I created my first family tree as a teenager with the help of my two surviving grandparents. They knew nothing further back than their own grandparents, so it was a pretty small tree. When I was in my 20s, my aunt sent me two family trees. One showed my Bay great-great grandparents and 2 generations of their descendants. The other showed several generations of that great-great grandmother's ancestors, back to a German immigrant, a Revolutionary War soldier, and another Revolutionary-era official. That sent me to the library to see what else I could learn and, in short order, I was hooked. 40-some years later I still am.

My focus is almost entirely central Pennsylvania -- my mother was born in Centre County and my father in Mifflin County and their families had been in those general vicinities for generations. There is an 1877 map of Fayette Township (Juniata County) which shows, in that 40-square-mile area, the households of all of my paternal ancestors who were alive at that time.

According to family tradition I am Pennsylvania Dutch on both sides. According to my DNA profile, I am equal parts English and German. But the handful of immigrants I've managed to find in my family tree all came from Germany and all arrived in Pennsylvania prior to or during the Revolution.

I created my first family tree as a teenager with the help of my two surviving grandparents. They knew nothing further back than their own grandparents, so it was a pretty small tree. When I was in my 20s, my aunt sent me two family trees. One showed my Bay great-great grandparents and 2 generations of their descendants. The other showed several generations of that great-great grandmother's ancestors, back to a German immigrant, a Revolutionary War soldier, and another Revolutionary-era official. That sent me to the library to see what else I could learn and, in short order, I was hooked. 40-some years later I still am.

My focus is almost entirely central Pennsylvania -- my mother was born in Centre County and my father in Mifflin County and their families had been in those general vicinities for generations. There is an 1877 map of Fayette Township (Juniata County) which shows, in that 40-square-mile area, the households of all of my paternal ancestors who were alive at that time.

According to family tradition I am Pennsylvania Dutch on both sides. According to my DNA profile, I am equal parts English and German. But the handful of immigrants I've managed to find in my family tree all came from Germany and all arrived in Pennsylvania prior to or during the Revolution.