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To start, find your relative in the pictures above and click or click on Surnames and find the surname of your nearest deceased ancestor. From there you can find yourself by following the links down to your grandparents and parents. Living relatives are listed as (Private, Female or Male), Last Name.
Created by MemoryMiner.
The above image is a screen shot of an interactive photo
display of our family history. (You have to have at fast internet connection,
a current web browser and the most recent version of the Flash player
installed in order to see the images). As I add more links and information
about the photos, they are going to have more descriptions, be more interactive,
link to more websites, but I think that already they are off to an amazing
start. This is a work in progress, but I am very excited to have discovered
this software as it has been introduced to the public, and now have the
chance to spread the word and work towards improvements. Check
it out!
September 2006 Genealogy Update-
This year I took advantage of a feature in my genealogy software that
lists each of the genealogy records I have updated since my last big site
re-write, so I won't leave any important new discoveries out. Many family
members have shared photos in the last year, and I have tried to update
as many relatives pages as possible with photos, even though I continue
to omit the names of living relatives out of privacy concerns. All of
my ancestors with Wills, Obituaries, and Notes worthy of sharing now have
"Person Sheets" (located by clicking on the Link in the person's
name) that include those, and in addition every person for whom I have
quality photographs will have a media page listing those photos. Media
pages are located by clicking on the small camera icon 
next to the person's name (for individual photos) or next to the marriage
date (for family photos).
Although it has been a good year of research on Ancestry, unfortunately, in the middle of August I had to let my subscription to Ancestry.com lapse, as the $155 annual fee for membership and searching privileges is just too dear. (And when I do get some money, I REALLY need to replace my broken digital camera!) If you would consider a contribution to go towards a new Ancestry Subscription and/or the maintenance of this website, please click here:
In the process of re-writing this site, and in the course of life, I often find myself recommending books or other items to friends and familly. I am now using Amazon Associates links so that if you wind up wanting to buy something I've recommended through clicking on Amazon Links from my site, I will get a percentage of sales. I hope these small amounts when taken together will allow me to make some income from my efforts. This is part of many options I've been considering to earn more income from my creative work at home.
- Expanded Abernathy
ancestry. Several months ago my cousin Tracy Abernathy emailed me about
a book review of "A Murder in Virginia: Southern Justice on Trial"
by Suzanne Lebsock, which discussed in detail the case of a former slave,
Mary Abernathy, who was brought to trial for murder in Lunenberg County,
Virginia, which is the home place of Tracy's Abernathy family. Naturally,
I checked Ancestry to see if I would find Mary Abernathy (who was exonerated)
was a relative of our Abernathy's. It remains possible, though I didn't
find the link but in the process I was able to locate many census records
about the Abernathy Family.
- In March of this year, I researched a great deal of Washington Family History, following the death of Hazel Washington Bryant, the eldest sister of my grandmother's 1st husband, Jessie Washington. I have heard about Aunt Hazel and many in her family all my life, but quite honestly I didn't quite understand how the Washington's were related to me until Aunt Hazel passed away and I spoke with several of them at length. I am grateful to my cousin Duane for sharing a copy of the photo presentation Hazel family gave at her memorial service and sparked my interest in following their story. My Aunt Marilyn was able to give me her father's and grandfather's obituaries which contained many important family names and facts. I spoke at length with cousins Booker & Keith, called every relative I could find and (aside from those two who were just plain rude) I was able to share some new information and fill in many names and dates). I found records going back several generations for some lines, and sent back trees, charts and pedigree forms in the hopes that some of these distant Washington relatives would get back to me with, updates, or some kind of response. Though that has not yet happened, I am glad I was able to find what I did.
- Donaldson Family I was lead to pursue further research on the family of my grandfather's sister, Lola Gwyn Payne after hearing tantalizing stories about a video interview she made with her family. The worst kind of story, it ended with the discovery that the only existing copy of the tape was destroyed. Then I thought to ask some of her ancestors to describe what was said on the tape. I heard that Aunt Lola had mentioned a Gwyn Island that was supposed to be given to the slaves but was not. Although it sounds intriguing, our Gwyn family was from North Carolina, not Virginia where Gwyn Island is located, and I have not been able to confirm any part of this legend, but I was able to share what I do know. In addition I did some research some on Lola's husband Charles Albert Payne and his ancestry, although it was riddled with people who remain curiously absent from nearly all census records!
- Father Norman DuKette A find by one of my distant Gwyn cousins lead to a wonderful discovery in the story of Father Norman DuKette, the nephew of my Great Great Grandfather Tillman Greenleaf, who was very likely born free in Maryland. His sister Letitia and her husband John H.F. Duckett were born in Maryland, raised many children, one of whom went on to become the 8th Black Catholic Priest in the United States and founded an Archdiocese among the black community outside of Detroit where he is still remembered as a godly, firm and strict man who led his church by loving example.
- Stewart This St. Patrick's Day was I made a momentous find for the Stewart family - confirming the oral history told to my Great Aunt Pat Stewart Hicks. As she recalled it, following the days of slavery, the master told the family they could choose the name Honeybus or Stewart. Stewart is a very common name, and years of searching yielded nothing until I found the family of Thomas and Martha Hanibus (incorrectly transcribed as Hanilous) living in Lafayette Co., Missouri in 1870. Their son Robert Honeybus is my Great Great Grandfather Reginald Stewart. The details of the name change are sketchy, but I was able to find several more family records, and even several records from Fort Apache in Arizona Territory in 1900 where several of the women of the family found husbands among the soldiers stationed there. I was able to also locate two generations of descendants of that family, but nothing to the point of establishing contact with a living relative. Maybe someday.
- Gwyn Thanks to the kindness and hard work of one of my Wooling cousins, a treasure trove of family photographs was posted into online galleries, where prints are available to the whole family. His collection included many never before seen pictures of my grandfather James' family. Also after being given another lovely box of papers and pictures at my grandma's house, I found a collection of heartbreaking but precious letters written from my Grandpa's long estranged daughter Joanne, and her children, to Grandpa. They were written following their reunion preceding the untimely death of Grandpa's son James Gwyn at age 40.
- Ken Gwyn Another major event in the archiving of my history has been a newfound group of my father's friends from his teenage years, who have sent me photos, memoirs, and a lot of encouragement to tell his story. I am learning so much and in the process, I am expanding my knowledge of web skills and responsibility in sharing and posting other people's images and personal remembrances. Dad Kenny Gwyn's site now has more photos, several articles, and much more to come.
- Mosley Ancestry A recent correspondence with my Great Aunt Regina Stewart Mosley's family encouraged me to document the Mosley ancestry for that branch of cousins. I also found my grandmother's brother Samuel Stewart's two sons and "met" some of their family members through email and phone.
- Dead Ends In spite of continued searching, I am still at a dead end on my Ryan line, and I am missing Stewart records for a large stretch of years for most of the family (1880 through 1920). A recent discovery located my great grandfather Samuel Sylvester Stewart on his World War I Draft Registration Card living in Syracuse New York in 1917. It was unexpected, but unfortunately led to no other records.
- African American Lives In February of 2006,
PBS aired a new family history program - probably causing the largest
stirring of black America's interest in family history since the debut
of Roots. Of course, these days we have tools at our disposal that were
unheard of so many years ago, from the widespread access to the internet
and digitized online records to genetic analysis. This excellent program
featured several known personalities in literature, music, entertainment
and education and used old fashioned and high tech research methods
to follow them back in time one generation at a time, but intermingling
their stories to highlight the broad forces at work on many different
people at different parts of history. It was very well done and inspiring
and well worth keeping in your DVD collection.
Help Make History!I hope most of the family has had a chance to look at the family tree
on the internet, or perhaps has seen one of many reports I have made detailing
parts of our extended family history. A lot of this information is old
news, and things that were only found after many hours of research. Some
of it was passed down in family bibles and other similar records. But,
history is being made nearly every day, and passing on that information
is something every family member can do. For a moment, think about some
of the precious keepsakes you may have of your ancestors, and even living
parents and grandparents. Now consider what YOU will leave behind for
your descendants. I'm not talking about writing a will, I'm talking about
a historical legacy! With a little thought and care right now, you can
make history! There is no minimum age requirement for this project!
Think about all of the small events that have shaped your life, and how
they are recorded and preserved for future descendants. Maybe you have
a small shoe box with a lock of baby hair, your birth certificate, and
your wedding photos, or maybe you have a home full of antiques and family
heirlooms & ; but take a moment to imagine what you will leave behind
to be remembered by. Our memories are already dulling with the haze of
forgetfulness, just the way that all of the precious events that mark
our lives fade in time. But we can leave a permanent legacy!
- Is it a box of unlabeled PHOTOS - people that no one knows but you? - LABEL THEM!
- Do you have your BIRTH CERTIFICATE and MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE? Your parents'? Your children's'? - PRESERVE THEM
- Do you have your grandma's cradle or some other heirloom FURNITURE? PHOTOGRAPH IT and record whose it was, how old it is, and what it means to you and your family.
- Do you have a little collection of BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENTS, christening programs, WEDDING INVITATIONS, or FUNERAL PROGRAMS from family events? - PRESERVE THEM
- Can you write down some of the important events in your life, or even
try writing your life story? Maybe you can interview your parents or
grandparents on audio or video.
- For everything you choose to mark the milestones of your life; past and present - MAKE A PHOTOCOPY and SEND IT TO ME! (but first see note below)
Now, if at this point I am a very distant relative of yours, or just
a friend, it's more important that you send it to your closest FAMILY
HISTORIAN; or at least leave it to your children. But, for family, please
do share names and dates of birth's marriages and deaths with me, so that
I can preserve it. I hope to someday perhaps write a book or create a
CD Rom of Family history. You can be a contributing editor! Maybe your
contribution will make it into a newsletter or book for everyone to see.
Maybe you will just have the peace of mind that all of your sentimental
treasures have a second home if anything should happen to yours. Maybe
you want to be a role model and share some of your accomplishments with
a younger generation. Just pick a reason to share your story somehow and
DO IT NOW! Because if you don't do this now your story will be lost to
future generations. Don't lose your chance to write history!
Research Thoughts
Our family is very diverse, and for many of you, the only thing you may have in common is the fact that you are somehow related to Elliot and Alex, my sons. I am very pleased to introduce you to my family. Their love has helped make me the person I am today. Their assistance has enabled me to share our story with you. I am most grateful to my husband, for supporting me and my work.
In order to protect the privacy of our family, I have removed the information I have gathered about living family members, but you can find yourself with a little hunting. (See Directions) Let me know if you would like more information included about yourself or would like a link to your own family website. I am happy to share information with family members who want to be sure to preserve their history and present it to their own families. If you want me to prepare charts or reports including source documentation for my research, just ask. I may need photocopying costs reimbursed. Many of you have asked how you might chip in. Some ways you can help are: Send in wedding announcements, or invitations, birth, marriage and death certificates, funeral programs (great resources!) or just call and request a family group sheet from me and you can fill it in. In the course of my research, I travel, photocopy books, buy software, request records, and subscribe to online databases. If you want to help with a contribution of money towards those costs, please click on this button
Every little bit helps. Thanks to all of you've helped me get this far.I have been interested in my family history ever since my fourth grade class did a project about it. I began researching seriously while I was in college. I was intrigued to learn that my grandfather, James Gwyn, didn't know his father's name. Grandpa told me his father had died young. Also, he told me that in his youth, children didn't address their parents as anything but Mother and Father. But I still couldn't imagine not knowing your own father's name! I went to the Federal Archives in Bayonne and returned triumphantly with the names of Grandpa's mother and father and well as his aunts and uncles.
I have continued my search off and on for the past ten years. My research grew more intensive after I got a computer and a genealogy software program. The Internet has made it so much more exciting! I hope to share my research with the entire family - eventually publish it on CD rom, with photos, documents and a rich (personalized!) history lesson.
My family heritage includes English, Irish, Canadians, Germans, Dutch, Native Americans, African American former slaves, most likely former slave owners (though I haven't documented that yet...). My husband's family includes Irish, Germans, Scottish, Swiss and Pennsylvania Dutch - and a long history of homesteading all across the US. I hope you find this family history enriching and inspiring!
- Cool Photo Galleries & More! See my family tree up on my stairwell wall! Photos: Mitchell Family, Leatherman & Tuttle Family, Stewart Family, Torrance Family & Ryan Family. New Wilcox information on the Mitchell side. New Donovan history on the Ryan side. Wills posted for: Reverend Elias Baker 1796, Family Bible Pages posted for Andrew G & Mary E. Lynch family, Obituary posted for William Joseph Ryan, Jr., Poems by Ruth Torrance Ryan, Sandford Family History related to Captain William Sandford, will of his grandson Peregrine Sandford, will of Peregrine Sandford's son Enoch Sandford, Obituary of Samuel Sylvester Stewart
- Mitchell The Scotland connection! All along my father-in-law Lou has said the Mitchell's were of Scottish descent, but I couldn't find the proof, until now! I found James Mitchell's parents - they were John & Sophia Mitchell - and while he is listed as born in Maryland, she was born in Scotland. I even found a census record for her in Scotland.
- Connecticut Connections! We now have the names of William Harden's parents: Martin Harden and ______ Marquette, Lucinda Fournier's parents: Ira Fournier and Lucinda Hutchinson, and William A. Ryan's parents: William and Mary Ryan. I have located several records for William Ryan's mother Elizabeth Donovan's family. I found the notice of her wedding to William Ryan and a report of her father's death by drowning in the Naugatuck Daily Newspapers from that time. Read it on his page!
