Genealogy

… is the ancestry and history of individuals. Many think of this as a list of names, birth and death dates, names of children and, maybe, where people lived. And, at least in part, that’s true. Those dates and relationships are the skeleton on which everything is hung but, I’m sure you’ll agree, people are more than bones.

Genealogists want more, lots more. Genealogists want to know what everyone did for a living, where else did they live and when did they move?

Those answers lead to deeper questions: why did they go, what drove them out, and what drew them to a particular place? Was there an epidemic, a famine, a war? Did they go alone-in shame-or with a family-reluctantly? How much did they take along and, when they got there-if they got there-were their dreams fulfilled or was it worse than before?

I am researching family history for the benefit of my descendants, for my kids (should they ever show an interest), for my grandchildren and their children. In learning about their ancestors they may, as I have, learn more of their own humanity.

Names of personal interest include:
BLIXBERG, BOBO, BORTHWICK, BREMS, Brown, Burgess, Calder, Caldwell, Cameron, CARROLL, Chadwick, Chung, CLARK[E], Coulter, Cowan, Crosby, Crowe, CUNNINGHAM, Curtis, DEAN, Doan, Dowda, DRAPER, Duff, Dugger, Ellis, English, Falls, Fancher, Felkins, Ferguson, Ferris, FIELDS, Filbeck, FOLLAND, Fortner, Foust, Frances, Gardner, Graham, Grindell, Hall, Hamway, Hartt, Harwell, Heisee, Henry, Hess, Hicke, HISKY, Hoggan, Hoover, Houser, Howard, HOWITT, Hull, Hunt, Hutchings, Jones, Kaats, Keats, Kelly, Kendall, Kiefer, King, Kinmond, Kirkendall, Knight, Kreutzweiser, Kritzer, Lang, LARGE, Laughlin, LAWSON, Leslie, Lete, Lloyd, LOVE, MacDonald, Mason, McCampbell, McCann, McCauley, McClure, McGuire, Messmer, Miller, Mills, Mitchell, MULLINAUX, MULLINS, Munro, Musgrave, NEUN, Newcomb, Odom, Oelze, Panshyshyn, Pass, Peay, Pettebone, Pilson, POINDEXTER, Pratt, Price, Prosser, Rajala, Raymond, Reed, Richardson, Robinson, Rocca, Roedger, Rohrer, Ryan, Seymour, SHEARIN, Shutt, Simpson, Sipes, SKINNER, Smith, Speed, STANTON, Stollery, Strand, TEMPLETON, Thomas, Tipton, Tracy, Trujillo, Turnbull, Vincent, Waggamon, WALKER, WATSON, Weigand, Wentz, White, Wickham, Williams, Willis, and Wylie.