Proud to be guiding the volunteers of the Genealogy Trails History Group Kim Torp National Coordinator

Veneta McKinney Alabama

Available For Adoption Alaska

Available For Adoption Arizona

Anna Newell Arkansas

Brenda Wiesner California	Interested in Joining Us? Volunteer Information		Available For Adoption Georgia
Available For Adoption Colorado			Available For Adoption Hawaii
Nancy Washell Connecticut	Mary Kay Krogman Delaware	Brenda Wiesner Florida	Sandra Davis Idaho
Kim Torp Illinois	Barbara Ziegenmeyer Indiana	Cathy and Dennis Danielson Iowa	Peggy Thompson Kansas
Cathy Schultz Kentucky	Janice Rice Louisiana	Melody Beery Maine	Available For Adoption Maryland
Nancy Washell Massachusetts	Christine Walters Michigan	Marla Zwakman Minnesota	Gene Phillips Mississippi
Linda Rodriguez Missouri	Available For Adoption Montana	Frances Cooley Nebraska	Don Tharp Nevada
Available For Adoption New Hampshire	Available For Adoption New Jersey	Available For Adoption New Mexico	Available For Adoption New York
Linda Rodriguez North Carolina	Available For Adoption North Dakota	Available For Adoption Ohio	Dale Donlon Oklahoma
Jim Dezotell Oregon	Nancy Piper Pennsylvania	Available For Adoption Rhode Island	Dena Whitesell South Carolina
Karen Seeman South Dakota	Amanda Jowers Tennessee	Dale Donlon Texas	Sandra Davis Utah
Available For Adoption Vermont	Available For Adoption Virginia	Available For Adoption Washington	Brenda Wiesner Washington D.C.
Available For Adoption West Virginia	Marla Zwakman Wisconsin	Available For Adoption Wyoming
	Brenda Wiesner and Marla Zwakman Transcription Team Coordinators	Brenda Wiesner State Transcription Coordinator

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County	Host	Profile
Alabama State Host: Veneta McKinney
Baldwin Co.	Dawn Conway
Cullman Co	SueAnn McKnight
Fayette Co.	Veneta McKinney
Lamar Co.	Veneta McKinney
Lauderdale Co.	Christine Walters
Marion Co.	Veneta McKinney
Mobile	Therman Kellar
Pickens Co.	Veneta McKinney
Walker Co.	Veneta McKinney
Winston Co.	Veneta McKinney
Alaska
Matanuska-Susitna Co.	Sandra Davis
Arizona
Mohave Co.	Barbara Ziegenmeyer
Arkansas State Host: Anna Newell
Arkansas Co.	Linda Rodriguez
Greene Co.	Tina Easley
Lawrence Co.	Tina Easley
California State Host: Brenda Wiesner
Eldorado Co.	Brenda Wiesner
Los Angeles Co.	Brenda Wiesner
Placer Co.	Brenda Wiesner
Sacramento Co.	Brenda Wiesner
Delaware State Host: Mary Kay Krogman
Florida State Host: Brenda Wiesner
Miami-Dade Co.	Kim Torp
Georgia
Appling Co	Tam Inman
Bacon Co	Tam Inman
Dooly Co.	Sheila Massie
Gwinnett Co.	Tam Inman
Irwin Co.	Sheila Massie
Murray Co.	Leslie Riney
Worth Co.	Sheila Massie
Idaho State Host: Sandra Davis
Bonner Co.	Sandra Davis
Kootenai Co.	Sandra Davis
Shoshone Co.	Sandra Davis
Illinois State Host: Kim Torp
Adams Co.	Debbie Gibson
Alexander Co.	Anna Newell
Bureau Co.	Nancy Piper
Carroll Co.	Christine Walters
Cass Co.	Roger Whitaker
Clark Co.	Barb Ziegenmeyer
Coles Co.	Kim Torp
Cumberland Co.	Barbara Ziegenmeyer
Jackson Co.	Leslie Riney
Jasper Co.	Kim Torp
Jo Daviess Co.	Christine Walters
Johnson Co.	Nan Starjak
Kane Co.	Kim Torp
Kankakee Co.	Richard Cox
Lasalle Co	Nancy Piper
Lee Co	Christine Walters
Macon Co.	Nancy Piper
Madison Co.	Janice Rice
Marshall Co.	Nancy Piper
Mason Co.	Kristin Vaughn
Menard Co.	Kristin Vaughn
Peoria Co.	Karen Seeman
Perry Co.	Wayne Hinton
Pike Co.	Christine Walters
Pope Co.	Nan Starjak
Pulaski Co.	Leslie Riney
Putnam Co.	Nancy Piper
Stark Co.	Nancy Piper
Stephenson Co.	Christine Walters
Tazewell Co.	Desiree Rodcay
Union Co.	Anna Newell
Wabash Co.	Dawn Daddario
Washington Co.	Wayne Hinton
Whiteside Co.	Christine Walters
Winnebago Co.	Mark Seeberg
Woodford Co.	Dena Whitesell
Indiana State Host: Barbara Ziegenmeyer
Clark Co.	Erica Beatty
Floyd Co.	Barbara Ziegenmeyer
Harrison Co.	Barbara Ziegenmeyer
Jefferson Co.	Erica Beatty
Knox Co.	Janice Rice
Lake Co.	Kim Torp
Lawrence Co.	Janice Rice
Monroe Co.	James D. VanDerMark
Orange Co.	Desiree Rodcay
Parke Co.	James D. VanDerMark
Perry Co.	Erica Beatty
Randolph Co.	Tam Inman
Washington Co.	Desiree Rodcay
Iowa State Hosts: Cathy and Dennis Danielson
Henry Co.	Amber Cory-Long
Jackson Co.	Mary Kay Krogman
Marshall Co.	Dawn Minard
Plymouth	Mary Kay Krogman
Pottawatomie Co.	Cathy & Dennis Danielson
Kansas State Host: Peggy Thompson
Butler Co.	Co-host: Lori DeWinkler
Butler Co.	Co-host: Peggy Thompson
Chautauqua Co.	Don Tharp
Dickinson Co.	Lisa Smalley
Elk Co.	Don Tharp
Hodgeman Co.	Don Tharp
Linn Co.	David A. Smith
Lyon Co.	Lori DeWinkler
Marion Co.	Melissa Stuchlik
Ness Co.	Don Tharp
Norton Co.	Kim Torp
Ottawa Co.	Lisa Smalley
Republic Co.	Sandy DeLauretis
Saline Co.	Lisa Smalley
Sedgwick Co.	Peggy Thompson
Kentucky State Host: Cathy Schultz
Bourbon Co.	Stephen Miller
Butler Co.	Cathy Schultz
Carter Co.	Stephanie Lyons
Edmonson Co.	Cathy Schultz
Grayson Co.	Cathy Schultz
Hardin Co.	Desiree Rodcay (Temp)
Louisiana State Host: Janice Rice
LaSalle Parish	Rachael Hudnall
Maine State Host: Melody Beery
Maryland
Calvert Co.	Rita Bergendahl
Massachusetts State Host: Nancy Washell
Franklin Co.	Nancy Washell
Michigan State Host: Christine Walters
Bay Co.	Brenda Wiesner
Chippewa Co.	Christine Walters
Dickinson	Mark Seeberg
Jackson Co.	Jan Stypula
Mackinac Co.	Christine Walters
Ottawa Co.	Brenda Wiesner
Saginaw Co.	Brenda Wiesner
Wayne Co.	Christine Walters
Minnesota State Host: Marla Zwakman
Mississippi State Host: Gene Phillips
Jackson Co.	Therman Kellar
Pearl Co.	Denise Hansen
Perry Co.	Gene Phillips
Missouri State Host: Linda Rodriguez
Adair Co.	Desiree Rodcay
Benton Co.	Janice Rice
Cape Girardeau Co.	Anna Newell (temp)
Crawford Co.	Dave McCormick
Harrison Co.	Melody Beery
Madison Co.	Frances Cooley
Oregon Co.	Gene Phillips
Ray Co.	Lisa Smalley
Scott Co.	Anna Newell (temp)
St. Francis	Debbie Gibson
Sullivan Co.	Dawn Minard
Montana State Host: Available for Adoption
Nebraska State Host: Frances Cooley
Custer Co.	Melody Beery
Dundy Co.	Sherri Gregory
Gage Co.	Frances Cooley
Greeley Co.	Cathy & Dennis Danielson
Jefferson Co.	Kristin Vaughn
Loup Co.	Melody Beery
Sarpy Co.	Denise Hansen
Nevada State Host: Don Tharp
Humboldt Co.	Don Tharp
Pershing Co.	Don Tharp
New Hampshire State Host: Available for Adoption
Hillsborough Co.	Helen Coughlin
New Mexico State Host: Available for Adoption
Eddy Co.	Janice Rice
Lea Co.	Erny Long
New York
Dutchess Co	Terri Griffiths
Putnam Co	Terri Griffiths
Steuben Co.	Jennifer Payne
North Carolina State Host: Linda Rodriguez
Extinct Counties Albemarle, Barth, Bute, Dobbs, Glasgow, Tryon	Linda Rodriguez
Henderson	Tammie Stills
Transylvania	Tammie Stills
North Dakota State Host: Available for Adoption
Steele Co.	Fred Coleman
Ohio State Host: Available for Adoption
Hocking Co.	Kathy Stanley
Ross Co.	Carla Mascara
Washington Co.	Therman Kellar
Oklahoma State Host: Dale Donlon
Canadian Co.	Dale Donlon
Cleveland Co.	Dale Donlon
Grady Co.	Dale Donlon
Jefferson Co.	Erny Long
McClain Co.	Dale Donlon
Oregon State Host: Jim Dezotell
Lane Co.	Jim Dezotell
Linn Co.	Jim Dezotell
Pennsylvania State Host: Nancy Piper
Adams Co.	Vicki Hartman
Bedford Co.	Rhonda Kevorkian
Berks Co.	Vicki Hartman
Butler Co.	Jeanne Hall
Cambria Co.	Denise Hansen
Columbia Co.	Shannon Thomas
Dauphin Co.	Nancy Piper
Delaware Co.	Kim Paterson
Lebanon Co	Nancy Piper
Luzerne Co.	Claire Moran
Mercer Co.	Denise Hansen
Philadelphia Co.	Kim Paterson
Somerset	Terri Griffiths
South Carolina State Host: Dena Whitesell
Greenville Co.	Andrew Staton
Laurens Co.	Andrew Staton
Newberry Co.	Dena Whitesell
South Dakota State Host: Karen Seeman
Beadle Co.	Karen Seeman
Hand Co.	Karen Seeman
Mellette Co.	Rita Bergendahl
Tennessee State Host: Amanda Jowers
Bedford Co.	Christine Walters
Benton Co.	Christine Walters
Carroll Co.	Christine Walters
Chester Co.	Amanda Jowers
Decatur Co.	Christine Walters
Hamilton Co.	Frances Cooley
Henderson Co.	Christine Walters
Madison Co.	Christine Walters
Polk Co.	Pam Rathbone
Texas State Host: Dale Donlon Area Hosts: Big Bend - Janice Rice Gulf Coast - Dale Donlon Prairies and Lakes - Sandy Denney Panhandle Plains #1 and #2: Available For Adoption Hill Country: Available For Adoption Piney Woods: Available For Adoption South Texas Plains: Available For Adoption
Denton Co.	Sandy Denney
Fannin Co.	Sandy Denney
Fort Bend	Jennifer Zimmerman
Gillespie Co.	Jimmy Davis
Grayson Co.	Sandy Denney
Henderson Co.	Jimmy Davis
Hockley Co.	Erny Long
Jack Co.	Erny Long
Lamar Co.	Dale Donlon
Medina Co.	Diana Wingerter
Red River Co.	Gene Phillips
Upton Co.	Janice Rice
Utah State Host: Sandy Davis
Virginia State Host: Available for Adoption
Rockbridge Co.	Linda Rodriguez
Halifax Co.	Tammie Rudder
Washington
King Co.	Amber Cory-Long
Whatcom Co.	Marla Snow
Washington D.C.
District of Columbia	Brenda Wiesner
West Virginia State Host: Kim Torp
Calhoun Co.	Therman Keller
Fayette Co.	Norman Adkins
Greenbrier Co.	Kim Torp
Kanawha Co.	Kim Torp
Raleigh Co.	Norman Adkins
Wyoming Co.	Candace Reed
Wisconsin State Host: Marla Zwakman
Ashland Co.	Marla Zwakman
Clark Co.	Marla Zwakman
Florence	Mark Seeberg
Marathon Co.	Marla Zwakman
Rusk Co.	Sandy Sundene
Taylor Co.	Sandy Sundene
Wood Co.	Marla Zwakman
Wyoming Available for Adoption

Dawn Conway

I host the Baldwin County, Alabama Genealogy Trails site. I grew up in Baldwin County, as did my husband Pete. After becoming interested in family history many years ago, I discovered that many of our ancestors have been in the Baldwin County area since the late 1700’s, making them some of the first settlers in the area.       My husband and I left Baldwin County as newlyweds when he was serving in the Air Force. We lived in Zweibruecken, Germany for 3 years, then southern Maryland for a year, attended college in south Alabama, then back to southern Maryland. We lived and worked in the Washington, DC, area for over 13 years, but chose to move south to raise our daughters. We now live in north Alabama and work in the Huntsville area – my husband is a program analyst for a defense contractor and I am the lead software engineer for a NASA climate satellite project at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. We have been married for 31 years and have two amazing daughters – Kaitlin and Rebecca – Kaitlin is in college and Rebecca will soon follow. We also have a Shih-Tzu, Mollie, a Bassett Hound, Floyd, a mixed Bassett, Ginger, and three cats, Jake, Midnight, and Mitten.       We visit Baldwin County often since all our immediate family is in the area. We love to travel and lived in Zweibruecken, Germany for 3 years. I have been to Japan, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, many of our beautiful United States, and my hubby has even been to the Marshall Islands. Besides travel and genealogy, my hobbies include jewelry making and scrapbooking, and web page development.       I joined Genealogy Trails in September 2008 because I believe wholeheartedly in free access to genealogy records. I have been blessed by all the wonderful hosts as well as the researchers I’ve met. This is one of the most inspiring projects I have ever been involved in.

 

Sherri Gregory

I was born in St. Francis, Cheyenne, Kansas on January 20, 1945, just as the Second World War was coming to a close. I grew up in that 3-corners area on a wheat and cattle farm/ranch northwest of “Sainty” as we called the town. We lived closer to Haigler, Nebraska so got our mail, had telephone service and did our trading in that small town. We lived almost equidistant from Wray, Colorado, Benkelman, Nebraska and St. Francis, Kansas.       I have two grown children and seven grandchildren ranging in age from 13 to 5.       My interest in genealogy came from the unrelenting search through books and many letters my mother wrote beginning in the 1970s and her excitement about it. I became involved and interested when she said we descended from royalty!! I always knew I was a “princess” and now I had proof!. Of course that became a search for details, stories, pictures, the study of places and people that has become almost an obsession. Housework and family gets neglected when I’m on the scent of new information! Our FamilyTree database contains almost 5000 names and is still growing.       In August 2006, I began writing a blog about my homn town of Haigler, Nebraska because the local newspaper was reluctant to publish longer stories written by the ‘old timers’. The “Haigler Happenings” portion of the paper was for social news only and space was limited. Since my aunt was the correspondent for the town news, she was interested in the stories so we came up with the idea to put them online. The blog grew from there with ideas coming from many places all over the world. People began sending us stories and pictures and school annuals and newspapers until it was hard to keep up with it all. The lay out of a blog is not the best way to display historical and genealogical information, so one day when I ran across Genealogy Trails History Group as I was looking for information about Dundy County, Nebraska, I decided to volunteer to become a host. Now I have a new obsession!

 

Debbie Lee (McCune) Gibson

My name is Debbie Lee (McCune) Gibson, host of Adams County, Illinois and St. Francois, Missouri. My roots are from Missouri. My grandmother is from southeast Mo. and my grandfather is from Adams County, Il. My grandparents adopted me when I was 14 so I am really interested in where they came from.       My grandfather"s family are pioneers of Adams County settling here in 1831. Adams County has tremendous history and it is so awesome to learn about its history.       I am married to a wonderful guy who puts up with all my ignoring him to research and transcribe plus to go with me to cemeteries and help me take pics etc., we have 5 kids who I have also dragged from place to place to help out. Some like, some don't....lol. But hopefully one day they will be interested enough to take over where I leave off.

 

Vicki Hartman

My name is Vicki Hartman, nee Koller, and I am the webhost for the Pennsylvania counties of Adams, Berks, Lehigh and Northampton.       I grew up in central Pennsylvania in the Reading area of Berks County Fleetwood to be precise) for the first 19 years of my life. While I never thought I would move away from this area, immediately after marrying my husband (1980), we moved to Houston, Texas. I worked for a little and then we had a daughter. My parents, brother and grandmother moved to Texas (2 doors down after living with us for about 2 years), and we traveled back to the east a bunch, but I still had no interest in genealogy. When my daughter was eight I started my own business (1990) that I could do from home or wherever I was at the time.       Soon after moving to Georgia (1995) I rediscovered some work one of my husband’s uncles had done on his father’s side of the family. It seemed interesting, but was very incomplete. When I asked my parents if anyone in my family had done anything similar they did not think anyone had and seemed to question why anyone would be interested as my family had always been in the same area of PA. What peaked my interest was that when I inquired about my genealogical past, my parents and grandmother did not have very much information more than another generation back, and even that was sketchy. At the time I still had my own business and was a very capable computer user, but had little time to do much research.       Soon after my daughter graduated college (Dec 2004), and then got married (May 2005) my husband and I decided it was a good time for me to close my business (2006) and spend more time doing the things I really love: genealogy research, web design, traveling with my husband on business, needlework of all sorts, gardening, canning, hunting and training my bird dog. These are pretty much in the order that I do them too!       I have been doing our family research for about 10 years now. Most of the search has been online, however in the past found GenealogyTrails.com and I became hooked! I enjoy helping others in their searches for their pasts and putting people and info together for a positive outcome. This is a great and helpful group of people and I love it here.

 

Gene Phillips

I was born in Marlow OK and grew up in Rush Springs OK and Lovington NM. I joined the Navy and spent 20 years on active duty and retired in OK. I've been doing online genealogy before there was an internet as we know it today. I was on several FidoNet to "talk" to other genealogists across the country.      Anyways, I have collected lots of stuff over the years to put online. I have much more for OK than MS. My g-gf was born in MS. His father was the only one of 14 siblings to leave MS. All the rest of them stayed around Oxford MS. 8 of them their spouses are buried in a little cemetery outside of Paris MS. The rest are buried elsewhere in the county. So if you have relatives around Oxford, I'm probably related to them.

Anna Newell

My roots are in Alexander County, Illinois, although I now live in Scott County, Missouri. My parents moved to Alexander County in 1939 from Missouri. My dad's parents were originally from Union County, Illinois, but went to Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri. My dad's grandparents and great-grandparents were pioneers of Union County.       I have a part-time bookkeeping job so I guess you could say I am partially retired after raising three sons. I have also been a librarian and a secretary. My husband has been in education for over 42 years. My hobby has been genealogy since the 1970s when I started researching my dad's family. I now have that family back to the 1620s at Jamestown, Virginia with help of many cousins. My mother's side has been harder with one big brick wall. My husband's family history was done by some distant cousins back in the 1960s and this inspired me. I also have his mother's family history provided by cousins back to Germany.

Janice Rice

I am the mother of 4 children step-mother to four...........yes eight is enough..............       In the year of 1991 my family had a family reunion and I decided it would be nice to bring a book about our family to this reunion. So with the help of my oldest sister we decided to compose and research our family. Thus began my family search........and it has been a non stop revolving door ever since.       My own immediate family consists of 16 children. So the road began from Belgium, to Illinois, and on to Indiana and Alabama on my mother's side to North Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma on my father's side. So I figure I am part North and South and I am drawn to both lands.       To my family's honor Richard Lackey was my cousin, he was a avid genealogist, and wrote many books, Cite Your Sources: A Manual for Documenting Family Histories and Genealogical Records (Paperback) by Richard S. Lackey

Leslie Riney

I was born in Cairo, IL. and raised in Pulaski County, IL. I am married with one grown son. We live in the country with our 2 dogs and 1 cat. I work full-time for a local VFW which other than Genealogy Trails is another one of my passions.       I became interested in genealogy several years after my grandfather passed away, for our family realized then that we knew very little about his roots other than a couple of his sisters. I began searching online and found what I thought to be his family in Murray County, GA. Two years ago I confirmed that and have met several online cousins. Together we have put together that whole clan.       During these searches, I also ran across Genealogy Trails and seen that Pulaski Co., IL. was up for adoption. I knew how to make web sites, so I thought I'd give it a go...it wasn't long before I also asked if I could take over Murray Co., GA.       The rest is basically where I am now. I now also host Jackson Co., IL. as that is where my father's ancestors are from and I host Hardin Co., IL. since I have a friend who has an abundance of information to contribute whose ancestors settled there.

Cathy Schultz

Compared to most hosts on this site, I am definitely still a "Newby." I've been doing research since the Spring of 2007. Since then, I've not only learned so much about my family, I've come to love GENEALOGY in general.       I host the Grayson County Kentucky site. My husband & I are raising 2 boys who keep us extremely busy (mostly me since my husband is a full time firefighter and gone for 24 hours at a time). I also work full time. When I have nothing else to do, I enjoy crocheting, sewing, making videos and reading.       I am from Grayson County. I love this area. My husband & I moved back here after the boys were born because this is where we want to raise them.

Peggy Thompson

It all started back in 1994 when my Mother expressed a desire to know more about her parents and didn't know how to go about it. My Grandmother came over from Chesterfield, England in April 1921, so finding information at first about her family was a little tricky, but thanks to JoAnn (a Saint for sure) I was able to learn a great deal about the Twiby family. JoAnn (who lives in England), wouldn't take money for all the look-ups she was doing for me, so I in turn decided to "pay it forward" by helping out others by volunteering to do "free" look-ups. I love transcribing as well, so I started looking for a home to place all the information I was collecting and then found it here at Genealogy Trails!      Started out co-hosting Butler County, Kansas with Lori DeWinkler and then grew to take on Sedgwick County. Before long I branched out and took on hosting Kansas which keeps me busy when I'm not spending time with a wonderful husband, being a grandmother of five, and a love of quilting on top of holding down a full time job as an Administrative Assistant.

Kim Torp

What started as a hobby to fill my days while being a stay-at-home mom has progressed into a full time job. It's been a fantastic journey, starting with a desire to know more about my family, which led into being able to work with this wonderful group of people who make up Genealogy Trails.      In my previous life (pre-genealogy!), I worked my way up the corporate ladder to eventually work as a purchasing agent and then a technical writer for a very large bank in sunny Florida. Now living in un-sunny Kane County, Illinois with hubby, our teenager getting ready to head out on her own in a year or two and our Chinese Crested dog (you know the ones that always win the "ugliest dog" competitions - uh huh, one of those! They're so ugly, they're cute!)  Her canine mom, Sally the beagle, passed away in February 2008 from liver cancer.      Hubby has long since declined to embark on research trips with me since the last few ended up with him gaining nothing more than points on his license from a few speeding tickets.  My research opportunities are now confined to whatever I can find online or in our annual jaunts down to Peoria for G.T. reunions.      I got involved in online genealogy after making my first webpage just to see if I could do it. Through that Hicks Family website, I was recruited as a host for Jasper and Coles counties in Illinois and later in a moment of insanity, volunteered to temporarily take on Kane and Cook counties. However many years later, I'm still "temporarily" hosting those sites!   Our Illinois group expanded to cover the whole country, and Genealogy Trails was born... which leaves me no time whatsoever to research my own family lines anymore.  So I had to volunteer to take on the state of West Virginia in hopes of coming across my own families' data while transcribing for the other sites!      My ggg-grandfather came to Coles County in 1842 by way of Georgia, West Virginia and Kentucky. He and his family left Coles County in 1851 for Jasper County, where he remained until his death in 1866. His descendants stayed in Jasper county until the 1920's, after which they started to spread out within the state. My grandparents eventually settled in northwest Indiana, and their descendants have, for the most part, remained in that area.

 

Christine Walters

I'm retired from the "real" world and now live in the world of genealogy. I was born in the great state of Missouri, grew up in Illinois and now live in Tennessee. I'm the mother of 3 great kids, and 4 even greater grandchildren. I joined the "Trails" in June 2002 and its been a wonderful experience. After researching for over 20 years on my own family, I soon realized that genealogy data in the counties I was looking in - just wasn't there. It soon become my goal to provide this information for others, in the areas I'm able to work in, so that they don't experience the same problems I encountered.       I'm the current host of six IL Counties - Whiteside, Carroll, Lee, Jo Daviess, Pike and Stephenson. I'm now accepted six more counties, in the area where I live in TN - Henderson, Decatur, Bedford, Benton, Carroll & Madison. I have also taken on the State of Michigan.       My husband was born in Michigan and has put up with my never ending genealogy search, has watched our money go out "the genealogy door" and has spent many hours alone while I'm out running around or glued to the computer. Working on his "home state" is just my way of saying "thanks" to him.

Dena Whitesell

I was born in Germany, coming to the US of A when I was nine years old. My father was born and raised in Newberry, Newberry County, South Carolina meeting my mother in Germany when he was stationed over there during WWII (she was from Vienna, Austria).       I have always been interested in genealogy but did very little about it till year 2001. I have tried researching my mother's side of the family with very little luck so started with my father's side of the family.       This brings me to my interest in hosting Newberry County, South Carolina. Very little info is available online about our Southern states, that's why I'm so happy the Genealogy Trails has expanded to include ALL states.       My father's family extends into Florida, Georgia and Tennessee. My surnames include: Thomasson/Thomason, Dickert, Wilson, Suber (all from the South) and then Simsa from Austria.       I have no family ties in Woodford County, Illinois (except my hubby, 3 children and 8 grandchildren) but this is home - I hope to be able to help others connect with their long distant family through this site.

Barbara Ann Guyton Ziegenmeyer

I am married to a wonderful man, and I have five sons, two step children, a boy and a girl and a combination of 5 grandchildren.      I became interested in Genealogy over 25 years ago and when I got my first computer, I was off and running.      I have been with Genealogy Trails for five years, I started when we were Illinois Trails. I have met so many wonderful people in the genealogy world and I have found several distant cousins because of Genealogy Trails.      I live in Arizona but my heart and my ancestors are from the Midwest. I love Illinois and Indiana and Kentucky, but would not want to live there.      My Grandma Guyton told me the reason "The Guytons" did not want anything to do with our family after my Grandfather died in 1955 was because she was of Indian descent. Well my grandmother was no more Indian then the man in the moon. After researching the family I found out that the only reason my grandmother was born in Guthrie Oklahoma was the family was following the land. My grandmother's uncle did in fact marry an Indian and live on the reservation but we are not of Indian descent. I guess at a young age if your uncle lived with the Indians on the reservation, you would grow up thinking you were of Indian descent. I found out the reason my grandfather was a black sheep was because he was a drinker, and a fighter. Most of my other ancestors on my mother's side were ministers.      I love genealogy and it is my escape from my problems, worries and daily problems that develop in life. I can escape into the past where things were simple and the people lived simpler lives. I realize I must have been born 100 years to late because I would have loved to have lived in the 1800s.