OUR FAMILY GENEALOGY

When I think about my family genealogy I recall a homework assignment that I had when I was in elementary school in which my class had to do a family tree to see who our ancestors were and where we came from. While getting information on my immediate family was easy, going beyond the grandparents required some research. So with my pencil and notebook in hand I went to visit my grandparents.

From my visits I learned that most of my dad's family came from Kentucky and Tennessee to settle in Christian and Stone County Missouri. Family surnames include: Jones, Sparkman, Fugitt and Coker. My moms family mostly came from Illinois and Tennessee and settled in the Barry and Lawrence County Missouri areas. Family names include: Willhite, Taylor, Peterson and Conley.

As a kid I remember going to family get togethers and seeing some of these family members I am researching now. I have heard many different family stories, but as a kid you never think twice about writing anything down cause you think there will always be someone there to refresh your memory.

Here it is years later, many of the older family members have passed on, the stories are fewer and those who know the family history are harder to find. In addition I am now married with a family of my own and with more family history to pass on to our son.

My husband's family has been a little harder to research than mine as most of his fathers family came from Bohemia, Romania and Czechoslovakia. After coming to the United States they settled in Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa and Wisconsin. Family names being, Novak, Hubbert, Dvorak and Vodicka. His mothers family mainly comes from South Dakota and Missouri which makes them easier to search for. Her side of the family includes: Williams, Hutcherson, Dodson and Scheibel.

Researching both families has been fun as I have got to know many family members better and even met a few new ones. I am wanting to do this research for my son so he can pass it on to his family so hopefully the family history can stay alive for many generations to come.

Some of the sites I found very helpful in my research were:

• sites.rootsweb.com
• www.usgenweb.com
• sites.rootsweb.com/~mochrist
• sites.rootsweb.com/~mostone

Take a look at our family tree, you never know we might be related. Have any questions feel free to contact me. Oh yeah and that family tree I was telling you about that I made in elementary school, I still have it. Still don’t agree with the A- that the teacher gave me, but it will always be a part of my family history. Funny to look at it and see how far my research has come.

In closing I would also like to thank my mom for all her help on this project. We had lots of fun at the library and in walking the cemeteries. Thanks again for visiting our site.