Welcome Family, Friends and Visitors

I started this journey when I found out I was going to be a grandmother. I began writing down names of ancestors so my grandchild would know who their ancestors were. I knew my grandparents and I knew some of my great-grandparents, we visited them often, but I didn't really know much about them such as who were there parents and where did they come from. I talked to my parents and added bits of information which led to more questions. I talked to my grandparents and asked more questions but by this time my great-grandparents were deceased and the information was limited. Now I was hooked and it was the beginning of a new hobby.

I began gathering documents and pictures, I walked through cemeteries with my father and we visited the local courthouse. I started adding a piece here and a piece there, some information collected from family members when they were willing to part with it. Next I was off to follow the paper trail by visiting libraries, distant courthouses, the Family History Center in Salt Lake City and any place I could find with that treasured information. After all genealogy is like a puzzle with some of the pieces missing and I like a good puzzle... but I do wish some of them were not so elusive!

Now, with more and more information and documents available on the internet I do a lot of research online, collecting documents as I go. Along the way I meet new cousins and other genealogists who are a very friendly group of people. It has been an interesting journey.

Although I cannot guarantee that the information posted here is correct, I have tried to back it with proof when available and documents for a paper trail. Any new information or corrections, photos or documents are welcome if you would like to share.

I would also like to give a special thank you to everyone who has already shared information, photos or tips. Your help is very much appreciated.

Have fun exploring, but keep in mind it is a work in progress. Some of the information may come from family legend or hearsay and is yet to be proven.

I'm glad you stopped by for a visit and hope you come back often... you never know when something might change!









Feature Articles

feature 1 Mystery Photos
I have several Mystery Photos from a scrapbook that belonged to my grandmother and other photos from the collections of our parents. In most cases the name of the person or persons in the photo are not known to us and there is nothing written on the back. A few have names but I don't know if they are family or friends of family. Browse through the photos... and if by chance a face looks familiar I would love to hear from you.

feature 2 DNA
Just for fun I took an Autosomal/Family Finder DNA test to see where my ancestors came from. It turns out I am 100% European, mostly in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany and France, which my paper trail proves. So then I decided to take the mtDNA test which follows the maternal line. My haplogroup is U2e1a1.

I was hoping the mtDNA Test might help me find a hint about the parents of my great-great-grandmother. Her name was Sarah and she appears in the 1860, 1870, and 1880 census as Sarah Clevenger/Clevinger, mother-in-law of Isaac Florea, my great-great-grandfather and his wife Mary Jane (Clevenger) Florea. So far I have not had any luck finding Mr. Clevenger but the 1880 census said he was deceased as Sarah was a widow. No luck finding Sarah's parents either.

feature 3 A Witch In The Family
Winifred King Benham was accused of witchcraft and acquitted 25 July 1692. She was again accused of witchcraft and indicted on 31 August 1697. On 7 October 1697 she was tried for witchcraft: The grand jury returned the verdict "Ignoramus," (not proven) and she was free to go home. You can read about it at the link above.

feature 4 Grandma's Recipes
Grandma Leeth had a collection of recipes written on various pieces of paper. That was her filing cabinet so to say and I don't know how she found anything. They are tattered faded, falling to pieces and now in my collection. I scanned them to preserve as much as I could because just looking at them causes pieces to fall off. I thought some of you might like to see them. I found some of them odd or interesting and others familiar.

 
Contact Us

email imageIf you have any questions or comments about the information on this site, please contact us. We look forward to hearing from you.