Tree Tuesday: The Colonel

What is intriguing about researching a family tree is all the life stories you stumble upon. Some are happy stories...and others make you cry...as I've gone through my family branches, I realize how short life used to be. Most of the men on my tree died well before they were 50! The death of children appeared to be a normal part of life. 

Some parts of the tree resemble an ancient soap opera. Others appear to be parts of a fairy tale. Whether it is drama or sweetness, every branch has their own story to tell. 

A couple weeks ago, I was revisiting a particular branch of the tree- my  2nd great grandfather, Thomas Jefferson Buzzard. I had never given his name much thought....but you see this is why all clues count...this time when I looked over his siblings, I noted his brother's name was "George Washington Buzzard"-- hmmm...what a patriotic family, I thought...then I decided to climb higher up the tree. With the help of ancestry.com, I manage to discover more links in my tree.

I went up via my 3rd great grandmother's line...Elizabeth Gilpin...and oh my- as I went up higher...things became clearer. Col. George Gilpin- my 6th great grandfather, was the aide to George Washington during the American Revolution. After the war, Col. George Gilpin was made surveyor of the Potomac and did many public improvements. It is said, he was one of the pall bearers at George Washington's funeral. He married two sisters- one after each other- they were said to have been Martha Washington's cousins- however, although I've read this in various research documents- I cannot find the proof of it yet. 


I later discovered that George was related to the Washingtons of Westmoreland, England- and this is why there was a close connection between he and George Washington. My 15th great grandmother was Elizabeth Washington- who is somehow related to George Washington. I've yet to figure out the exact relation-- something like a gr-gr aunt.

For someone, like me, who was not born in the US and until recently had very little connection with this country- I have found it amazing to see different connections which tie me to this place. Branches which come from Ellis Island (my other gr-grandfather was an Ellis)- branches spreading all the way from the Mayflower- the Winthrop ships- the civil war and now the Revolution. 

The tree doesn't just stand in this country- it spreads its branches across Europe. Each branch tells a story of those who went before me with courage and strength. I will continue to climb through the mass of branches, some broken, and see what new life stories I can find.

Tree Tuesday- Obscure branches

I guess researching your family tree is not just for your grandmother or grandfather to do. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal modern technology and dna testing has opened up wide new fields of research. The blogger from Exploring the branches of my tree is definitely not a grandma....and yet she is researching her family tree. Although she is just beginning in the exploration of her family tree, she already has some great ideas for how to go about doing it.

I've found some obscure things as I have climbed my family tree. One thing I discovered recently was an old photograph in my grandmother's suitcase. I've seen the photograph before, but wasn't sure what it was doing in the suitcase. On the reverse side of the picture is inscribed, "From Aram G. Hejinian" ... Who in the world was this man, Aram...and how did his picture happen to appear in my grandmother's suitcase?

I began to research about him, wondering if possibly he had been on my family tree. There was a surprising amount of information about him. I even tried to contact someone on ancestry.com to inform them that I had his photograph- because I could see he was on their family tree. They did not respond at first, so I continued to research...wondering why his picture was in my grandmother's suitcase. It was after I read several 'write ups' about him online, that I made the connection. Aram G. Hejinian left Armenia to come to the States- he later studied to be a dr....however, prior to his medical education, he graduated from Chicago Theological Seminary. Why is this significant? My great-grandfather, Adolph Teuber, graduated from Chicago Theological Seminary the same year as Aram G. Hejinian. Aram's picture was taken at the studio in which my gr-grand uncle (is that what he would be called?) was the photographer. Mystery solved!


Exploring your family tree or roots forces the detective in you to surface. Clues are found on the back of photographs, hints are discovered online and puzzle pieces come together to form a better idea of where you came from. Sometimes you will be very surprised to discover who lurks in the branches of your family tree! I certainly was this week...when I discovered a Colonel from the Revolutionary War...but you'll have to wait until next Tuesday to find out how I unearthed this particular root of my tree!

Tree Tuesday: Lost branches

One of my pleasures....when all work is done...when there are no commitments...is exploring my family tree. I've been amazed at some of the things I've discovered in the process of this exploration. There are different tools you can use to study your family tree...I choose to use ancestry.com.

I started out using their 'free' membership...I started a simple family tree. As the years went by, I upgraded to a paid membership because I wanted to access to more documents. I've also found other sites which provide great resources...one of said sites is...familysearch.org
This offers ample free resources which can help one build a substantial family tree.

One of the blessings of researching your family tree is that you find relatives you didn't know you had. Just recently, while I was in Denver, I was contacted by someone who was researching my gr-grandfather's family....I had been told my gr-grandfather had brothers....but I never knew what became of them. They were from Chicago....only my gr-grandfather came to Washington State....now suddenly I was introduced to a 'lost branch' of my family tree.

Amazingly, we both realized that we were in Colorado at the same time. We made plans to meet up...can you see the family resemblance? Our gr-grandfathers were brothers. 

The Chezsven Blog has a great story about cousins meeting up. You need to go and read about it at the blog update In which Sven meets his first cousin.  An absolutely amazing story about finding family connections. 


If you haven't ever dug around in your family roots...maybe you should consider starting today!

Feature Friday- The Ultimate Autobiography

I love biographies, autobiographies and memoirs. Some Fridays, I use this spot to feature one. This Friday I was thinking about the ultimate autobiography...I mean if you were going to do a story about your life...not just your present life...but where you came from. If you studied your family history and your roots trying to figure out how you became who you are. Isn't that the ultimate autobiography? 

There are a couple shows on t.v. which I would love to feature today...because they are involved in delving into people's family history. One show, which is on NBC, is called "Who Do You Think You Are?" This has become a show I have to tape, because I find it so fascinating to see how the people discover their family background. More often than not, they are surprised by some hidden detail or fact.


Another show, put on my PBS, is equally interesting. It is called "Finding Your Roots".  It is also an exploration of various people's family backgrounds. Often when the paper trail stops, they will resort to DNA testing. It is intriguing to find out the discoveries which are made with the latest DNA tests.

The first show, "Who Do You Think You Are?" is sponsored by Ancestry.com and the second show, "Finding Your Roots" is sponsored by 23andme. Of course it is fascinating to watch how other people find out about their family trees, but I think it is even better to find out about your own tree. In my own research of my family roots, I've discovered interesting things about my background...some which I had already heard, others which were surprises. 


In my husband's case, we used DNA to discover a major secret in his family tree. The journey in finding out this secret can be seen at an old post I did.  The conclusion of finding the secret can be found in this post.


Whether it is looking through paper trails, or finding old pictures, or using DNA...the search into our family is tree is fascinating. It will take us to branches we may not have known were there. It may reveal worms in our tree. It may produce fruit. But whatever the case may be, it will be the most fulfilling adventure we have ever embarked on.  I would highly recommend watching either show....or better still...make your own 'show'...create your own family tree!

A Different Type of Tree

A few years ago, I joined ancestry.com attempting to trace my father's line. Unfortunately, as far as my father's family tree- I kept hitting brick walls. My mother's side of the family seemed to flourish in all different directions. It was tempting to go off on all sorts of wild goose chases, but I stopped myself realizing some of these connections were simply too far removed and not even blood related.

On the tree, hung a single solitary leaf named Margaret Tollefsen. She was my Grandfather Hansen's* first wife. My grandfather and his wife went to China as missionaries and Margaret S. Tollefsen Hansen died with Typhus fever in 1921. It was more than a year later that my grandfather married my grandmother, Letta Teuber. Grandpa Hansen and Margaret had no children. (even though they had been married 15 years) I left her on the tree because she was a part of my grandfather's life and although I did not know much about her, I thought it was important to keep her there.

One day I received an email from someone in Hawaii. She told me her name was Debbie and she was very excited to have discovered Margaret Tollefsen on my family tree. Margaret Tollefsen was Debbie's grandfather's sister and the only thing her family knew was she went to China and died. They thought my grandfather had also died. She was thrilled to see he remarried and had children. We shot a few emails back and forth filling each other in on details the other might not have. For Debbie, Margaret was not just a lone leaf on someone's family tree: she was an important limb on her own family tree. I'm so grateful I did not prune my family tree!

Frederick, Margaret & Olaf Tollefsen

*Grandpa Hansen is my maternal grandfather