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I've
been hooked on genealogy since grade school. During my family’s yearly visits to
the farm of my great aunt and uncle, DeMain & Hazel Warner, I spent
time reading about our family’s history. Much of the original research on this
site was completed by my mother over a period of more than 30
years. My sister, Barb, spent many hours researching our family
in Louisiana. My sister, Carol,
has also done a huge amount of research on the Cook, Cork, and Thielsen
families. She discovered that our Grandfather's name at birth was
Ora Cork. He changed his last name to Cook some time between 1900
– 1910.
Our ancestors were
primarily farmers who came to America seeking freedom of religion as
well as land. They were Amish, German Baptists (Dunkards),
Lutherans, Presbyterians, and Congregationalists (Puritans). Some
founded Greenwich, Stamford, CT, and Springfield, Mass., while others
were early settlers in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio and New York.
It's my hope that this
web site will help family members as well as genealogists. There
are photos, documents and many pages of family history on these
pages. Use the menu on the left to navigate. Please
feel free to use the information as clues for your own family history
research, but remember to always check primary sources. In some
cases, I've speculated about the lives of my ancestors, but my notes
will alert you to those instances. I’ve been fortunate to
hear from many cousins, and they have contributed data, photos, and
stories about my ancestors. They
are acknowledged in the end notes for each surname report. Where sources are not given, you
should assume that the information is family legend or my fertile
imagination. Some secondary sources have been used, and I've
referenced those in the end notes on family pages.
Please do not copy my
work verbatim. Many hours
have been spent writing the biographies in my family reports. If you want to share the bios with
others, you are welcome to post a link to this web site.
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