Preface

I'm, more or less, the unofficial keeper of the family genealogy. While principally concentrating on the descendents of my 2nd great-grandparents, I look for ancestor linkages that take me to earlier generations. This has resulted in discovering lines through my 2nd great grandmother, Emily Middaugh, that seem to stretch back to as early as 1040; there are some questionable links, however, which require resolution -- someday.  

And most recently, I have discovered links through my 3rd-great grandparent Sarah (or Sally) Weaver which connects to a long line of early Welsh kings.

Doing genealogy is a little like doing detective work -- I'm also an avid reader of mystery novels.  And there are different levels of "proof."  Most of the information in my charts are based on personal records and oral information from family, many of whom are now dead.  Fortunately, both my mother and her mother kept "birthday" books of births, marriages, and deaths for the extended family on their side (the Potters and Smiths).   I'm now in the process of obtaining independent documentation (birth & death certificates, and the like), a very tedious activity.  There is currently about 1900 individuals in my full genealogy database.

I always caution folks not to accept my data (or any genealogy data for that matter) as "truth."  Since much of my information has been gleaned from family sources or downloaded from other folk's data, it is often hearsay and not direct.  Probably less than 10% of my "facts" are independently documented.  While I have found that most of the information "rings true" when I do get independent confirmation, there is sometimes conflicting dates and other information ^note.  I've tried to indicate these conflicts in either the notes or references.  Check them and judge for yourself the reliability of the information.^note

About Genealogy Sites and Privacy.  I periodically publish on this site the results of my research.  Except for the names of individuals, I do not publish any factual information about individuals who still may be living.  An individual is considered "living" if they do not have a death date entered, and their birth date is less than 100 years ago.  Their entries will be marked "(private)."

I also periodically upload my full genealogy database to Roots Web.com, where it becomes internet searchable as part of their WorldConnect project.  They also do not publish facts on living persons (except surname -- they are designated as "Living LASTNAME"), nor is it contained within the GEDCOM file available for download.  They also do not sell contributed information.  Some other sites do not filter their data and/or sell the contributed data.  One site in particular, Genealogy.com, apparently packages some of these details into CD-ROMS.  I believe this to be unethical and I will not upload to them.  Doing family histories and genealogy is already a bit touchy -- sometimes things are discovered that disprove cherished family legends or show unexpected relationships.  And there is the potential for criminality.  There is grayness in the desire to share information among researchers, the potentials for unsavory abuse, and individuals privacy concerns.  I think Ancestry.com (and more conservatively at FamilySearch.com, the LDS site) have it pretty well right.  I hope I do too.

When an individual is indicated as #  on this site (see box above), it also will be indicated as # (i.e., fully private)  on the Ancestry.com site, including the surname, when next updated.

My genealogy work is mostly a winter activity -- warmer weather is spent on the motorcycle!  Although I have been know to check out information while on a bike trip.  And lately, since the death of my mother, I seem to have spent a great deal of time on it -- but the leads are getting harder to find.

Notational Conventions

Private - individual does not have a death date entered and birth date is less than 100 years ago.

[name] - A name in brackets means that the name is not known, and to provide uniqueness, a reference name has been provided.  E.g., [w./John] [Smith] indicates the wife of John Smith where neither the wife's given name nor maiden surname is known.

Locations -  Geographic locations are given, from left to right, specific to the more general.  In the United States, I usually indicate a city-village-hamlet, followed by a county, followed by a state.  In the eastern United States, particularly New York and New England, towns are important units of government, and may be inserted between a village-hamlet and the county.  Towns often have the same name as a village-hamlet within the town, and the record may be ambiguous.  Examples:  "Buffalo, Erie, NY" means the City of Buffalo, Erie County, New York State;  "Friendship, Friendship, Allegany, NY" means the Village of Friendship, Town of Friendship, Allegany County, New York State;  "Friendship, Allegany, NY" means Town of Friendship, Allegany County, New York State, and the event may or may not be within the Village of Friendship.

Counties - most of my sources did not include a full location reference.  Usually the U. S. county is missing, which I attempt to add to my record.  To find the county, I use Street Atlas USA mapping software,  published by DeLorme, to determine counties.  I'm guessing that this software is mostly accurate.  However, there are some circumstances when it will produce the wrong county.  For example:  where a referenced locale no longer exists, but there is another locale of the same name within the state; or their are variations in spelling; or it's just not in the Street Map database.  If I'm unable to locate the county, I'll usually notate it.  I appreciate corrections!

{location} - Locations within braces usually indicate uncertainty.  Evidence points to this location as the place where the event occurred, but there is no direct documentation, e.g., the family was living there at the time.  (I've not been entirely consistent in the use of this notation; it entered my database through some imported data, and it seemed like a good idea at the time.  More often, if I'm not sure of a place, I leave it blank.)

    ?    - usually indicates uncertain or conflicting information --  check notes and references.  The question mark may NOT be present in all cases of uncertainty!

   ^  - In some places you may see the caret symbol as a suffix to the name.  This designates an individual who is one of my direct ancestors (i.e., in the pedigree).

   # - individual has requested that no information be published.