Looking Back In Time

Anderson ~ Bennett ~ Benitez ~ Bingham ~ Black ~ Blaker ~ Brown ~ Buckley ~ Bunnell ~ Burwell ~ Chek ~ Cseh ~ Cogswell ~ Crabtree ~ Crawshaw ~ Critchfield ~ Darrough ~ Devine ~ Englehaut ~ Garwood ~ Gehr ~ Grow ~ Hoschouer ~ McArthur ~ McMurtrie ~ Millen ~ Newberry ~ Herrington ~ Hickcox ~ Hutchinson ~ Madison ~ Madison ~ March ~ Robinson ~ Peden ~ Monroe ~ Pruett ~ Piet~ Rodriguez ~ Stice ~ Sutcliffe ~ Warren

Our families come from Arkansas, Indiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia and dates back to 1895 in Kansas. We also came from Austria, Ireland, Scotland, Hungary, Germany, and England. Traditionally, the last name can tell a lot about your heritage. The last name often told where you came from and the class of your family. We haven’t kept that tradition; and so it isn’t as easy to tell much about a person from their last name these days.

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I am Just Lookin’ Back In Time

Wondering how I got here and where the future will take me

Hi, I am glad you stopped by. Let me introduce myself. My name is Deborah Jean. Although I've been at this for several years, I am still new to the genealogy research, so I hope you will not be offended if my information isn't 100% perfect. I started making this website primarily to publish the genealogy information my Uncle Clark had researched since the 1940’s. Clark was a long lost Uncle we barely remembered, and when my sister found him, just a few miles from where she was living, it was like opening a door we all had forgotten even existed. Uncle Clark spent endless hours in libraries, traveling to meet people and writing letters that went by snail mail to gather his information. Technology has come a long way since he did his research the old way. All I have to do is click a few buttons on a computer, search a few engines, and I am able to unlock many of the mysteries he wasn't able to. I took on his research to try to find a few answers from my past and come to terms with my childhood memories and lack thereof, so I could enjoy the present and look forward to the future. I hoped to uncover a few secrets that he wasn't able to, but never dreamed I'd make so much progress and actually find documentation to support some of his "theories", but I have. Now I have developed a passion to find those secrets and uncover the rest of the stories.

I’m a bit of a computer geek and love trying new things with photos and have really enjoyed putting this together. Since I started this project, the web service I used closed, then my computer crashed a couple different times and I lost some information and documents I'd spent hours typing. (thanks to computer geeks who like to make virus or spam, so some of this has been quite a challenge and some just a lot of fun) I’m still moving things around a bit, so if you find a link that isn’t complete, it’s because I am still fixing from lost pages. (Yes-I had it all backed up on an external hard drive-but it quit working too)

While you're here browsing, let me give you a few things to ponder and think about ~ I hope you enjoy your journey

Life is a Journey ~ Think of it as just a Great Adventure

Life is all about changes

Some will be good, some not so great

But you need to make the most of every adventure

Help me to make the most of every minute!

What Life is About

Life isn't about keeping score. It's not about how many friends you have, Or how accepted you are. Not about if you have plans this weekend or if you're alone. It isn't about who you have kissed, It isn't about who your family is, or how much money they have, Or what kind of car you drive. Or where you are sent to school. It's not about how beautiful or ugly you are. Or what clothes you wear, what shoes you have on, Or what kind of music you listen to. It's not about if your hair is blonde, red, black, or brown, Or if your skin is too light or too dark. Not about what grades you get how smart you are, how smart everybody else thinks you are, or how smart standardized tests say you are. Life just isn't.

Life is about who you love and who you hurt. It's about who you make happy or unhappy purposely. It's about keeping or betraying trust. It's about friendship, used as a sanctity or as a weapon. It's about what you say and mean, maybe hurtful, maybe heartening. It's about starting rumors and contributing to petty gossip. It's about what judgments you pass and why. And who your judgments are spread to. It's about who you've ignored with full control and intention. It's about jealousy, fear, ignorance, and revenge. It's about carrying inner hate and love, letting it grow and spreading it. But most of all, it's about using your life to touch or poison other people's hearts in such a way that could have never occurred alone.

Only you choose the way those hearts are affected, and those choices are what life's all about. Today let this rainbow remind your friends and family of what life is really all about. ~~Author Unknown

Dear Lord,

My children are grown and have spread their wings

Grant me the courage to let them fly, and I pray they will follow you

Amen

Life’s a Journey ~ You can make it a Great Adventure........

Life is 10% what you make it and 90% how you take it ~~~Ben Franklin. Life is a real journey and can be really wonderful, if you just think of it as a great adventure and make the most out of every experience you have. It isn’t always wonderful, but if you look, you can find something good in everything that happens. LIFE is not always fair. I know that sometimes it may seem downright hard to put one foot in front of the other. But, When Life is a LEMON, make LEMONADE and be happy to have it! It isn't necessarily anyone's fault that sometimes Life just doesn't work out the way we dreamed it would. But, if you let that ruin your dreams then it is your fault! We just have to make the best of what we get to have and enjoy it! EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON AND EVERYTHING HAS A PURPOSE. Each day is a gift from God, What you choose to do with it is entirely up to you!! Be Kind to others and experience the warmth that will bring your way! Your life can change in an instant, so Enjoy Life’s Journey and make it a great adventure!

Look for something good in every experience you have, even when the experience seems like it is bad-there will be something good, if you just look for it: Just two examples of finding the good in what happens to me: (1) My hot water heater quit working and although I often can make my own repairs, this time I called a repairman. He didn't have to replace it, he was able to fix it. While there, he discovered the exhaust was bad (could flood my house with carbon monoxide, so he fixed that too); (2) My furnace quit working one day while I was home. I heard this noise, and luckily went to investigate. When the furnace tried to kick on, it blew out the pilot, but the propane was flowing in full force "sssssssssssss". Lucky that I was home and heard it, or the basement would have filled with propane and could have exploded! I believe that God was holding my hand during both of these events, and leading me to discover the bigger bad and realize the bigger good that came out of both instances.

My Background........

My Background is complex, and My Family is Complex. We’ve managed to find happiness somehow in all the confusion that Life has brought our way. Life is all about changes and ALL about choices! The choices others make can have a huge affect on your life; but how you deal with what happens can make all the difference whether that turns out positive or negative. The Choices YOU make today can affect you and others forever, so think about it before you make your choices! I believe that we all do the best we can at that moment with the knowledge we have to work with. We have to learn from our mistakes and make better choices!

Second Chances........

Several years ago, I had a near death experience, and it caused me to reexamine my priorities. Because I let life's challenges get in the way, I'd become a "work-aholic", and wasn't spending as much "time" with my family as they deserved. I was given a second chance to spend more time with my family! Since then I re-examined my priorities and looked more closely at what my real purpose here on earth is. I believe my purpose in life is to guide my children and grandchildren to find the wonders God has given us and to appreciate what we have. It's my purpose to show them the good in all of Life's journey and make it an adventure and to help others discover this too. I can only accomplish that purpose by giving "my time" and "my love". So, I take every opportunity to spend time with them. Although I've always considered myself a kind person, I have really looked harder at "what kindness I can do for others, finding more ways that I can help make someone else's day a little brighter. I try to look for those who seem to need a little more kindness in their lives than I do. I believe that children are our future and they deserve a chance to grow up as kids and know that they are loved and wanted and be cared for. I adopted my own foster parents to have that security, now it’s my turn to give back what I was given! When was the last time you did or said something nice for someone, Just because you could? When was the last time you helped your neighbor or helped some little ole’ person make it to their car with bags of groceries? Be Kind to Someone Today, It will make you feel good inside. It is just an incredible feeling to help others and be a part of making their day a little better! I try to do at least one "random act of kindness" for someone everyday! You should try that too! It could just change your outlook on life! Be all that you can be!

My Greatest Accomplishment in life........

Even though I am a very successful professional, My greatest accomplishment has definitely been raising three wonderful girls with strong family values and being a really good Mom and Grandma. Family is what life is all about!! I enjoy every minute I get to spend with my girls and their families! You can either, embrace your family and be "present", love them with all your heart, enjoy them and spend quality time with them or you can "be too busy" and miss so much waiting for tomorrow to make a memory. Today, is a Gift from God, that is why it is called the "Present". What you do with it, is entirely up to you. So, it’s one of those choices you make along Life’s Journey that will affect not only you, but those around you. So, think about that choice very carefully before you decide you are "too busy", because life is very short, and if you do not take time now, you may not have that time tomorrow. If you aren’t close to your family, it is your choice and your loss. I've also managed to have a great career helping people every day. You are successful by making other people successful! And you are happy when making others happy too!

Give your Time and Love to make Memories every chance you get........

Memories of our family and childhood are what shape our personality and who we are. Whether we like it or not, our personality is formed by our parents, brothers, sisters, and the environment we grew up in. My childhood was not filled with good memories, but it certainly shaped me into the person I chose to become! I was determined to give my family the stability and love I didn't get when I was growing up. So I "chose" to be a really good Mom. I chose to be truly "present" in their childhood. I chose to participate in every aspect of their lives and be a part of everything they did while they were growing up. I "chose" to take them to the park, or play Barbie dolls, or play board games, or go watch them play sports, or have 10 teenage screaming girls spend the night, or hang out at the mall. Those were "choices" that I made to spend time with my kids. Time and Love are the two most precious gifts you can give to your children. I attended all the school events, took them to Sunday School, helped with vacation Bible School, was their Brownie and Girl Scout leader, and softball coach. I attended almost every basketball, softball, track, and volleyball events they were in, and I cheered them on and encouraged them to be the best they could become. I wasn't afraid to stand up for them when they were right, nor afraid to punish them when they were wrong. I chose to make our family close and have all their friends hanging out at our house. I chose to make good memories with my family. Make a memory with your family today and keep it close to your heart. And don't forget to count your blessings! Make the most of every single memory you can. At any moment someone else's choices may affect you and rob you of more precious memories with those you love the most. You probably have a better life than you even realized! And kids, give your Mom & Dad a hug and tell them thanks! PARENTING is not as easy as you seem to think it is, so give them a break, if your parents aren't perfect and make a few mistakes along the way-they deserve it-it's not easy being a good parent!. Life has a way of throwing stuff at you that wasn't expected, and some recover quicker and can still juggle it all well. It took me a long time to be able to give my parents a break, and to realize that they really did do the best they could at the time. They didn't have any good examples of how to be a good parent, and I just didn't realize how much that affected their ability to be good parents, until I became a parent myself. I did finally forgive them for their mistakes, I wish I could have done so when I was younger and there would have been time to make a few more good memories with them before they were gone.

Finding the "why" and Leaving a Legacy behind.........

Through all the research and building this site, I discovered this is a way to leave a legacy of our family history to my children and my grandchildren. Someday, it will be important to them to know "who and where", or more importantly know the "why". I have one grandson, Kevin, who is a history buff, and I hope that someday, he will carry on this legacy for generations to come. Through my research, I discovered some interesting stories about our families as well as uncovered some "reasons why", which has given me "reason to forgive and forget the past".

Although I have seven siblings, I actually grew up "an only child" and so I never developed that close connection of a best friend with any of them. Probably, because we just didn't share many experiences or that history with each other that most siblings share. So, it's been difficult building those relationships as an adult. Although, I've tried to make that connection and mend relationships with my siblings to a point, I've never really felt the closeness with them that my own girls share with their sisters. I've longed to have that kind of closeness with my siblings, but have failed achieving it. Siblings are allowed to have differences, heck it's even normal. And, siblings don't always have to like or approve of what the other does. But, they should be there to support the other without judgment or demands. Siblings should call Siblings should love each other and be there for each other, unconditionally-of that I am certain.

Through the research of Daddy, a baby sister found and connected with me. I believe Daddy brought us together, and our mutual love for him and our mutual compassion for the challenges he faced has been the depth of lengthy "sisterly talks". Talking about him and all the life challenges he faced that caused him to make the choices he made, has brought us closer together. Together, we have discovered a lot of the "why". She has inspired me to remember that "Life is truly all about choices, and that other people's choices can have a huge impact on the choices you are left to choose from". Two wrongs don't make a right, but it is what it is, and we can be compassionate about the "why", if we choose to be. I believe that Daddy has been up in Heaven praying for us to make this discovery and this strong connection with each other. I believe that together, we can make a difference and guide his children to discover the same love, forgiveness, and compassion we feel. She found me doing research on Daddy, and took a chance that I would be receptive to her. We had almost an instant bond that really warms my heart! We have discovered through this relationship with each other, that we are so much alike. I had given up that this kind of relationship was possible. I've longed for this kind of best friend relationship with a sibling my entire life. She shared some stories that brought even more forgiveness to my heart that was long overdue! She inspires me every day to overcome Life's Challenges and be the best I can be. She sends me inspirational quotes, from a website I too had found several years ago that reminded me of Daddy. Daddy loved reading daily inspirations, and had given me a couple of small inspirational booklets to read. So, I find it really uncanny that she too found that same inspirational website. She is different than I expected. She is so much like me, her thoughts, her life experiences, her kindness and thoughtfulness, her feelings, her compassion, understanding and her love for Daddy. She's low maintenance, and doesn't expect more out of me than she herself gives. Heck, she gives and gives to me more than I have given. She listens to every story and every word I say-without any judgment. She shares her stories and I listen to every word, without any judgment. She appreciates everything I do share or give her and gets so excited, that it makes me excited to share more. She knows what's up in my life, and checks in to see how I am doing. She doesn't just call because she needs something or wants to complain about anything, she just calls to see what I am doing or how I am. That reminds me of Daddy even more. So, I pray that God guides me through this new beginning with my baby sister and that I give to her as much or more than I get out of this relationship. I will cherish this new relationship of a sister who has become my best friend forever!

For your reading pleasure........

May I suggest some reading materials? The Glass Castle; It's Not about Me, Purpose Driven Life, Choices that Change Lives, How to Win Friends and Influence People, See you at the Top, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, For One More Day; A Boy Called It (And, if you think your life’s journey is a challenge, then read this book and you may appreciate the gift you have been given. I don’t often feel sorry for myself or the life I’ve been given, but when I do I go read, that book again and I realize what a great life I have and appreciate it once again. It is a true story and that boy had an unspeakable life but he always looked at the bright side of everything! My life was a piece of cake in comparison. How about reading the Bible? It’s got some great stuff in it. 2 is better than 1

I sure hope that you’ve enjoyed your journey here. I do hope that you have a really Great day and enjoy all of God’s wonders he’s put before us to enjoy! Make everyday an adventure! If you’d like to email me, there are links on the genealogy pages. I had to change things around to avoid some junk and garbage that some people chose to send me

I found the most incredible website to purchase graphics and papers. You should really check this out: http://www.mangelsdesigns.com/index.htm Some of these backgrounds are from the Background Collections by Susan L. Gabriel of Sue Angel Designs through my purchase at Mangels designs. Please do not take these graphics from my site. Go to their website and purchase unlimited usage of the graphics for yourself.