Lizzytish - Family history trees

"I saw behind me those who had gone, and before me those who are to come, I looked back and saw my father, and his father, and all our fathers, and in front to see my son, and his son, and the sons upon sons beyond. "And their eyes were my eyes. "As I felt, so they had felt and were to feel, as then so now, as tomorrow and forever. Then I was not afraid, for I was in a long line that had no beginning and no end, and the hand of his father grasped my father's hand, and his hand was in mine, and my unborn son took my right hand, and all up and down the line that stretched from Time That Was to Time That Is and Is Not Yet, raised their hands to show the link, and we found that we were one...." ~from How Green Was My Valley, Richard Llewellyn

More than a few years ago, I started a project with my daughters. We were homeschoolers and we were working on making history real and relevant. What better way than to find out about your ancestors? We read about and researched the Irish, the Dutch, the English, the Germans, and the Slovaks. We put together our past and shared it with our present. Relatives long forgotten remembered us with Christmas cards stuffed with old photos, a Bible, and many stories about long ago holidays and picnics. My daughters are all grown up, and I am still looking for the grandmother who seemingly disappeared into the Colorado Mountains, the orphaned great-grandmother who married the young Slavic man she met on a boat crossing the Atlantic ocean to America, the men, women, and children who walked over the Sourland Mountains and settled in New Jersey. In my searching I have gathered a lot of data, gone to a lot of dusty old buildings, walked a lot of cemeteries, and surfed a lot of cyberspace. Through this website, with my daughter's help, I'd like to share my data and experiences with you. I hope something here helps link the hands of your past to those of your future.