to Oregon. Overton, not having anything or any one to go with therefore remained in Kansas.” He did not see any of his family for 28 years at which time he made a visit to Oregon. A sister born in Oregon was a 26-year-old widow with three children when he first saw her.

To learn more about Overton, click here. A photo gallery of family photos has also been posted. If you have any photos or other information, that I could add to the gallery or pages, I would be so happy to add them to this site.

Categories
Zinn

Keepsakes

In amongst the items in a box of Zinn ephemera, is a small box marked “Ivan.” Ivan refers to Willis Ivan Zinn, the father of Everett Zinn, and my great-grandfather. This worn cardboard box contains a collection of small items that were amongst Ivan’s possessions at the end of his life. They had been placed in this box sometime after his death.

Varied pieces of memorabilia are within the box; a small Baptist hymnal where “Amazing Grace” was marked by an old newspaper article about the origins of the hymn, a recent photo of him and his half sister Eliza Cox whom he lived with in Carnegie, Oklahoma the last few years of his life.

“Dad & Aunt Eliza Cox at the camp in Colo. – Summer 1934 (last picture of Dad we have)”

Because Ivan had moved away from his home in Kansas after his wife, Ruah, died to live with his sister, the box also held a small bundle of cards and letters. One of the letters was written on December 27, 1936 by Ivan to his son, Everett. It was one of the last letters that Ivan wrote to Everett. Listen to an excerpt and then read the whole letter here.

Excerpt from Ivan’s letter

One of my favorite cards in the box is a valentine my mother sent to Ivan, her grandfather. I don’t know the exact date, but it was between 1931-1936.

These next two are unsigned with no envelope attached. Both are beautifully intricate and elaborate.

Three Christmas cards were in the box. The first has such a cozy picture. If you like cats, you’ll love this one.  It’s from Zora Zinn.  She was married to Bruce Zinn, another son of Ivan’s, who passed away in 1932.  He was putting up hay on a record setting hot day in July and died from a sunstroke.  Zora and Bruce had been married five years when he passed. This card was sent in 1935.

Another card sent in 1934 was from Perry Zinn, a cousin, who was living in Buffalo, Oklahoma near the panhandle. Ivan was living southwest of Oklahoma City.

The last Christmas Card was actually sent to Everett and Ursula from Ivan and Aunt Eliza in December of 1936. Ivan passed in March of 1937.

There are so many things that I love about these cards.  I love the old graphics and the sentiments written in rhyme.   I love seeing the hand-writing and reading the personalized notes which always brings such a connection to the people we have loved and to ones that we have never known.  Most of all I love these cards because they were cherished and special enough to be saved through the years. They surely brought with them such great gifts of love, joy, and comfort.

Learn more about Willis “Ivan” Zinn here.

To see the Zinn Family Tree click here.

Categories
Ellison

A Possum & A Skunk

I was going through files on Overton Asa Ellison and came upon a booklet of papers that had been stitched together at the top. It was many pages thick. I recognized the tiny handwriting on the front as Mary Ellison’s, but the handwriting changed throughout the document several times. Because I knew it would take some time to get through, I set it aside. However, my curiosity got the better of me. I wanted to know the significance of these papers.

As I began to read the pages, I quickly understood it to be a letter. Not just one, but every member of the family had written a letter and they were sewn together and mailed as a set to be sent to Overton’s children.

I so enjoyed the stories from Ursula’s and Firman’s letters that I couldn’t wait to share them with you. They are a hoot! Written in January of 1909 Ursula would have been ten years old and Firman, seven years old. This was the second time Firman tried to write with a pen, and the first time he wrote without any help. I’m sharing the main stories from both of their letters.

Ursula’s Story

I must tell you about mother killing a possum. Something kept getting after our chickens all summer and one night while Pa was gone to Missouri it come before we went to bed.  They (the chickens) were roosting in a barrel out in the garden and mother grabbed the lamp and ran out there, but Firman beat her and said, “Oh, it’s a great big rat.”  Mother said, “No, it’s a possum,” and shoved the lamp in Firman’s hand and hollered at me to come and get the lamp.  And then she grabbed a board longer than she was herself and went to punching it.  She thought it would possum as soon as she hit it, but it wouldn’t possum at all.  It ran out west then across the old flower bed, and into the gooseberry bushes and mother a punching at it and I was after all the time with the big lamp.  Her specks fell off but she didn’t stop to find them.  Finally, it ran down among the old cabbage stalks and then she knocked him down, then she got him by the tail and carried it up to the porch and made Firman hold it by the tail til she went and got the hammer and finished  the job.  Firman wasn’t scared but I was trembling so I couldn’t hardly stand up, but I never stumbled and the lamp never went out.

The chase hurt mother so bad she has never felt well since.  Then, Otie said he would skin the possum and sell the hide and mother went out and hunted up her specks.  Mother told him to dress it right nice and we would cook it.  So he hung it up like a pig and dressed it, and then brought it in with its head and feet and tail all on.  And when Mother began to fix it. She went wok wok (gagging). But she wouldn’t back out, she said other people cooked them and said they were good so she would too.  So she put in some sweet potatoes and roasted it and it was good but none of us wanted it.  So she sat it away in a cold place til Pa came home.  He ate some and some company come and they ate some but one man wouldn’t eat any more when he found out what it was.  They all said it tasted like a pig.  Firman thought it would taste like chicken because it had ate so many. 

Firman’s Story

We went up to Barkers Christmas day. And we got a trap and it was Mackays and we went to put it back and we killed a skunk and it stunk like every thing and we went back pretty fast and Cecil and Lee and Ursula got it in their mouths.  I didn’t get it in my mouth but I smelt it.

I hope this put smile on your face today!

To learn more about Ursula click here.

Pages for Mary and Overton are in the works. That’s where you’ll eventually find the rest of the letter.

Categories
Zinn

Jigsaw Puzzle

Have you ever tried to piece together a giant jigsaw puzzle without the picture and not knowing if you have all the pieces? In searching through family history it’s not hard to come across such puzzles regularly. Here’s a picture of one such puzzle.

Everett’s Occupations – a list by Marjorie Beems

I know it doesn’t really look like a puzzle.  It’s a list of jobs. These are the occupations held by my grandfather, Everett Zinn.  So what’s the puzzle? The conundrum is the chronological order of these occupations and how they fit together in Everett’s lifetime.  You see, in making this list, my mother was just trying to list all the jobs her father held, but I want to know how they fit together in his life.

I began to piece it together by going through all the evidence I had in my collection; records, letters, journals, and books.

The easiest place to start was the census records.  Here I found in the 1925 census that Everett was farming and the 1940 census listed his occupation as auto mechanic. There’s two pieces of the puzzle.

Next, I remembered reading in Grandma’s journals when she mentioned specific items about Grandpa.

Journal Entry from July 25, 1922 – Renting a farm

It was awful hot for awhile today until a rainstorm came up and cooled things off some.  Had a letter from Everett.  He is pretty much excited. He had seen his Uncle Duane, and Mr.  Ott had seen him.  He will rent Everett the place I guess if he wants it.  I am so excited about it for I can hardly think.  I think that would make us such a cozy little home.  Now this evening Mr. Bealer has called him again and altho Everett hadn’t got to talk to him yet, I expect he wants to rent Everett that place, so it’s hard to tell just which one he will land yet.

Journal Entry from February 4, 1943 – Work

Everett is going to work again today at Brown’s garage.  They have decided to reopen it.  So he quit at the defense work.  He is quite thrilled about it for that is really his line of work.

His “defense work” must be the cable spinning during WWII that Mom listed.

Another piece of the puzzle came in a letter the Everett wrote to Ursula when she was in Dodge City, Kansas visiting her half sister, Dell. In a letter dated June 17, 1928, he shares:

“Well Kiddie I guess I will be thru at Glyn’s this wk.  I expected to be thru in about 2 wks, but he isn’t going to do much more spraying.  I guess they will start harvesting this wk so I suppose I will be shocking wheat again.”

Add to that the treasure trove found in the city directories for the Topeka area.  I love that in the 1950’s, they listed what position a person held as well as the company they worked for.  A new job popped up here that Mom hadn’t listed for Hygrade Food Products Corp. 

1921 – Laborer

1931 – Employee – Hygrade Food Products Corporation

1942 – Auto Mechanic – Brown Brothers

1952 – Mechanic – Brown Truck Co..

1954 – Mechanic – Harold’s GMC Trucks

1955 – Mechanic – Clarence Hood Garage

The book, History of Grantville, Kansas, 1854-1976, reported that Everett ran a garage from their home for a time in the 1930’s and 1950’s, and that he was a custodian for the Grantville Grade School from 1959- 1966.  I also have his contracts with the school district, but only from 1960-1966.

From stories that my mother told, we know that she and her Dad both worked at John Morrell & Co. at least for part of the time together because they would ride into work together.  Mom worked there during the summers of 1948, 1949, and 1950.

From my own knowledge, I know that he and grandma were both salesmen for Standard Life Insurance and Fuller Brush Company in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s.

Let’s take a look at the puzzle now.  Not all the pieces are put together, but the illustration is more complete now.

Everett’s Occupation Chart

Can you put some other pieces in place?  What are your favorite memories of Everett related to his work?  Please share them in the comments below.

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To see the Zinn family tree click here.

To learn more about Everett click here.

Categories
General

Hello Family!

Welcome to the

Love Our Family History

blog and website!  

What is this?

This is a place to share my love of our family history with you.  It’s a continual work in progress, just like genealogy research. Currently I am working on the Zinn Family line with pages which start with my grandfather, Everett Zinn, and continue back three generations.  In the future you will see the development of more Zinn, Ellison, Beems, Hull and other family named pages.

Why would I do this?

I became interested in our family history when my daughter had to create a family tree for an elementary school project years (and years) ago.  It was so much fun to work on that with her.  I loved hearing my mother tell me stories of these ancestors, and I wanted to learn more.  I’ve been doing research here and there ever since. After the passing of my parents, I became the keeper of my parents genealogy records and family ephemera.  The collection not only encompassed my mother’s genealogy research, but also her mother and grandmother’s as well as my father’s mother.  I have files of data and boxes of memorabilia.  These are great treasures, but not meant to be kept stored away where no one can see them.  I want to share these treasures with you.

What to expect?

In the posts that will be coming out about once a month, I will share with you discoveries I’ve made, interesting details that don’t have a home on the website, more pictures, stories and anything else related to our family history.  I hope that you will share your memories and knowledge in the comments, so that more color will be added to our family portrait. 

I also want to invite you to be a guest writer for the blog with a family story that you might like to share.

Please share this site with your family. Your help to expand the roots of our family tree is greatly appreciated.

I hope you will enjoy and Love Our Family History!