In July 1977 I entered the world of genealogy! Fortunately I had planned to do this eventually and asked my maternal grandmother,Ella Mae Shirey Nichelson, for the names of her ancestors. She not only provided me with names back to her great-grandparents, she provided the same info for my grandfather's family.
I spent the next five years researching by walking around cemeteries, reading the U.S. Census and going to the libraries in areas where they once lived. Finally, in 1982 I published my first book, "The Marriage of Catherine & David" which covered the four families of Grandmother's parents: Rau/Rowe; Davenport; Sechrist/Secrest; and Shirey.
After this I felt a need to express myself with a quilt. The Indian Hatchet lends itself to recording names with its very design. Since the land that became my backyard in Southwestern Pennsylvania was once an indian reservation, it was a natural choice for recording this family tree. It begins with my gggg-grandparents and ends with the children of the 8th generation (my children). It is shown here partially quilted--yes, another of my UFO's.
The photo below shows my immediate family as we were in 1977 as I began my family research: Don & LaVonne with Mike (15); Dawn (11); Starr (7) and Steve (5).
