About this Family History
Many years of intense research have yielded a database that is a major source of genealogical information on most of our families. Some people have been included to show relationships only and are not well documented in terms of source citations. This occurs most often where I have not personally researched the family or individual or where information about them is readily available in the public domain -- especially presidents and royalty. Unlike some genealogists, I sometimes cite internet and personal sources that may lack evidence. My reasoning for this is that I have often benefited greatly from clues found in undocumented sources and I believe strongly that it is the job of every genealogist to analyze, evaluate and apply logic to every bit of information available, using his or her own skill set. Therefore, I do not withhold anything that might be of value to a future researcher. By including my sources, I invite everyone to evalute them for themselves, recognizing that there is no such thing as "proof" in genealogy. One will always find conflicting information -- or no information -- that forces us to make judgments regarding the validity of our assumptions. I have also added a number of collateral lines in an effort to establish a broad database for DNA testing.
My sincere thanks go to all those who have contributed valuable information that has added to our knowledge of our family -- you know who you are! For confidentiality purposes, I have omitted all details for living persons (or those for whom I have no knowledge of death).
Here you will find notable relatives -- Mayflower passengers, Revolutionary War participants, presidents, kings, queens, knights, and more. But you will also find many more ordinary folk -- farmers, blacksmiths, ministers, soldiers, sailors, butchers, postmen, and undertakers. Virtually all came from England, Holland or Germany and settled in New England or New York. We thank them all for their courage and determination. We are their legacy.
Genealogy is a never-ending study, and I am always thrilled to find new information. All comments, suggestions and corrections are welcome, but please help me preserve the integrity of my data by furnishing sources.
Good luck in your quest!
A Word about Navigating this Site
To orient yourself, you may want to visit the Charts section first. Just click on the Charts tab (above), then click on any of the chart titles that interest you. Next you may want to check the Surnames or Master Index. Find the surname in which you are interested and browse the entries. Names such as Adele of France or Louis III where no surname exists are indexed as surnames. By contrast, females whose birth surnames no doubt exist but are unknown are included under the heading Unknown. An asterisk (*) attached to the first name signifies that this person is the immigrant to America. Notice that I have used icons, as follows:
A tiny head means that at least one photo is available for this person.
A camera beside a photo means there is another photo for this person.
An American flag means that this person served in one of America's wars.
A crown means that this is either a person of royalty or a president of the United States.
A globe means that this person was the first in his or her line to immigrate to America.
A document means that a story, certificate or other item can be viewed by clicking.
There are links to photos, charts and people throughout, so be sure to experiment. Anything underlined is a link. Every time you click on a link, it will take you to a new page, a different person, a chart or even a different website. I hope you will enjoy browsing my site. It is my pleasure to make it available to you. I hope, if you use my data, you will first validate it (and let me know if you find errors), then credit this site.
If you use the Google search box (on the bottom of every page), it will direct you to the page(s) where the item can be found. Click on that link, then use CTRL F to find the specific item on that page.
What's Next?
You should know that DNA surname studies are underway to solidify my research and that of others for the names Worden/Warden, Southard/Southworth, Tipple/Teeple and Willour/Wheeler (and all similar spellings). In addition, a geographic DNA study launched in January 2008 is specifically designed for the descendants of Palatine emigrants, most of whom settled in the Hudson Valley in 1710 on their arrival in America. I founded all of these projects and am the project manager for all except the Palatine project which I no longer administer. I welcome any questions. All interested parties are invited to visit our websites and see the results as well as pedigrees. Simply click on any of the links below to the World Families Network and to Family Tree DNA, the company that processes our DNA samples. It is important to find more males who carry these surnames to take part in the studies. I encourage all living males, especially the oldest or last in a line, to have their DNA tested, regardless of their surname. If no one in the family is interested in genealogy today, you can be certain a future descendant will be eternally grateful for your foresight. Learning about one's family history is a fascinating hobby whose popularity is increasing rapidly. Reduced prices are available if you join a project at FTDNA. Also notice the recent addition of a Map of Our Ancient Origins from a press release issued by IBM on November 2, 2011. To view the map, click on the Places tab above, then scroll to the bottom of that page.
Finally, please be sure to write me if I can answer any questions or if you can help me make my database better (more complete, more accurate, etc.). Comments and suggestions are always welcome.
