"The two most important days in your life are the day you are born, and the day you find out why." ~ Mark Twain


Born & raised in the Tri-State area of Ohio, WV, & PA, I began collecting famiy history in 1985. Nease, Wright, Sinclair, McGraw, Conkle, Zirkle, Allmon, Seevers, Bailey, Cheek, Higgins, & Vermillion.

I am the 4th "Myra" in my family...

Every ancestor has a story, and I'm compelled to tell it.

*You are welcome to use any picture that I have contributed for genealogical purposes.

Should I no longer be able to maintain my memorials, my assigned steward is my sister, Carrie, contributor # 48016159.

Prayer for Genealogists

Lord, help me dig into the past
And sift the sands of time
That I might find the roots that made
This family tree of mine.
Lord, help me trace the ancient road
On which my fathers trod
And led them through so many lands
To find our present sod.
Lord, help me find an ancient book
Or dusty manuscript
That's safely hidden now away
In some forgotten crypt.
Lord, let it bridge the gap that haunts
My soul when I can't find
The missing link between some name
That ends the same as mine.

~by Curtis Woods



The Dash

I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
from the beginning…to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth
and spoke of the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
that she spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved her
know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own,
the cars…the house…the cash
What matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.

So, think about this long and hard.
Are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
that can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
to consider what's true and real
and always try to understand
​the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger
and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives
like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect
and more often wear a smile,
remembering that this special dash
might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy is being read,
with your life's actions to rehash…
would you be proud of the things they say
about how you spent YOUR dash?

~by Linda Ellis


Your tombstone stands among the rest;
neglected and alone.
The name and date are chiseled out
On polished, marbled stone.
It reaches out to all who care
it is too late to mourn.
You did not know that I exist
You died and I was born.
Yet each of us are cells of you
In flesh, in blood, in bone.
Our blood contracts and beats a pulse
Entirely not our own.
Dear Ancestor, the place you filled
One hundred years ago
Spreads out among the ones you left
Who would have loved you so.
I wonder if you lived and loved,
I wonder if you knew
That someday I would find this spot,
And come to visit you.

"The two most important days in your life are the day you are born, and the day you find out why." ~ Mark Twain


Born & raised in the Tri-State area of Ohio, WV, & PA, I began collecting famiy history in 1985. Nease, Wright, Sinclair, McGraw, Conkle, Zirkle, Allmon, Seevers, Bailey, Cheek, Higgins, & Vermillion.

I am the 4th "Myra" in my family...

Every ancestor has a story, and I'm compelled to tell it.

*You are welcome to use any picture that I have contributed for genealogical purposes.

Should I no longer be able to maintain my memorials, my assigned steward is my sister, Carrie, contributor # 48016159.

Prayer for Genealogists

Lord, help me dig into the past
And sift the sands of time
That I might find the roots that made
This family tree of mine.
Lord, help me trace the ancient road
On which my fathers trod
And led them through so many lands
To find our present sod.
Lord, help me find an ancient book
Or dusty manuscript
That's safely hidden now away
In some forgotten crypt.
Lord, let it bridge the gap that haunts
My soul when I can't find
The missing link between some name
That ends the same as mine.

~by Curtis Woods



The Dash

I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
from the beginning…to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth
and spoke of the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
that she spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved her
know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own,
the cars…the house…the cash
What matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.

So, think about this long and hard.
Are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
that can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
to consider what's true and real
and always try to understand
​the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger
and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives
like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect
and more often wear a smile,
remembering that this special dash
might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy is being read,
with your life's actions to rehash…
would you be proud of the things they say
about how you spent YOUR dash?

~by Linda Ellis


Your tombstone stands among the rest;
neglected and alone.
The name and date are chiseled out
On polished, marbled stone.
It reaches out to all who care
it is too late to mourn.
You did not know that I exist
You died and I was born.
Yet each of us are cells of you
In flesh, in blood, in bone.
Our blood contracts and beats a pulse
Entirely not our own.
Dear Ancestor, the place you filled
One hundred years ago
Spreads out among the ones you left
Who would have loved you so.
I wonder if you lived and loved,
I wonder if you knew
That someday I would find this spot,
And come to visit you.