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gramparick dot com
| Who we are. | What's here? | What's new! |
| Ours is a collaborative family web site and repository of genealogical data. I hope that the results of my research and that of a multitude of family members will shed some light on your ancestrial mysteries just as it has for me. When I began my research in early autumn of 2000, at the ripe old age of 50, I hadn't the slightest idea who my paternal grandfather was. Although I knew his name, I had never seen his face. Not even a photograph. I spent hour after hour searching the Internet with little to show for it. But I'm a stubborn guy and refused to give up. Sometimes it takes stubborness and determination before successfully locating important pieces of our ancestry. Nearly six years later, I'm still searching for those elusive bits of data that make the puzzle pieces all come together. My successes range from data that traces my Barwick roots back to the turn of the 18th Century in Western Europe to the more recent discoveries of my Wandell heritage into the 15th Century. This site is always under construction because we're always adding new information and old photos that surface as we meet and add more members of our families. Many cousins are working on different branches of the family tree. I apologize and ask for your patience while we continue the effort to provide the most current information as well as the most interesting collection of ancestrial and historical data. Be sure to come back from time to time. You'll be glad you did. Want to know who I am? Click here to read my biographical profile | The 4 principle surnames that are the basis for this site are: BARWIG KOSTKA WANDELL BELHUMEUR The places where we found data are numerous and include: BELGIUM GERMANY THE NETHERLANDS FRANCE POLAND CANADA and in the United States, in: CALIFORNIA, MASSACHUSETTS, MISSOURI, MICHIGAN, NEW YORK, TEXASand WISCONSIN. | We've begun telling the story of our WANDELL FAMILY HISTORY. The first four chapters were uploaded on Monday, April 17th, 2006 and tell the story of the family origin in Belgium and The Netherlands. As was the case in locations throughout Europe, there were many families moving from their places of origin to escape religious reform and persecution. The Wandell family, known then as van den Vondel, was no different. We learn of one ancestor who is known in Dutch Literature as the Dutch Poet-Laureate. He shared the same given name with five others, all named Joost. We were able to sort through the many confusing and duplicated records and finally located our earliest ancestor in records from 1494 in Belgium. The trail of our history leads from Amsterdam to New York in the early part of the 18th Century when three brothers arrive in America and lay down roots. From these three, are discoveries are many. We find family members who fought for the Colonies in the Revolutionary War, with one man actually receiving his honorable discharge from General George Washington himself. We found several members of the Wandell family who served honorably in the Civil War. Others served in the US Congress. Several owned parcels of land. As the 20th Century began, some branches of the family chose to travel West, to explore the rapidly expanding United States. Take the link and read about how we discovered our roots and followed our heritage through the centuries. |
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