About Us
Genealogy Trails History Group
A group of dedicated volunteers working together
to provide free on-line materials
for the historian, genealogist, and general researcher.
Starting out by providing data for the state of Illinois in March
2000,
our volunteers expanded to cover the whole United States in March 2006.
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Founding Genealogy Trails members:
Jeana Gallagher, Sara Hemp, Wayne Hinton,
Candi Horton, Nancy Piper, Anne Kunzen, Kim Torp
Judy Anderson, Mindy Doellman, Judy Rosella Edwards, Cindy Ford,
Deanna Heneghan, Sandi Evilsizer Koscak, Barbara Moksnes,
Brenda Neely, Anna Newell, Kevin Ortman, Debbie Quinn,
Laurie Selpien, Kristin Vaughn, Christine Walters, Roger Whitaker,
Terry Winchester, Barbara Ziegenmeyer
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Our Family of State Hosts
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In forming the Genealogy Trails Project, it was
decided that
all affiliated County Hosts have complete control over their respective
pages. In this respect, all have agreed to abide by a few principles
based on Common Sense and Good Manners. We welcome anyone wishing to
adopt one of the counties not yet hosted, and only expect them to follow
these simple guidelines also.
1. Provide free on-line history & genealogy material.
2. Non-commercial use of these pages.
3. Update pages and material as often as possible.
4. No obscene or pornographic content of any kind.
5. A link back to the main Genealogytrails.com page is required.
Join us! I n M e m o r y
o f I n M e m o r y
o f I n M e m o r y
o f
To help us in our efforts to put free data online by joining our group, contact:
Don't know how to make a webpage?
Don't have time to commit to full-time hosting, but still want to help?
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Join our Transcription
Team!
Gary Boomgaarden
Minnesota Trails Host for Nobles and Rock Counties
February 2009 - January 2013
Marilyn Sue Eskew
Illinois Trails Host for Clay County
January 2009 - January 2011
Vicki G. Martin
Illinois Trails Host for Clay County
January 2004 - March 2004
Our Family of County Hosts ![]()
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County |
Host |
Profile |
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Alabama |
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| 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 | |
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Alaska |
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| Matanuska-Susitna Co. | Sandra Davis | |
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Arizona |
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| Mohave Co. | Barbara Ziegenmeyer | |
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Arkansas |
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| Arkansas Co. | Linda Rodriguez | |
| Greene Co. | Tina Easley | |
| Lawrence Co. | Tina Easley | |
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California |
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| Eldorado Co. | Brenda Wiesner | |
| Los Angeles Co. | Brenda Wiesner | |
| Placer Co. | Brenda Wiesner | |
| Sacramento Co. | Brenda Wiesner | |
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Delaware |
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Florida |
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| Miami-Dade Co. | Kim Torp | |
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Georgia |
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| 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 | |
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Idaho |
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| Bonner Co. | Sandra Davis | |
| Kootenai Co. | Sandra Davis | |
| Shoshone Co. | Sandra Davis | |
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Illinois |
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| Adams Co. | Debbie Gibson |
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| Alexander Co. | Anna Newell |
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| Bureau Co. | Nancy Piper | |
| Carroll Co. | Christine Walters |
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| Cass Co. | Roger Whitaker | |
| Clark Co. | Barb Ziegenmeyer | |
| Coles Co. | Kim Torp |
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| Cumberland Co. | Barbara Ziegenmeyer |
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| Jackson Co. | Leslie Riney |
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| Jasper Co. | Kim Torp |
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| Jo Daviess Co. | Christine Walters |
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| Johnson Co. | Nan Starjak | |
| Kane Co. | Kim Torp |
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| 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 |
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| Pope Co. | Nan Starjak | |
| Pulaski Co. | Leslie Riney |
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| Putnam Co. | Nancy Piper | |
| Stark Co. | Nancy Piper | |
| Stephenson Co. | Christine Walters |
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| Tazewell Co. | Desiree Rodcay | |
| Union Co. | Anna Newell |
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| Wabash Co. | Dawn Daddario | |
| Washington Co. | Wayne Hinton | |
| Whiteside Co. | Christine Walters |
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| Winnebago Co. | Mark Seeberg | |
| Woodford Co. | Dena Whitesell |
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Indiana |
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| Clark Co. | Erica Beatty | |
| Floyd Co. | Barbara Ziegenmeyer |
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| Harrison Co. | Barbara Ziegenmeyer |
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| Jefferson Co. | Erica Beatty | |
| Knox Co. | Janice Rice | |
| Lake Co. | Kim Torp |
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| 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 | |
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Iowa |
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| Henry Co. | Amber Cory-Long | |
| Jackson Co. | Mary Kay Krogman | |
| Marshall Co. | Dawn Minard | |
| Plymouth | Mary Kay Krogman | |
| Pottawatomie Co. | Cathy & Dennis Danielson | |
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Kansas |
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| Butler Co. | Co-host: Lori DeWinkler | |
| Butler Co. | Co-host: Peggy Thompson |
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| 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 |
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Kentucky |
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| Bourbon Co. | Stephen Miller | |
| Butler Co. | Cathy Schultz |
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| Carter Co. | Stephanie Lyons | |
| Edmonson Co. | Cathy Schultz |
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| Grayson Co. | Cathy Schultz |
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| Hardin Co. | Desiree Rodcay (Temp) | |
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Louisiana |
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| LaSalle Parish | Rachael Hudnall | |
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Maine |
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Maryland |
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| Calvert Co. | Rita Bergendahl | |
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Massachusetts |
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| Franklin Co. | Nancy Washell | |
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Michigan |
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| 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 | |
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Minnesota |
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Mississippi |
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| Jackson Co. | Therman Kellar | |
| Pearl Co. | Denise Hansen | |
| Perry Co. | Gene Phillips |
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Missouri |
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| Adair Co. | Desiree Rodcay | |
| Benton Co. | Janice Rice | |
| Cape Girardeau Co. | Anna Newell (temp) |
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| Crawford Co. | Dave McCormick | |
| Harrison Co. | Melody Beery | |
| Madison Co. | Frances Cooley | |
| Oregon Co. | Gene Phillips |
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| Ray Co. | Lisa Smalley | |
| Scott Co. | Anna Newell (temp) |
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| St. Francis | Debbie Gibson |
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| Sullivan Co. | Dawn Minard | |
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Montana |
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Nebraska |
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| Custer Co. | Melody Beery | |
| Dundy Co. | Sherri Gregory |
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| Gage Co. | Frances Cooley | |
| Greeley Co. | Cathy & Dennis Danielson | |
| Jefferson Co. | Kristin Vaughn | |
| Loup Co. | Melody Beery | |
| Sarpy Co. | Denise Hansen | |
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Nevada |
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| Humboldt Co. | Don Tharp | |
| Pershing Co. | Don Tharp | |
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New Hampshire |
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| Hillsborough Co. | Helen Coughlin | |
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New Mexico |
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| Eddy Co. | Janice Rice | |
| Lea Co. | Erny Long | |
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New York |
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| Dutchess Co | Terri Griffiths | |
| Putnam Co | Terri Griffiths | |
| Steuben Co. | Jennifer Payne | |
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North Carolina |
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| Extinct Counties Albemarle, Barth, Bute, Dobbs, Glasgow, Tryon |
Linda Rodriguez | |
| Henderson | Tammie Stills | |
| Transylvania | Tammie Stills | |
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North Dakota |
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| Steele Co. | Fred Coleman | |
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Ohio |
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| Hocking Co. | Kathy Stanley | |
| Ross Co. | Carla Mascara | |
| Washington Co. | Therman Kellar | |
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Oklahoma |
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| Canadian Co. | Dale Donlon | |
| Cleveland Co. | Dale Donlon | |
| Grady Co. | Dale Donlon | |
| Jefferson Co. | Erny Long | |
| McClain Co. | Dale Donlon | |
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Oregon |
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| Lane Co. | Jim Dezotell | |
| Linn Co. | Jim Dezotell | |
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Pennsylvania |
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| Adams Co. | Vicki Hartman |
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| Bedford Co. | Rhonda Kevorkian | |
| Berks Co. | Vicki Hartman |
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| 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 | |
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South Carolina |
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| Greenville Co. | Andrew Staton | |
| Laurens Co. | Andrew Staton | |
| Newberry Co. | Dena Whitesell | |
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South Dakota |
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| Beadle Co. | Karen Seeman | |
| Hand Co. | Karen Seeman | |
| Mellette Co. | Rita Bergendahl | |
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Tennessee |
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| 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 | |
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Texas |
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| 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 | |
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Utah |
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Virginia |
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| Rockbridge Co. | Linda Rodriguez | |
| Halifax Co. | Tammie Rudder | |
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Washington |
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| King Co. | Amber Cory-Long | |
| Whatcom Co. | Marla Snow | |
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Washington D.C. |
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| District of Columbia | Brenda Wiesner | |
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West Virginia |
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| Calhoun Co. | Therman Keller | |
| Fayette Co. | Norman Adkins | |
| Greenbrier Co. | Kim Torp | |
| Kanawha Co. | Kim Torp | |
| Raleigh Co. | Norman Adkins | |
| Wyoming Co. | Candace Reed | |
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Wisconsin |
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| 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 | |
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Wyoming |
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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.
Dawn Conway
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!
Sherri Gregory
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.
Debbie Lee (McCune) Gibson
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.
Vicki Hartman
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.
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
Janice Rice
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.
Leslie Riney
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.
Cathy Schultz
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.
Peggy Thompson
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.
Kim Torp
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.
Christine Walters
I became interested in genealogy because of a school project
in the 7th grade. Luckily my paternal grandmother had been researching the family tree and my mom was a huge history
buff! My grandmother was excited to have someone to pass the information on to since my dad was her only child.
I would trapse cemeteries for hours on end each summer with my oldest sister in tow when she would come home on
vacations. It was hot and buggy but we had so much fun. My father's family came to New England in the 1620's (Caswell,
settled in Taunton MA). My mom's family originated in Canada and immigrated through New Hampshire and Maine then
down into MA and Connecticut. I grew up in CT and feel very deeply rooted to New England. No matter where I go,
New England is home. I have had piles upon piles of notes and pictures and records that I have wanted to put online
but one or 2 websites just couldn't contain it all. I have been part of other genealogy projects online that
either fizzled or became too political, that's when I discovered Genealogy Trails. It is the perfect outlet for
all records I have. I have built plenty of websites over the years so this combines my love of making simple websites
and genealogy, what could be better! This site is growing daily and each host has the ability and hands on to be
able to put their data online to share with the world as it should be!
Nancy (Caswell) Washell
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.
Dena Whitesell
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.
Barbara Ann Guyton Ziegenmeyer
I n M e m o r y
o f
Gary Boomgaarden
Minnesota Trails Host for Nobles and Rock Counties
February 2009 - January 2013
Marilyn Sue Eskew
Illinois Trails Host for Clay County
January 2009 - January 2011
Vicki G. Martin
Illinois Trails Host for Clay County
January 2004 - March 2004
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Original Page Design by Robyn Greenlund, for GenealogyTrails.com.
Last updated 2013