I grew up with no sense of my background beyond my grandparents, three of whom I was fortunate enough to know (albeit at a distance). When I reached my 20s, I started looking into my father's-father's line, but wasn't able to go back further than four generations (this was long before the internet).

Now, some three decades later, I'm tracing my ancestors from all lines of descent, but am particularly interested in my mother's-mother's line -- the Willard family -- through which I trace direct descent from Simon Willard (1605-1676). He emigrated from Kent in England to New England and was an important figure in Colonial New England (see his Wiki). Beyond him, I can find direct forebears going back to William Willard, born in 1470.

Other relations of note include Daniel Boone, whose sister Mary was my 5th great-grandmother, the English poet and author John Milton ("Paradise Lost", etc.), who was my 9th great-grandfather, and Benjamin Franklin, whose maternal grandparents are my 10th great-grandparents. Four of my X great-grandfathers were members of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts, and I've identified ten of my X great-grandfathers who served in the Revolutionary War. Mayflower passenger Richard Warren was my 10th great-grandfather; I descend through his daughter Mary Bartlett. Most of my ancestors seem to have lived in Massachusetts (particularly Nantucket, Taunton, Roxbury, Hingham and Scituate) but I also have some forebears from Hartford, Milford, Suffield and Weathersfield, Connecticut.

Surnames I'm particularly interested in are Haines, Willard, Curran, Scheuerman, Dean and Westrope. I'm building a tree at Geni.com and would be glad to share any information with others (well, not spammers or phishers). And I'm always happy to take photos of graves in the San Francisco area for other members.

My wife is buried in the lovely little rural cemetery in Bolinas, CA, where I spend time every other day or so, doing gardening, watering, and so on.

I grew up with no sense of my background beyond my grandparents, three of whom I was fortunate enough to know (albeit at a distance). When I reached my 20s, I started looking into my father's-father's line, but wasn't able to go back further than four generations (this was long before the internet).

Now, some three decades later, I'm tracing my ancestors from all lines of descent, but am particularly interested in my mother's-mother's line -- the Willard family -- through which I trace direct descent from Simon Willard (1605-1676). He emigrated from Kent in England to New England and was an important figure in Colonial New England (see his Wiki). Beyond him, I can find direct forebears going back to William Willard, born in 1470.

Other relations of note include Daniel Boone, whose sister Mary was my 5th great-grandmother, the English poet and author John Milton ("Paradise Lost", etc.), who was my 9th great-grandfather, and Benjamin Franklin, whose maternal grandparents are my 10th great-grandparents. Four of my X great-grandfathers were members of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts, and I've identified ten of my X great-grandfathers who served in the Revolutionary War. Mayflower passenger Richard Warren was my 10th great-grandfather; I descend through his daughter Mary Bartlett. Most of my ancestors seem to have lived in Massachusetts (particularly Nantucket, Taunton, Roxbury, Hingham and Scituate) but I also have some forebears from Hartford, Milford, Suffield and Weathersfield, Connecticut.

Surnames I'm particularly interested in are Haines, Willard, Curran, Scheuerman, Dean and Westrope. I'm building a tree at Geni.com and would be glad to share any information with others (well, not spammers or phishers). And I'm always happy to take photos of graves in the San Francisco area for other members.

My wife is buried in the lovely little rural cemetery in Bolinas, CA, where I spend time every other day or so, doing gardening, watering, and so on.