Researching one's genealogy is a bit like a treasure hunt. As you learn more and more about your ancestors, surprises keep occuring. I am thankful to all the people who have taken the time to research the past. I aim to contribute as well. I am working on my Peck ancestry which goes back to Joseph and some of his immigrant sons who arrived in 1638. Other names include Vanderwerker, Van Patten, Shoup/Shoop/Schupp, McNeil, Cramer, Paine/Payne, McDougall, Lant, Reid, Reed, Campbell, Beatty/Beattie, Wagman, Foster, Cushman, Grandy, Bartlett, Haverly, Duesler, Snell, Wendell, Glen, Holland, Hawley, Harmon, etc. I get great satisfaction in discovering and entering these historical records, before they are lost for good. Most of my entries are in MA, RI, CT and upstate NY where I live. I am a retired HS biology and chem. teacher. I have completed 10 Earthwatch expeditions and travelled to over 60 countries. Climbing mountains is also appealing having been up Kilimanjaro, Whitney, Olympus, Rysy, Ben Nevis, Algonquin, Marcy and others. Genealogy is another fun and productive way to spend my time.
One of my great joys is to visit villages where my ancestors lived before coming to America. In 2010 I visited Hingham and Beccles, England where the paternal Pecks lived in the 1500 and 1600's. We also visited Petten, Holland for the maternal Van Pattens and Meppel, Holland for the Van Alstynes and Vanderwerkers. In 2012 I visited Scotland for the McNeils and Reids and then the Mozel River Valley in the Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany for the Shoups/Schupps and Mais lines. In 2015 we were in Scotland again at the Campbell Castle in Inverary and to the Campbell Crypt in Kilum, Scotland. 2016 took us to Frederiksted, Norway for the Bradts; Enniskillen, Northern Ireland for the Beatties; Largs, Scotland for the Brisbins and Lucerne, Switzerland for the Wagmans. My wife Mira Peck has written several books check her name on Amazon. Plus a memoire I wrote which includes a full year 1973 hitch-hiking journey from Australia to the USA. It is entitled "FROM DOWNUNDER TO UPSTATE - A LOVE STORY".

Researching one's genealogy is a bit like a treasure hunt. As you learn more and more about your ancestors, surprises keep occuring. I am thankful to all the people who have taken the time to research the past. I aim to contribute as well. I am working on my Peck ancestry which goes back to Joseph and some of his immigrant sons who arrived in 1638. Other names include Vanderwerker, Van Patten, Shoup/Shoop/Schupp, McNeil, Cramer, Paine/Payne, McDougall, Lant, Reid, Reed, Campbell, Beatty/Beattie, Wagman, Foster, Cushman, Grandy, Bartlett, Haverly, Duesler, Snell, Wendell, Glen, Holland, Hawley, Harmon, etc. I get great satisfaction in discovering and entering these historical records, before they are lost for good. Most of my entries are in MA, RI, CT and upstate NY where I live. I am a retired HS biology and chem. teacher. I have completed 10 Earthwatch expeditions and travelled to over 60 countries. Climbing mountains is also appealing having been up Kilimanjaro, Whitney, Olympus, Rysy, Ben Nevis, Algonquin, Marcy and others. Genealogy is another fun and productive way to spend my time.
One of my great joys is to visit villages where my ancestors lived before coming to America. In 2010 I visited Hingham and Beccles, England where the paternal Pecks lived in the 1500 and 1600's. We also visited Petten, Holland for the maternal Van Pattens and Meppel, Holland for the Van Alstynes and Vanderwerkers. In 2012 I visited Scotland for the McNeils and Reids and then the Mozel River Valley in the Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany for the Shoups/Schupps and Mais lines. In 2015 we were in Scotland again at the Campbell Castle in Inverary and to the Campbell Crypt in Kilum, Scotland. 2016 took us to Frederiksted, Norway for the Bradts; Enniskillen, Northern Ireland for the Beatties; Largs, Scotland for the Brisbins and Lucerne, Switzerland for the Wagmans. My wife Mira Peck has written several books check her name on Amazon. Plus a memoire I wrote which includes a full year 1973 hitch-hiking journey from Australia to the USA. It is entitled "FROM DOWNUNDER TO UPSTATE - A LOVE STORY".