Genealogy inserted itself into our lives while visiting my beloved spouse’ first cousin once removed Estella Beatrice DAVIDSON Wetterau at her home in Grants Pass, Josephine County Oregon. On that day, those four words meant nothing to me. As we were about to leave, automobiling south to California, the above cousin asked if we might be interested in some of my wife’s genealogy? OK! Little did we suspect our retired lives were about to change. The cousin brought out three overflowing “suit” boxes which – at that moment – contained printed or hand-written data of over three hundred (300) of my wife’s predecessors and or relations of the members of “the Davidson family”.
Shortening the story, the warm California winter of 1986 would often find us at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), located in Laguna Niguel, CA. pouring over the microfilmed “Federal Population Census” of the United States. At that time the only locations where the Federal Census were available were at the National Archives in Washington DC and/or one of it’s eleven (11) regional branches.
All that changed with the surge of interest in family genealogies, the advances in computerized data collections and now, DNA, which is expanding genealogical research to un imagined limits in 1986.
And – as our son says - we are still “chasing” a lot of dead people. We strongly believe Genealogy has also kept our minds active plus the enjoyment of earlier relatives. Perhaps you will find useful data we put in place for our deceased relatives.
Happy Hunting,
Orion 27

Genealogy inserted itself into our lives while visiting my beloved spouse’ first cousin once removed Estella Beatrice DAVIDSON Wetterau at her home in Grants Pass, Josephine County Oregon. On that day, those four words meant nothing to me. As we were about to leave, automobiling south to California, the above cousin asked if we might be interested in some of my wife’s genealogy? OK! Little did we suspect our retired lives were about to change. The cousin brought out three overflowing “suit” boxes which – at that moment – contained printed or hand-written data of over three hundred (300) of my wife’s predecessors and or relations of the members of “the Davidson family”.
Shortening the story, the warm California winter of 1986 would often find us at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), located in Laguna Niguel, CA. pouring over the microfilmed “Federal Population Census” of the United States. At that time the only locations where the Federal Census were available were at the National Archives in Washington DC and/or one of it’s eleven (11) regional branches.
All that changed with the surge of interest in family genealogies, the advances in computerized data collections and now, DNA, which is expanding genealogical research to un imagined limits in 1986.
And – as our son says - we are still “chasing” a lot of dead people. We strongly believe Genealogy has also kept our minds active plus the enjoyment of earlier relatives. Perhaps you will find useful data we put in place for our deceased relatives.
Happy Hunting,
Orion 27