GENEALOGY

OUR ROOTS

We have been interested in Genealogy for some time. It is truly fascinating visiting areas where our ancestors once walked. We are researching the following surnames. You can directly access those hilited by clicking on the name you wish to check. ANNON, BARTON, BON(N)IFIELD, BOYER, BRAECKE (SEE VREELAND), CASTER, COOK, DAGUE, DENTON, DUNCAN, DUNN, EVANS, GEYSLER, GIFFIN (GIFFEN), GREEN, HANKS, HARTMANS (SEE VREELAND), HARTSOCK, HIMES (HEIMS), HIXSON, LATHAM, MARSHALL, MCPEEK, MEARS, MEEK, MILLER, MONROE, PECK, PETERMAN, PIETERS (SEE VREELAND), ROBINSON, SHARP (SHARPE), SHMITT (SCHMITT, SCHMIDT), SHOULTS (SHOULSE) (SCHOULTZ) (SHULLS), SMITH, SWARTZWELDER, TAYLOR, THOMAS, VARNER, VREELAND (FREELAND), WEEKLEY (WEAKLEY) (WEEKLY), WILLIAMSON, WILSON (WITSON), WIMMER, WITTIG

MORE ABOUT OUR FAMILY

BIRTHPLACE OF WALTER R. PETERMAN

Walt (Pete, Ron) was born on his maternal grandparent's (John W. Weekley, Jr. and Alda M. Shoults) farm North of Granvillle, Ohio; in the house pictured above. The two top pictures are of the house and the barn is the third pictures. He later lived on a farm near Alexandria, Ohio and subsequently moved to Croton in central Ohio, where he lived until joining the Navy in 1947. Croton is in Hartford Township in the far Northwestern corner of Licking County and is the home of (the world's biggest little fair) "The Hartford Fair", which is over 120 years old).

Jean is a native of Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, where she was born and raised. She attended Sundale School, a 2 room school at the foot of Brush Mountain near Hollidaysburg. The school housed the first 8 grades. Jean attended through grades 1 and 7 and because of her outstanding academic achievements, was permitted to skip grade 8 and she was allowed to enter Hollidaysburg High School.

SUNDALE SCHOOL;HOLLIDAYSBURG, PA

Jean and Walt met in Washington, DC in 1948. They fell in love and were married at the Naval Security Station Chapel in Washington, DC in 1949. They have four children, all married and living near them. Two of their sons and a daughter-in-law are graduates of Virginia Tech. Let's hear it for those "Hokies". They have eight grandchildren, four Step grandchildren, thirteen living great-grandchildren and two deceased Great-Grandchildren. Walt and Jean are active in their church and the Woodbridge, VA community where they have resided for the past 43 plus years.

Walt is a licensed Amateur Radio Operator, receiving his Novice license in 1955 and a short time later his General class license. His original callsign was W8FFF. When he and Jean established a permanent residency in Virginia, he modified his license and his call is now W4VXE. He is presently off the air, but is trying to get an antenna up so he can get back on the air. Of course, Walt and Jean have many interests as you can see from these pages. Walt retired from the navy in 1966.

Searching one's roots can be a lot of fun and very rewarding but challenging and tedious, and sometimes frustrating. We have had the benefit of the efforts of others in our search. The hunt never ends and each new discovery inspires a desire to learn more. Never hesitate to search information on families which are not kin (or do not appear to be), particularly those who lived in the same area as those you are searching as often a clue is found through those resources. Presently, our data consists of many notes and pictures, coupled with computerized storage of the information with approximately 50,000 entries. A GEDCOM or plain text file can be obtained by E-mailing us for information on any of our families. We would be most appreciative for any information which you may have which might bring more light to bear on the origin of these families. Likewise, if you find errors, we want to hear from you in that regard as well.

I encourage serious researchers to subscribe (free of charge) to one or more Rootsweb lists. You can check the Rootsweb site to see if a surname list is registered (if not, you might consider starting one, I am the list administrator for six - Dague, Deeg, McPeek, Shoults, Swartzwelder and Weekley). Some lists are more active than others but they provide a valuable forum for searching for your kin. For mosts lists, there are two lists. One (List) allows you to receive each message as it is posted. This is alright if you want the information as it is posted and if the list is not too active. Many lists; however, have several messages a day and for those (like me) who receive a lot of messages, the Digest List is preferred. On this list, you receive a summary of all of the messages that will appear on the transmission and then each message indivdually numbered so instead of several messages, you receive one. To subscribe in List mode, send a message to:

(Surname)-L-request@Rootsweb.com

with the single word (subscribe) no punctuation, in the text. Nothing else. It is a good idea to include it in the subject line as well. If you wish to subscribe to the Digest, use the same format as above, but substitute a D for the L. After you are subscribed, you can then post messages to the list per the instructions you will receive from the list administrator.

FAMILY TREES

I climbed my family tree and found it was not worth the climb.
And so, I scampered down, convinced it was a waste of time.
Some branches of my tree, I found, were rotten to the core.
And, all the tree was full of sap and hung with nuts galore!
I used to brag of my kinfolk, before I made the climb,
But truth compels me not to tell of those not worth a dime.
And I beg friends who boast aloud of their ancestors great,
To climb their family tree and learn of those who weren't so straight.
I've learned what family trees are like, I've seen them growing 'round.
They're like a 'tater' vine, because the best are underground!

Author Unknown

23rd Psalm for Genealogists

Genealogy is my pastime, I shall not stray
It maketh me to lie down and examine tombstones.
It leadeth me into still courthouses,
It restoreth my Ancestral Knowledge,
It leadeth me in the paths of census records and ship's passenger lists for my surnames' sake.
Yea, though I walk through the shadows of research libraries and microfilm readers,
I shall fear no discouragement, for a strong urge is within me.
The curiosity and motivation, they comforteth me.
It demandeth preparation of storage space for the acquisition of countless documents.
It anointest my head with burning midnight oil,
My family group sheets runneth over.
Surely; birth, marriage, and death dates shall follow me all the days of my life,
And I shall dwell in the house of a family history-seeker forever.

Author Unknown

* ANCESTORS OF WALTER R. PETERMAN
* ANCESTORS OF ALICE JEAN THOMAS
* CEMETERIES
* CENSUS
* CHURCHES
* INDEX OF SURNAMES

SOME GOOD GENEALOGY LINKS:

AMERICA'S MOST COMPREHENSIVE MILITARY SEARCH

ANCESTORY (MISC.)

Biography of Peter Williamson

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT--LAND RECORDS

CENSUS WEB

Census, Various Pennsylvania

CYNDI HOWELL'S HOME PAGE

Don Young's Information On Licking County, Ohio

FAMILY CHRONICLE--This is a Magazine for families researching their roots. Also, other valuable information for genealogy researchers.

FAMILY TREE MAKER

WHOLLY GENES (THE MASTER GENEALOGIST)

GENEALOGICAL WEB SITES

GENEALOGY RESOURCES ON THE INTERNET

HERZ AND OTHER GERMAN FAMILIES AND INFORMATION

LDS -Latter Day Saints Genealogical Research

LCGS-Licking County, Ohio Genealogical Society

MARYLAND ARCHIVES

MY FAMILY-Create your own Genealogy Web Page.

Greg Peterman's Web Page

PETERMAN GENEALOGY FORUM

Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness---Researchers

ROOTSWEB GENEALOGICAL COOPERATIVE

SOME SHIP'S PASSENGER LISTS AND REFERENCES

THE ROOTSWEB TOMBSTONE TRANSCRIPTION PROJECT

THE SURNAME WEB

U. S. NAVY MEMORIAL. A source of information including pictures of U. S. Naval Veterans.

BOOKS AND OTHER REFERENCE MATERIAL:

Barbara Green's Used Genealogy Documents

WILLOWBEND BOOKS and Family Line Publications; Westminster, MD

SHENANDOAH HERITAGE; THE STORY OF THE PEOPLE BEFORE THE PARK

THE GREEN TREE

THE DAGUE FAMILY

Two Hundred Years in Shade Township, Somerset County, PA 1762-1962
(Michael Peterman 1814-1830; Daniel Peterman 1895)

THE UNDYING PAST OF SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK

WEAKLEY, SCEARCE, ARNOLD FAMILIES

200th Anniversary 1768-1968 Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania

Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) information on "The Manor of Leeds". (LEEDS).

COPYRIGHT: Information on these pages is available for non-commercial use only and may not be reproduced in any format for profit. Walter R. Peterman

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Last updated 12:10 PM 11/10/2006