Our families are the nucleus of the larger world and where we find the food, shelter, protection, provision and social interaction in our early years. Much later in life when we begin to yearn for the protection and comfort of family, many of the special people of our youth are gone. To have known those people is a blessing since we share their biological genes and often their dreams. They are a part of who we are today, how we live and how we believe.

Information about the ancestors who have created our very beings will hopefully make us more secure in the understanding of their humanity. They were not just names in old Bibles or on tombstones. These people lived in a changing country and faced ordeals we can only read about. At the same time, they faced the age-old decisions about love, marriage, caring for a family, religion, education, sickness and death, the same as we face.

I have been researching my ancestors for over 25 years, and I am sharing some of what I have learned and hope it will help you. Use this material freely in your search. If you copy any of it in its entirety, please reference the source.

Betty Dotson Renick