I started this family tree as a result of going through old pictures and 
papers from my recently deceased parents and finding a wealth of information 
in letters and pictures as well as in my subsequent research.  I decided to do 
this as a legacy for my children, since all of their natural grandparents are 
now deceased, but I find that I am enjoying my newest obsession so much, I'm 
doing it more for myself than for them.  (I keep telling them that they will 
appreciate it some day, as I'm sure they will).

Our history is a rich one and includes farmers, limestone workers who quarried 
and cut stone for the Empire State Building, minor politicians, an Underground 
Railway host, prominent and respected citizens of small towns, church leaders, 
a French teacher who traveled to Europe, an administrator of a girls' school, 
a social worker, and a chemist who made a ground-breaking discovery. As we all 
do, many of them went through difficulties.  In a letter from 1993, my father 
noted that it was "interesting how they moved forward with their lives during 
tough times and they would want us, their descendants, to do the same." 

This family tree is very much a work in progress, and is of course, subject to 
error.  Please let me know if you have any additions or corrections.  This 
project would not be possible without the input of helpful relatives, both 
through conversations with those who are still with us, and through the 
letters, pictures and documents collected and left by those who have passed 
on.  In addition, fellow genealogists, both from within the extended family 
and those who work or volunteer in historical societies and libraries, as well 
as those who spend many tedious hours inputting information on the internet, 
have been an invaluable resource.  Thank you!