I was hooked on history. I had always wanted to write an historical novel based on my family history set during the period of America's Civil War, and now I had a full cast of characters - but knew nothing about any of them. So after bringing home these treasured letters and photos to Arizona, I began to transcribe them one by one. The names and places multiplied. I had no idea who the authors of these letters were and there was as yet - no internet. I had, however, purchased my first computer from Radio Shack, and had taught myself WordPerfect, and enough computer basics that I created files for each person mentioned in the letters.

I spent all my available time at the Flagstaff Public Library trying to find information, and although this library had a pretty large collection of genealogical material, I seemed to be making little progress until one of the librarians suggested I try the Family History Library at the local LDS church. I was familiar with the Mormons researching their family history because I had lived in a predominately Mormon community in high school, but I had no idea the extent of their collection. So when we moved a few years later and I saw that there was a Family History Library within a mile of our home, I was determined to spend as much time there as possible learning what I could from these masters - one such beautiful soul, Goldie Gordon, became a true friend and mentor.

I was soon finding these persons mentioned in those letters in census records, biographical sketches, and city directories - and I was writing to every historical society, vital records office, or person who had submitted any information on my ancestors. The turn-around time for this process was excruciatingly slow - and often times they would write, send me a form to fill out, request x amount of dollars, and I would re-submit and wait again. This often took months, only to find they had no information. It was frustrating, but nothing stopped me from trying to piece together this puzzle with so many missing pieces.

Then came the internet, and in 1999 I got online only to be disappointed at what little information was available. To make matters worse, we lived in a small community where the dial-up was slow, the amount of time allowed by my provider limited, and it tied up the phone line. Thus, my online research had to be done when my family was home and I knew no one was trying to reach me. The online genealogy community was very small. RootsWeb was the place to connect, and each state hosted a county website where volunteers began to add information. RootsWeb also offered free space to individuals to create their own webpages, and though I didn't know anything about this, I figured I'd give it a try - and that is how my family history made its way online. Who knew all these years later it would include a dozen websites and almost 2.500 pages of information!

When I began creating my webpages in 1999, I never could have imagined the extent to which they would grow and how many people would contact me to contribute additional information. I have so many success stories that I could blog about them regularly, but my on-going research often keeps me from writing. One day I'm going to wind these pages down and hopefully write that historical novel I call "Lara's Legacy". Until then, I hope you enjoy browsing and find some valuable piece of your family history that motivates you to write and share your own history because I am a firm believer that who we are as inviduals has a great deal to do with our ancestors, their culture, their opinons, and their life-style.

Please keep in mind that I am the sole creator of these sites and pages. They are not generated by any program, and therefore I am typing every word into each page, so you will no doubt stumble upon spelling or other errors. If you find any, please kindly email me and I will quickly make corrections. The last thing I want to do is present inaccurate information. The websites are designed for easy navigation with links to other pertinent information within my website as well as external links, where noted. My goal is to help you find as much information as possible to futher your research - and to present it in a clear, easy to read font.

In addition to my research, all of the background images and graphics on these sites were created by myself, and would likely share with you, if you simply ask. Please do not lift photos from these sites without first emailing me for permission as many of the family and headstone photos were contributed by others and are not mine to give without their express permission. And finally, please, do not copy and paste my information without citing me with a link back to my page. I say this because a great deal of the information I have presented comes from those treasured letters which came into my possession, and I am therefore the only souce of that information - much of which I donated to the Missouri Historical Society which now owns these documents.

I am extremely grateful to the many people who have contributed to my sites, and I honor those who had shared and have since passed on - most especially my mother, Mary Jeanette Lane; as well as Eduardo Rossomanno; Gail (Armstead) Stroud; Connie (Neagle) Lightfoot; and George H. and Louise (Baker) Peters. May my efforts to preserve their histories do justice to the lives they lived and the memories they shared.

I am always happy to receive emails, and do my best to answer each.
Best wishes in your own endeavors,

Patricia Davidson-Peters
Also known in the genealogy circles as "Sunnyann"