Grandma saved a homework assignment I did when fourteen. It is my stunted family tree. I couldn’t complete two generations back. I only had four names of great- great grandparents out of sixteen and two of those I recently found out were wrong. I was also wrong about my ethnicity.

I don’t want this to happen to you and your children. Thanks to you it won’t. This is the story of where we came from. It will include some famous people and many not so famous but I don’t want any of them to be forgotten. You are related to all of them through genealogy but maybe not genetically. We each only carry a certain amount of DNA. On average you might have three percent of DNA from each great-great-great grandparent. It could be more or less.

Your maternal great-great-great grandparents: Frederick (Baden), Louisa (Alsace), William (England), Ann (England), Hiram (Dingman, Pike Co. Pa) and his first cousin Minerva (Barryville, Sullivan, New York), from Carbondale: Michael and Ellen, and from Ireland: Patrick, Anna, Charles, Mary, another Patrick and Bridget. Two are missing because I believe Wendell Hale was lying about his identity.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton