To all those that enter here in the search of knowledge about family history and their roots. Ours is a great duty to find out more about ourselves by Learning more about our ancestry, Preserving that which we know, and Passing on our knowledge to the next generation. For we are not alone, and cannot function as such. We follow in the footsteps of those who have come before and shape the paths of those who follow us into the future. They guide us through their choices and watch over us as we make our own. Thus to learn about our ancestors is to learn about ourselves. Through understanding of the past and those who have come before, events become meaningfull and not just a group of dates. We learn that every event effects not only our ancestors, but both the current and future generations. In short it connects the past with the future and helps us understand our place in the present world and how we came to be there.

I know some people might be like I was when I was little, "who cares about the who my great grandparents are, what does that have to do with me?" heck half the time I didn't even realize that I had great grandparents because most of the them I had never seen, but believe me it has everything to do with your life. I only realized this after my paternal grandmother died in 1991 and I realized that all the links to that side of the family and their cultural history were almost severed due to lack of communication between the cousins in that family. It was a hard blow and came at a time when I was still in high school. She was my favorite grandmother living on a hilltop in West Virginia and always making me feel welcome when I came down with my family in the summer to visit. Due to the fact that the only children of hers that lived nearby was my two uncles and everyone else had moved to different states, my dad to Ohio and his sister to Florida, my grandmother's last few years were spent in a nursing home. She couldn't take care of herself because she was a diabetic and I believe had a bit of altzimers or dementia. One of the main reasons she was put in a nursing home was because she kept forgetting to take her medicine...heck half the time I think she knew about it, but in her mind if it didn't show her that it was working it wasn't and she wasn't gonna waist time takin somethin that didn't work. But that was grandma and I loved her. She was a special woman though. Raising my dad and his 2 brothers and sister after her husband died in a terrible accident in the coal mines. I still miss her dearly and its been over 10 years now. Its a loss I will probably feel in some shape or fashion until the day that I die but it doesn't bother me as much as it once did because I know she is watching over me. She is my Guardian Angel. Whenever I am down or feeling lost, I think of her and everything seems to be a little bit better. I feel her touch with each breath of wind that kisses my cheek.

The Judds had a song out a couple of years ago that I feel particularly describes how I feel about my ancestors and especially my grandma. It was called
Guardian Angels.
Guardian Angels
Words and Music by: Naomi Judd, John Jarvis and Don Schlitz

A hundred year old photograph
Stares out from a frame
And if you look real close you'll see
Our eyes are just the same
I never met them face to face
But I still know them well
From the stories
My dear grandma would tell

Elijah was a farmer
He knew how to make things grow
Fannie vowed she'd follow him
Wherever he would go
As things turned out they never left
Their small Kentucky farm
But he kept her fed
She kept him warm

They're my guardian angels
And I know they can see
Ev'ry step I take
They are watching over me
I might not know where I'm goin'
But I'm sure where I come from
They're my guardian angels
And I'm their special one

Sometimes when I'm tired
I feel Elijah take my arm
He says, "Keep a-goin', hard work
Never did a body harm."
And when I'm really troubled
And I don't know what to do
Fannie whispers, "Just do your best, We're awful proud of you!"

They're my guardian angels
And I know they can see
Ev'ry step I take
They are watching over me
I might not know where I'm goin'
But I'm sure where I come from
They're my guardian angels
And I'm their special one

A hundred year old photograph
Stares out from a frame
And if you look real close you'll see
Our eyes are just the same
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