When I was 15, my mom and I visited her aunt Ruth Matella Beasley Ricketts in Lexington, Illinois, where the family farm was located. We lived on the west coast. I was introduced to a couple dozen assorted relations I had never met before, and I asked my great aunt how I was related to them. She got out a piece of butcher paper and drew a family tree on it for me. I was hooked.

Over the years, with the help of many others, I've added about 18,000 names to my family history. It's fun to know, among many interesting facts, that I have a Puritan ancestor, William Phelps, who fled England and helped establish the first democratic town government in the American colonies; a GGG Grandfather, Nathaniel Sanburn, who responded to the Lexington Alarm and fought in the first battle of the American Revolution; a cousin, Dr. Samuel Claggett, who served as a surgeon with General George Washington at Valley Forge; a great-grandfather, Guy Christy, who fought in the Union Army in the Civil War and later became a farrier. My grandfather served in the U.S. Navy during both World War I and II; my father in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.

I'm only an occasional contributor, so email me if you want a faster response.

When I was 15, my mom and I visited her aunt Ruth Matella Beasley Ricketts in Lexington, Illinois, where the family farm was located. We lived on the west coast. I was introduced to a couple dozen assorted relations I had never met before, and I asked my great aunt how I was related to them. She got out a piece of butcher paper and drew a family tree on it for me. I was hooked.

Over the years, with the help of many others, I've added about 18,000 names to my family history. It's fun to know, among many interesting facts, that I have a Puritan ancestor, William Phelps, who fled England and helped establish the first democratic town government in the American colonies; a GGG Grandfather, Nathaniel Sanburn, who responded to the Lexington Alarm and fought in the first battle of the American Revolution; a cousin, Dr. Samuel Claggett, who served as a surgeon with General George Washington at Valley Forge; a great-grandfather, Guy Christy, who fought in the Union Army in the Civil War and later became a farrier. My grandfather served in the U.S. Navy during both World War I and II; my father in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.

I'm only an occasional contributor, so email me if you want a faster response.