This website was created as a place for me to share the diverse material I have uncovered during decades of research into my genealogy and family history. I have organized our family stories in multiple ways.

To find stories about specific family lines or people, use the FAMILIES pull-down menu at the top of the page or scroll down in the sidebar on the right to see a list of all articles organized by family name. Also in the sidebar, you can use the “cloud” of tags to find groups of stories that share general topics on the site. Finally, featured on the home page are the following six collections of stories all share a common theme:

SLICE OF LIFE, What was life like back then?
Here you will find stories about life in small town California; how folks made a living, how they spent their leisure time, how they cared for their communities, and how sometimes life handed them a raw deal.

FAMILY TREES, How do we all fit together?
Sometimes a chart makes it easier to figure out who was related to whom. Look here to get an overall view of the relationships.

A PLACE IN HISTORY, Vus you dere, Charlie?
History is being made all the time. In this section you will find the stories of people who, although they might not have gotten their name in the paper, participated in and were impacted by historic events.

IMMIGRATION & MIGRATION, How did we get here, anyway?
Other than Native Americans and those whose ancestors were brought here against their will, we all descend from immigrants who took a chance to make a new start. After they arrived on these shores, many of them would risk it all again to set out in new directions. Read about their adventures here.

CELEBRATING STRONG WOMEN, Their untold stories
The ladies in our families are all too often the unsung heroes of history. Here I have endeavored to raise a voice of appreciation and to tell about their considerable contributions.

BONUS MATERIAL, Stuff you can’t find elsewhere
In this catch-all section you will find an eclectic collection of stories about my adventures discovering my people, family-specific anecdotes, and other colorful features.

Hopefully, these options will enable you to find what you want to find, or perhaps to find something you didn’t realize you wanted to find. If you enjoy reading these family stories, please consider “following” the site. We will send you an email every time we publish a new story so you will never miss anything. Don’t worry, we don’t write very quickly, so you won’t be flooded with extra mail!

All the material contained on this site is covered under copyright. However, I encourage fellow family research travelers who would like to borrow something for personal use to please contact me and request permission to do so. I also hope that those who find a family connection and are willing to share interesting information will contact me to discuss how their stories might be included here.

Jean Taeuffer