Good evening to whomever reads my message.

One of my real interests in cemeteries came from a recent visit to the city of Riviere-du-Loup, Quebec Province, Canada where the history of the French people is so fascinating and diverse. The history that can be found by visiting a cemetery is unbelievable and the peacefulness of such a setting makes you reflect on life and death. Who were these people, what kind of life did they live? It makes you think a little bit about your own life and dreams.

Although I have other interests/readings, I follow up with Heather Cox Richardson and Robert Reich's daily newsletter. Both are political historians who use facts and history to keep our democracy intact. I don't watch any news except for PBS NewsHour, Finding Your Roots [Henry Louis Gates, Jr.], FRONTLINE and NOVA. Here in America needs more elected politicians who care about their constituents first. From bottom up; not from top down. The most recent announcement on our Supreme Court's new "Code of Ethics" changes nothing. The court is still living outside the bounds of rules. They need to put the public interest above the interests of individual justices. Sad to say, I've been proven correct.

Whoever narrated the missive/letter/story/email about whoever will remain here and there will be no editing on any part/note cited by whoever submitted/shared with me. So that there won't be skeleton in the closet. Period.

Admittedly, records and pictures are scarce, often non-existent. When my ancestors, without realizing, moved to the backwoods or crossed the Alleghenies, they created more problems, not just for me, but for most, by not leaving a paper trail. Consequently, I have to use what I have and speculate as to the rest. I often have to take a strong set of circumstances as evidence, even when I do not have a document and picture to support the connection.

When there is a doubt on information I wrote/transcribed please share with me with YOUR database/evidence and, best yet, photo(s).

Information I have reason to believe is/may be accurate, but have no proof of, is preceded and/or followed by a question mark: thus "James Houghland. b. ?1781" means I'm making an informed guess at his birth date. If you take my information elsewhere, please, please, also take my doubt.

It's a great hobby to keep searching and visiting the graveyards (that's if I know where they are); somewhere, there is that shred of hard evidence that will make several strands of confusion suddenly form a pattern.

There are some gaps in my charts/pedigrees. Inaccuracies, incompleteness, and often just plain guesswork can be easily corrected with the help of people thru the Internet. I notice that there are families who lost contact with their parents or don't bother pursuing contacts.

Andrew Jackson Hoagland was 3 years old and Albert Houghland was a fetus when their father Andrew Hougland died. No role model around. Andrew went East (Boston) and Albert (my grandfather) went the opposite way (Portland) by train, in the flurry, after one divorce and two divorces, respectively. They only talked to each other over the phone. Once my aunt Norinne overheard them arguing about how their last name should have been spelled – Hoagland or Houghland. This is the generation when many of us lose the thread in the fabric of our genealogy.

Some believe that "family links" are distractions but I strongly disagree. Our families all meant a great deal to each other during their lifetime and so not to "join them in death" would be most uncaring and would not respect their lives. We all have tough lives; why make it harder for them?

"In every conceivable way, the family is our link to the past, our bridge to the future." Narrated by Alex Hailey, "Roots"...

Many early ancestors were buried in unnamed cemeteries on private land. If the death is recorded and burial is listed as "private land", this means that it is a "known burial". I believe that this site is for finding graves, not finding tombstones. Sadly, many known headstones may still contain incorrect data due to drunkard engraver or sexton. At four places I went to were demolished by vandalism and/or environmental deterioration called "Climate Change" and his/hers were there! Three Civil War veterans got their marker applications approved but where are their markers?

I know how important it is to bridge the distance between ourselves and our ancestors - anything I can do to help others, I will do it - for fun. Every entry made deserves it be included/edited and posted; (again) so that there won't be skeleton in the closet...

Jan Hoaglandt 1603-1662 ... Type his name in Search boxes will lead you directly to him.

No direct or circumstantial evidence has been discovered, to date, to suggest with any certainty, the names of his wives, how many children he may have had, where he lived, or where he died. Hopefully additional research will reveal more information concerning the immigrant founder of this branch of the Hoaglandt family in Holland and his ancestors.

All the Best, Steven

Good evening to whomever reads my message.

One of my real interests in cemeteries came from a recent visit to the city of Riviere-du-Loup, Quebec Province, Canada where the history of the French people is so fascinating and diverse. The history that can be found by visiting a cemetery is unbelievable and the peacefulness of such a setting makes you reflect on life and death. Who were these people, what kind of life did they live? It makes you think a little bit about your own life and dreams.

Although I have other interests/readings, I follow up with Heather Cox Richardson and Robert Reich's daily newsletter. Both are political historians who use facts and history to keep our democracy intact. I don't watch any news except for PBS NewsHour, Finding Your Roots [Henry Louis Gates, Jr.], FRONTLINE and NOVA. Here in America needs more elected politicians who care about their constituents first. From bottom up; not from top down. The most recent announcement on our Supreme Court's new "Code of Ethics" changes nothing. The court is still living outside the bounds of rules. They need to put the public interest above the interests of individual justices. Sad to say, I've been proven correct.

Whoever narrated the missive/letter/story/email about whoever will remain here and there will be no editing on any part/note cited by whoever submitted/shared with me. So that there won't be skeleton in the closet. Period.

Admittedly, records and pictures are scarce, often non-existent. When my ancestors, without realizing, moved to the backwoods or crossed the Alleghenies, they created more problems, not just for me, but for most, by not leaving a paper trail. Consequently, I have to use what I have and speculate as to the rest. I often have to take a strong set of circumstances as evidence, even when I do not have a document and picture to support the connection.

When there is a doubt on information I wrote/transcribed please share with me with YOUR database/evidence and, best yet, photo(s).

Information I have reason to believe is/may be accurate, but have no proof of, is preceded and/or followed by a question mark: thus "James Houghland. b. ?1781" means I'm making an informed guess at his birth date. If you take my information elsewhere, please, please, also take my doubt.

It's a great hobby to keep searching and visiting the graveyards (that's if I know where they are); somewhere, there is that shred of hard evidence that will make several strands of confusion suddenly form a pattern.

There are some gaps in my charts/pedigrees. Inaccuracies, incompleteness, and often just plain guesswork can be easily corrected with the help of people thru the Internet. I notice that there are families who lost contact with their parents or don't bother pursuing contacts.

Andrew Jackson Hoagland was 3 years old and Albert Houghland was a fetus when their father Andrew Hougland died. No role model around. Andrew went East (Boston) and Albert (my grandfather) went the opposite way (Portland) by train, in the flurry, after one divorce and two divorces, respectively. They only talked to each other over the phone. Once my aunt Norinne overheard them arguing about how their last name should have been spelled – Hoagland or Houghland. This is the generation when many of us lose the thread in the fabric of our genealogy.

Some believe that "family links" are distractions but I strongly disagree. Our families all meant a great deal to each other during their lifetime and so not to "join them in death" would be most uncaring and would not respect their lives. We all have tough lives; why make it harder for them?

"In every conceivable way, the family is our link to the past, our bridge to the future." Narrated by Alex Hailey, "Roots"...

Many early ancestors were buried in unnamed cemeteries on private land. If the death is recorded and burial is listed as "private land", this means that it is a "known burial". I believe that this site is for finding graves, not finding tombstones. Sadly, many known headstones may still contain incorrect data due to drunkard engraver or sexton. At four places I went to were demolished by vandalism and/or environmental deterioration called "Climate Change" and his/hers were there! Three Civil War veterans got their marker applications approved but where are their markers?

I know how important it is to bridge the distance between ourselves and our ancestors - anything I can do to help others, I will do it - for fun. Every entry made deserves it be included/edited and posted; (again) so that there won't be skeleton in the closet...

Jan Hoaglandt 1603-1662 ... Type his name in Search boxes will lead you directly to him.

No direct or circumstantial evidence has been discovered, to date, to suggest with any certainty, the names of his wives, how many children he may have had, where he lived, or where he died. Hopefully additional research will reveal more information concerning the immigrant founder of this branch of the Hoaglandt family in Holland and his ancestors.

All the Best, Steven