Family Tree Introduction
My interest in genealogy started in 1998 when one of my aunts jokingly searched the Internet on her name to see "what" she would find. Much to her surprise, she found herself and my parents listed on someone's genealogy website. The person turned out to be a fourth cousin to me, and he had found their names listed in a newspaper obituary. His well documented research traced one part of my ancestry back to Poland in the 1700s. A short time later, I then pulled out what my family thought was one of only two existing copies of a genealogy book compiled by Clay Hollon, one of my great grandfathers. Clay spent many years researching his genealogy and family history, and published his research in a book called Hollon and Related Families - Early Settlers of Eastern Kentucky and Their
Descendants in 1958. Using some of the names from the book, I searched the Internet
and readily found numerous genealogy websites listing some of the same
names. Some of the people managing those websites turned out to be distant
cousins, and some even had photographs of my direct ancestors that my family had never seen. Also to my surprise, I
learned that Clay's book could be bought over the Internet from at least
one website, and is even part of the Library of Congress. Since 1998, I have been fortunate to find extensive information about
my family history.
- Famous or Notable Ancestors: I have absolutely no famous or notable ancestors. Nor am I aware of being
distantly related to anyone even remotely famous. But I have two fifth
great grandfathers that fought in the American Revolution, and a second
great grandfather served in the Civil War with the Union Cavalry. And as
a conversation piece, my second great grandmother bears an amazing resemblance to the actor and comedian Robin Williams.
- The surnames of my ancestors include: Barron, Becthler, Bembenek, Bennett, Boenning, Broeyels, Butterfield,
Campbell, Duffrin, Effing, Elkins, Endersby, Gibbs, Gumanov, Harrison,
Holland, Hollon, Johnson, Jones, Kockert, Langham, Long, Larenday, Maisel,
Mazur, Meyering, Muchmore, Osborne, Papineau, Nienhaus, Pfeiffer, Richmond,
Roettgers, Scmitt, Shepherd, Stockbridge, Szwarz, Wierzba, Worland, Wright.
- My nationalities include: English, Polish, German, Swedish, Scottish, and some unknown, which more
than likely English. Unlike most Americans, all of my ancestors immigrated
in the 1800s or 1700s, and seven of my eight great grandparents were born
in the US.
Many cousins have willingly permitted me to incorporate their research
into my database, and they are cited as sources. I have also learned how
to do "true" genealogical research, which is the sometimes tedious
process of searching for and obtaining records, such as birth, marriage,
death, census, etc. It is very common to find conflicting information on
the internet from multiple researchers. This is why it is important to
maintain a strict adherence to obtaining "proper" evidence and
documentation to support all findings. It is also common to find that many
family legends will directly conflict with documented evidence. I try to
keep an open mind, weigh things accordingly, and specifically state where
there are discrepancies.
Family Tree Database
My family tree database is viewable and searchable online, and contains
virtually all of my research since 1998. The database contains over 30,000
individuals, along with transcriptions of records and documents. I am either
distantly related to everyone in the database, or I am related to the spouse
of that person. If you are curious of my relation, simply send me an e-mail.
If you interested in examining my ancestry, click here for a link to my record in the database. The database is available online in the following three locations.
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This is the primary version of my family tree database. If you found my website via Ancestry.com
or Rootsweb.com, you will want to visit this database as a next step, as
the database is not truncated. You may find a "close" relative
listed, or even yourself.
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This secondary version of my database is part of the Ancestry.com search engine and is
indexed with millions of other names. The database is automatically truncated
(or filtered) and the names of all living individuals are listed only as
"living person."
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This secondary version of my database is part of the Rootsweb WorldConnect search engine
and is indexed with millions of other names. The database is automatically
truncated (or filtered) and the names of all living individuals are listed
only as "living person."
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Family Tree Website Links
The following are links to some helpful websites related to family tree
research.
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| Ancestry.com is one of the most comprehensive websites for family tree
research. Most of the records are fee based, and one of the most useful
subscriptions is for census records. |
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| RootsWeb is a free website that contains a variety of resources that are
helpful in family tree research. The "RootsWeb Guide to Tracing Family
Trees" is particularly helpful. |
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| Family Tree Maker is the software that I have been using since 1998 to
record and track all of my family tree information. It am still using Family
Tree Maker Version 16 due to some particular features. |
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