Our Ancestors Had Dreams...

We can't forget that our ancestors had dreams for their own lives which also included dreams for their families. They wanted good things for themselves and those they cared about. Sometimes they were successful, sometimes they weren't. Sometimes they had to run, sometimes they chose to stay. Sometimes they were good people, sometimes they weren't. Life was hard. Living was hard. Still is. ~Marsha 2023

There is MUCH, MUCH more to this site than just this home page! The family tree that is included in this website has over 65,000 people. To actually 'see' people in the tree, you have to SEARCH for a name using the SEARCH menu option. Give it a try!

Welcome

The Chosen

We are the chosen. In each family there is one who seems called to find the ancestors. To put flesh on their bones and make them live again. To tell the family story and to feel that somehow they know and approve. Doing genealogy is not a cold gathering of facts but, instead, breathing life into all who have gone before.

We are the story tellers of the tribe. All tribes have one. We have been called, as it were, by our genes. Those who have gone before cry out to us: Tell our story. So, we do.

In finding them, we somehow find ourselves. How many graves have I stood before now and cried? I have lost count. How many times have I told the ancestors, 'You have a wonderful family, you would be proud of us.'. How many times have I walked up to a grave and felt somehow there was love there for me? I cannot say. It goes beyond just documenting facts. It goes to who I am, and why I do the things I do.

Discovering Families

A Few of Our Documented Branches

Ned Thomas Family

Ned Thomas was my (paternal) 3rd great grandfather. Born in Georgia in 1812.

Based on my research, he is also the genesis of one line on my maternal side as well. That is likely one factor in the high number of descendants. The the 2nd reason is that we share the same surname and we tend to research our own names more.

He currently has 1165 descendants in our family tree.

Heath Family

Research on our HEATH line is ongoing.

Much of my insight on this line is owed to fellow researcher and cousin Dante Eubanks.

The line started as HEATH but at some point changed to LYNN.

My tree shows two lines of Heaths at one point. Doll Heath is showing as the oldest Heath in this lineage, born around 1680. She died in Surry, Virginia sometime between 1760–1769 and she is my (paternal) 9th great-grandmother.

She currently has 1049 descendants in our family tree.

Asa Heath Lynn Family

Asa Heath was my (paternal) 4th great-grandfather.

He was born in Warren County, GA around 1810.

He currently has 368 descendants in our family tree. I am sure there are many, many more...I simply have not discovered them yet!

---

Bob Benjamin McGee Family

Bob Benjamin McGee was my (paternal) 3rd great-grandfather.

He was born around 1829 in Alabama.

He currently has 429 descendants in our family tree.

Wade Wesley Family

Wade Wesley was my (paternal) 3rd great-grandfather.

Born around 1834 in Alabama. At some point he came to Texas. He lived in Upshur County, Texas until his death in 1920. He currently has 385 descendants in our family tree.

Peter Ford Sr. Family

Peter Ford was my (paternal) 3rd great-grandfather.

He was born around 1820 in Mississippi and later lived in Upshur County, Texas until his death sometime after 1870. He currently has 174 descendants in our family tree.

---

Anderson Nealy Family

Anderson Nealy was my (maternal) 2nd great-grandfather.

He was born in Georgia, around 1836.

He later lived in Midway, Madison County, Texas until his death sometime after 1880. He currently has 416 descendants in our family tree.

George Harrison Family

George Harrison was my (maternal) 2nd great-grandfather.

He was born in Mississippi, around 1830.

He later lived in Midway, Madison County, Texas until his death. He currently has 222 descendants in our family tree.

Robert (Bob) Robinson Family

Bob Robinson was my (maternal) 3rd great-grandfather.

He was born in South Carolina, around 1820.

He later lived in Midway, Madison County, Texas until his death, sometime after 1899. He currently has 548 descendants in our family tree.

---

William Ravenell Family

William Ravenell Sr. was my (maternal) 2nd great-grandfather.

Per fellow genealogist and cousin, Valerie Porter, Will Ravenell was purchased by the Hayes family when he was 12 years of age in VA. He was born in South Carolina, around 1826.

He later lived in Midway, Madison County, Texas until his death, sometime after 1899. He currently has 228 descendants in our family tree.

Jeff Bailey Sr. Family

Jeff Bailey Sr. was my (maternal) 3rd great-grandfather.

He was born around 1796 in Georgia.

He later lived in Midway, Madison County, Texas until his death, sometime after 1880. He currently has 803 descendants in our family tree.

Hugh Pigg Lineage

According to research I've found and followed, Hugh Pigg was my 11th great-grandfather.

He was born around 1496 in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. My research of course is based on research others have done. I found several DNA matches and followed their trees back as far as I could and then found others researching the same line. Once one get back before 1800, it is highly likely the people found will be of Caucasian or European descent.

Hugh Pigg has 1833 descendants in our family tree. There are at least 50 of us in this tree that can be traced back to the Pigg line. So I guess we can say, we are a Pigg! LOL

The Bones of My Bones

The bones here are bones of my bone and flesh of my flesh. It goes to doing something about it. It goes to pride in what our ancestors were able to accomplish. How they contributed to what we are today. It goes to respecting their hardships and losses, their never giving in or giving up, their resoluteness to go on and build a life for their family. It goes to deep pride that the fathers fought and some died to make and keep us a nation. It goes to a deep and immense understanding that they were doing it for us.

It is of equal pride and love that our mothers struggled to give us birth, without them we could not exist, and so we love each one, as far back as we can reach. That we might be born who we are. That we might remember them. So we do.

With love and caring and scribing each fact of their existence, because we are they and they are the sum of who we are. So, as a scribe called, I tell the story of my family. It is up to that one called in the next generation to answer the call and take my place in the long line of family storytellers.

That is why I do my family genealogy, and that is what calls those young and old to step up and restore the memory or greet those who we had never known before. It goes to a deep and immense understanding that they were doing it for us.