To me the study of my family genealogy has turned into a fascinating pastime. It has lead me to develop a better understanding of who my ancestors were and what they had to deal with as they strove for a better life. It also has lead to a better sense of the history of the areas they came from and how they were affected by the changing times and how they in turn affected the times. It also brings into focus just how much the world has changed in just a short time. I can sit down at my keyboard and be in instant communication with people around the globe; for many of my ancestors, just talking to their next door neighbor was a chore.

The Search Areas. With Suzanne and I coming from very different backgrounds our search for ancestors covers a wide area and a variety of time frames. The earliest ancestors to North America were many, and into several areas up and down the Atlantic Coast. The French came to Quebec and Montreal Canada, in the early 1600's and settled up and down the St. Lawrence river until ariving in the United States just before the 1900's. The French also settled in Acadia, present day Nova Scotia in the early 1600's. These Acadian ancestors eventually merged into the French Canadian lines around 1750.

The other groups of ancestors were the English who settled Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island in the early 1600's. These Colonial New Englanders were the ancestors of the group of 'Planters and Pioneers' who resettled into Hants Co., Nova Scotia around 1750, after the expulsion of the French Canadians. Joining these Planters were Irish and Scotish ancestors who arrived in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia in the mid 1800's. These groups merge and extend down our lines until the present day.

Still, more English settled in Maryland in the mid 1600's. These ancestors migrated south into North Carolina and Tennessee and are the Ancestors of our Southern roots. There are also lines in Mississippi that we have not been able to trace in depth as yet.

The latest group of immigrants to be a part our family lines were the Italians who came to the American shores in the late 1800's and early 1900's from the Aquila, Abruzzi region of Italy. The two small towns of Roccavivi and Pescosansonesco are an important part of our heritage.

Intermingled, are a Swiss, who came to French Canada and a Spaniard who came to Acadia. A German to Maryland in the mid 1700's and probably many yet to be discovered.

It has been fascinating to study these groups, as they clung together in the very early days of the colonization of North America, gradually adjusting to the places and the times of those around them. The different cultures merging ever so slowly as the generations passed, until finally my children can look back and point to a rich and diverse cultural heritage.

The Ancestor Lists. The ancesor lists along with their birth/death and locations. As we have time and resources we will convert this into a more typical genealogy page. In the meantime if you spot a name you think might fit, just drop us an e-mail. Acadians, Colonial New England, Italy, Nova Scotians, The South - Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina and Tennessee, Quebec and French Canada.

Beginning Internet Genealogy. Every day the Internet resources available to the genealogist expand, and every day I seem to find a little bit more to use. This section will try to give pointers on how to use the Internet in your ancestral search.

Sign Read