My Maternal family names are McCray, Forrest, Taylor, Counseller, Shockey, Smith, Wood, Botts, Ross, Welbourne, Cook, Dippery, Showalter, Halford, and others.
My Paternal family names are Lantz, Graue, Brown, Ulrich and others.
My parents met in high school in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Shortly after they married, while my mother was pregnant with my brother, they moved to Southern California. I was born 7 years later. Lately I have been on a quest to investigate my heritage on the maternal side. One of my dad's cousins investigated my father's paternal line of the family. I learned that my brother and I are 4th generation born in the US on my father's paternal side of the family, having ancestors from Switzerland. My paternal grandmother was born to parents who were 1st generation in America, her dad's (my great grandfather) parents were born in Ireland and her mother's (my great grandmother) parents were born in Germany. On my maternal grandmother's side of the family, however, I am 13th generation (or more) born in America. I have traced roots back to the early 1700's British Colonial America and learned that I am a direct descendent of a Scottish royalty (Plumpton) descendant named Thomas Roos (Ross) (SR), a prisoner of war sent to America by Britain as an indentured servant. He married a woman he met while still in Servitude by the name of Seath (meaning Thankful) Holman. Her Mother and Sister were both put on trial as witches but were found not guilty and let go. Seath was murdered by Native Americans during an ambush when she was in 80's in Massachusetts. Her gravestone still exists, Thomas Ross (Roos) gravestone also exists but is broken and only pieces of it remain.

My Maternal family names are McCray, Forrest, Taylor, Counseller, Shockey, Smith, Wood, Botts, Ross, Welbourne, Cook, Dippery, Showalter, Halford, and others.
My Paternal family names are Lantz, Graue, Brown, Ulrich and others.
My parents met in high school in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Shortly after they married, while my mother was pregnant with my brother, they moved to Southern California. I was born 7 years later. Lately I have been on a quest to investigate my heritage on the maternal side. One of my dad's cousins investigated my father's paternal line of the family. I learned that my brother and I are 4th generation born in the US on my father's paternal side of the family, having ancestors from Switzerland. My paternal grandmother was born to parents who were 1st generation in America, her dad's (my great grandfather) parents were born in Ireland and her mother's (my great grandmother) parents were born in Germany. On my maternal grandmother's side of the family, however, I am 13th generation (or more) born in America. I have traced roots back to the early 1700's British Colonial America and learned that I am a direct descendent of a Scottish royalty (Plumpton) descendant named Thomas Roos (Ross) (SR), a prisoner of war sent to America by Britain as an indentured servant. He married a woman he met while still in Servitude by the name of Seath (meaning Thankful) Holman. Her Mother and Sister were both put on trial as witches but were found not guilty and let go. Seath was murdered by Native Americans during an ambush when she was in 80's in Massachusetts. Her gravestone still exists, Thomas Ross (Roos) gravestone also exists but is broken and only pieces of it remain.