I was born and raised in Caldwell, Idaho. A nerdy kid, I loved nothing better than to read…constantly. I still love to read but manage to intersperse this passion with other interests. Like collecting cookbooks. I’m at nearly 2000 now, but I hasten to point out that I count each one separately, even if they are little leaflets, so that’s much better. Right?
Another of my passions, er, addictions, of course, is genealogy. I would hang on every word as my grandparents told me stories of their lives during the 20s and 30s, but it was not until I was about 14 that I stumbled upon genealogy as something concrete and structured. That was when I found a family history one of my cousins had put together as an anniversary present for his grandparents. I was fascinated by what he had uncovered and the stories he had detailed; a number of years later I was able to contact him directly and use his work as the starting point for my own research. The rest, as they say, is history.
Speaking of history, I eventually left Idaho; I obtained both a BA and an MA in Medieval Studies and am now living in Waynesboro, Virginia. In addition to all the aforementioned addictions, I also play country and old-time music in a band with my brother and some friends. Our band name, naturally, has a genealogical theme. The Corn Hog Association was a Depression-era government relief program where my maternal grandmother worked.
Oh yes, and did I mention the piebald brindle dachshund?
Hello! (sorry for my english)
Congratulations for your blog. A lot of pictures, many informations for people interested in genealogy as me. I am a very far descendant of Jacob Hoffmann and his first wife Annette Meyer. Their first daughter Elizabeth (Lisa) marry with Michel Lambin , which is the family name of my mother. Even if Elizabeth stayed in France, it’s very interesting to read the trip from France to United State of her father and the rest of his family.
Hello! I am so happy to hear from you! I would love to share/gather more information from you about your branch of the family if you would be interested, so I may reach out to you by email as well!
Hello Agnette
i am a great-great grandson of William and Mary E Montgomery. My family line comes from John’s younger brother Thomas. I am trying to find info on William and Mary, where/how did you find William’s baptismal record? Do you have or do you know if William’s birth certificate exists. Also, could Mary Ann Extel(l) be possibly Estell family???
Bob A
Hi Bob! I found William’s baptismal record through Ancestry.com. Do you have an Ancestry subscription, or would you like me to forward a scanned copy of the document for you? I have not been able to find a birth record for William, but the baptism record lists a 19 February 1802 birth date. I haven’t been able to identify Mary Ann’s family for sure, but I have also wondered whether or not Extell and Estell were the same family. I would be happy to share additional information with you if you’d like!
Hi, I am Ozzie Wilson’s middle daughter and we put on the 2000 Wilson
Reunion in Spearfish, SD. We had a great time and really appreciated
all that attended. Since then we have loss so many of our family
members. I have been reading a lot of your work and really enjoying
it as I have been working on our twig of the family tree. Finally
completed all the members of our family from Dad (Ozzie) to the
youngest member. Uncle Bill Hubbard (Carl’s youngest brother) was
more like a Grandfather figure to our family as our Grandfathers had
passed away. He would come up to the Ozzie Wilson Ranch during
the summer and stay for 3 to 4 weeks. He was the person who
started the Wilson Family History as he became a Mormon in his later
years and I’m sure he was helped by them. I really appreciate all your
work in continuing this. Thanks Myrna (Wilson) Chewakin
Hi Myrna – thanks so much for reaching out! I remember the Spearfish reunion well – it was great to meet so many people who before then were just names on the family tree. I would love to share more information with you if you would like, both information on your branch of the tree, and also any more of your memories to flesh out my tree.
I also need to get back to updating this blog more regularly!
Megan
Don – I’ve just sent you an email. Let me know if you don’t receive it.
I HAVE BEEN TRYING 2 CONTACT U ON YOUR FAIRBURY VISIT, IT KEEPS COMING BACK, ANY IDEA? DON
Thank you so much for your help. Just let me know what you need from me and I could send it to you.
Hi my name is Jenni and I am doing a family tree and happened to cross your blog during my research and it turns out that my mother’s great-grandfather is also Albert C. Swing. My mother’s Grandmother was Solma Caroline Swing a.ka. May C. Swing, she married Robert Kopka. I have seen you have info on Albert and Catherine Hoffmann’s Children I was wondering if you know all of their children’s names. My mother’s mother is Doris R. Kopka-Rech is still living and is 95 yrs. old, she is the last one living of the four children between Robert and May.
Hello, cousin! I have information on Albert and Catherine’s descendants on my genealogy data site here: http://montgomeryhoffmann.com/getperson.php?personID=I47&tree=main. Feel free to take a look there, and let me know if you have any questions and I’ll be happy to try to answer. My grandma (Velma Swing Hoffmann) and your grandma would have been first cousins; my grandma passed away in 2007. I would love to update my records with any additional information you can provide on your branch of the family tree also. I’m not sure if you’ve ever seen this photo before – it shows Joe, May, Albert, and Lena Swing: http://montgomeryhoffmann.com/showmedia.php?mediaID=2608.