I liken Genealogy to a giant jigsaw puzzle which you will NEVER finish and you will always have "pieces" missing in the middle, but it's still something you enjoy and once you start, you will work on it until the day you die (or your ever diminishing memory finally takes away your ability to enjoy it -sad but true).
I am a Gosney by birth but in genealogical terms, I am also as much an Abell, Fenwick, Hagar, McCann, McLaughlin, Spalding, Wilson, Megaffin, Baird, Gibson, Jones, Moore, Morton, on my paternal side and a Ratliff, Bowling, Forman, Gay, Hall, Roope, Sparks, Hennon, Maddox, Patrick, Rash, Threlkeld, Withers on my maternal side, amongst many others on both sides.

I feel the need to give humble Thanks to the two ladies who did the hard work researching the Gosney lines before me. First was Georgia Gosney Wisda (GGW) who wrote the first book I know of which laid out any Gosney genealogy. "GOSNEY FAMILY Records 1740 - 1940 And Related Families by Georgia Gosney Wisda" was published in 1940 or shortly thereafter. She also included "Genealogy of Our Parentage" by Robert Mason Clark which was a short compilation which detailed some of my immediate Gosney line. Robert was married to Sarah Jane Gosney, who was the sister of my GGGrandfather William Frederick "Fred" Gosney, and it was RMC's compilation which gave me many leads and triggered my interest and sparked my research into my immediate family line.

Beth Gosney Shields started where GGW left off and extended her research in a massive way and discovered a few areas where Georgia's lineage didn't quite fit, and as Beth would often say "if it just doesn't fit right, you haven't found enough Gosneys yet". I was introduced to Beth through my Uncle Alfred, and I began a mutually beneficial email correspondence with her whereby I helped her with research on Gosney lines in Northeast Missouri and directions to many local cemeteries, and she gave me the lead that FINALLY lead me to discover who my ancestors before my GGGGrandfather David Gosney were. She also used me as a sounding board to help her figure out where an "orphan" Gosney might fit and so I gained valuable experience in "finding the right fit". Beth's book "The Gosney Family in America - 300 Years of History" was published in 2004 and I would encourage anyone researching their Gosney roots to track down a copy to buy.

My researching with and for Beth, along with my own personal research has allowed me to develop an extensive Gosney database, and I have gotten fairly adept at figuring out where "orphan" Gosneys might fit into the family tree. So if anyone has any Gosney memorials which they cannot find leads on or don't have time to research, I would be more than happy to accept a transfer of them so I can take on the challenge to figure out their place in the family tree.

I have had a few members express concern over the fact that I manage more memorials than I have personally created. I will simply explain that I have accepted management from FindaGrave of a number of memorials that were previously managed by Fallen Gravers so they would have caretakers. And for that reason I WILL GLADLY CONSIDER TRANSFERS IF I AM NOT RELATED TO OR
DON'T PERSONALLY KNOW THE SUBJECT OF THE MEMORIAL. I do not adhere to the rather strict FAG transfer guidelines. I will not transfer anyone in my own family line. However if I am in no way related to my memorial's subject, and you are in any way related no matter how distant or were even a close friend, I encourage you to request a transfer via the "Submit other corrections" tab in the Edit screen which will include your FAG user ID number to facilitate ease of transfer. I firmly believe that relatives and friends who actually KNEW the subject are going to be better caretakers of memorials and add more information than most (not all) strangers. Again I'm happy to transfer non-relatives but DO include your info and relationship just to "weed out collectors"

I got into genealogy researching my family tree but I find myself following leads wherever they take me and I enjoy helping others when I have time. Happy Hunting.

I liken Genealogy to a giant jigsaw puzzle which you will NEVER finish and you will always have "pieces" missing in the middle, but it's still something you enjoy and once you start, you will work on it until the day you die (or your ever diminishing memory finally takes away your ability to enjoy it -sad but true).
I am a Gosney by birth but in genealogical terms, I am also as much an Abell, Fenwick, Hagar, McCann, McLaughlin, Spalding, Wilson, Megaffin, Baird, Gibson, Jones, Moore, Morton, on my paternal side and a Ratliff, Bowling, Forman, Gay, Hall, Roope, Sparks, Hennon, Maddox, Patrick, Rash, Threlkeld, Withers on my maternal side, amongst many others on both sides.

I feel the need to give humble Thanks to the two ladies who did the hard work researching the Gosney lines before me. First was Georgia Gosney Wisda (GGW) who wrote the first book I know of which laid out any Gosney genealogy. "GOSNEY FAMILY Records 1740 - 1940 And Related Families by Georgia Gosney Wisda" was published in 1940 or shortly thereafter. She also included "Genealogy of Our Parentage" by Robert Mason Clark which was a short compilation which detailed some of my immediate Gosney line. Robert was married to Sarah Jane Gosney, who was the sister of my GGGrandfather William Frederick "Fred" Gosney, and it was RMC's compilation which gave me many leads and triggered my interest and sparked my research into my immediate family line.

Beth Gosney Shields started where GGW left off and extended her research in a massive way and discovered a few areas where Georgia's lineage didn't quite fit, and as Beth would often say "if it just doesn't fit right, you haven't found enough Gosneys yet". I was introduced to Beth through my Uncle Alfred, and I began a mutually beneficial email correspondence with her whereby I helped her with research on Gosney lines in Northeast Missouri and directions to many local cemeteries, and she gave me the lead that FINALLY lead me to discover who my ancestors before my GGGGrandfather David Gosney were. She also used me as a sounding board to help her figure out where an "orphan" Gosney might fit and so I gained valuable experience in "finding the right fit". Beth's book "The Gosney Family in America - 300 Years of History" was published in 2004 and I would encourage anyone researching their Gosney roots to track down a copy to buy.

My researching with and for Beth, along with my own personal research has allowed me to develop an extensive Gosney database, and I have gotten fairly adept at figuring out where "orphan" Gosneys might fit into the family tree. So if anyone has any Gosney memorials which they cannot find leads on or don't have time to research, I would be more than happy to accept a transfer of them so I can take on the challenge to figure out their place in the family tree.

I have had a few members express concern over the fact that I manage more memorials than I have personally created. I will simply explain that I have accepted management from FindaGrave of a number of memorials that were previously managed by Fallen Gravers so they would have caretakers. And for that reason I WILL GLADLY CONSIDER TRANSFERS IF I AM NOT RELATED TO OR
DON'T PERSONALLY KNOW THE SUBJECT OF THE MEMORIAL. I do not adhere to the rather strict FAG transfer guidelines. I will not transfer anyone in my own family line. However if I am in no way related to my memorial's subject, and you are in any way related no matter how distant or were even a close friend, I encourage you to request a transfer via the "Submit other corrections" tab in the Edit screen which will include your FAG user ID number to facilitate ease of transfer. I firmly believe that relatives and friends who actually KNEW the subject are going to be better caretakers of memorials and add more information than most (not all) strangers. Again I'm happy to transfer non-relatives but DO include your info and relationship just to "weed out collectors"

I got into genealogy researching my family tree but I find myself following leads wherever they take me and I enjoy helping others when I have time. Happy Hunting.