Today, many people think nothing of a family member moving across the country for a new job or other opportunity.  But, family members moving off on their own is nothing new to this country.  This article discusses some of the moves made by members of my Ellis family line.   Roger Ellis   Roger is my 4th great grandfather.  He first shows up in the tax records in Franklin County, Kentucky in 1801.  He would

Often newspaper articles, small mentions, and even advertisements have given me a lead to research, given some details in someone’s life, or helped bring a person to life.  However, in the case of Minnie (Kutzner) Helm, my mother-in-law’s mother, the newspaper not only led me to find new relatives that I didn’t even have on my radar, but it came to the rescue to tie very fragmented records together.   The Syracuse Journal Democrat, August

Lots of patterns exist in the birthdays in our families. Certain months have lots of birthdays. Situations where birthdays fall multiple days in a row exist.  And, many births, deaths, and marriages of distant relatives fall on the same month/day combination of those in my immediate family.  However, one of the most interesting are the parallels between my family and my dad’s cousin’s family.   Birthdays Abound Dad was one of 11 kids. He and

Independence Hall in Philadelphia, also known as the Pennsylvania State House, is famous as the location of the formation of our country.  The Declaration of Independence was signed there and the Liberty Bell was rung to alert the people of Philadelphia that the delegation had reached agreement on the declaration. Many people from across the world have visited Independence Hall..  However, only a few were ever allowed to let their cattle graze on the lawn.

I never met my father-in-law James Thomson, as he died when my husband was only six years old. However, I know that he was a very talented man. He sang in the church choir, performed in the play “Dinner Date,” and read an entire set of encyclopedias. If you knew that about him, you might not think of an outdoorsman who was a farmer at heart. But, that is exactly who he was.   A