WikiTree and Me

By Bob Ferris

Those faithful family followers and others who regularly stumble onto my site might have noticed a little laziness on my part in terms of updates and posts.  Some of this is true laziness that comes justifiably with my sixth year of retirement as I settle into this idea of not working.  And the rest of it is the result of distractions.  For one thing I moved and am more focused now on vegetable gardening.  I am also more involved with volunteering at the Oregon Coast Aquarium where I am serving as an interpreter and helping them re-write their training manuals for existing and new interpreters--both as the science evolves and as the facility becomes more complex as it enters its equivalent of a second generation.

The last and most relevant distraction is that of WikiTree. When I set up Ironbranches I wanted to establish a free medium that allowed for posting of our family history and lore that encouraged and facilitated collaboration.  I also wanted a venue that expected references and evidence rather than allowed gross speculation and fables.  Genealogy should not be a game of liars dice.  In most regards WikiTree fulfills these criteria and I have spent a lot of time filling in the blanks on both my mother's side and my father's too.  I have tried to do this, where possible, eight generations deep.

The above has verified some of what's known and led to some discoveries as well.  I have always known that both my parents likely descend from passengers on the Mayflower.  More recently, I found that they share a common ancestor in the earliest Quakers in Maryland as they both have the Johns family in their lines.  And via WikiTree I also found that they share Francis Eppes II (b. 1627) in common (my father through his Ramsay line and my mother through her Settles connections).

Both my parents share deep English, Scottish, and Irish roots.  But one thing they do not share, are links to ancestors who settled New Amsterdam.  That is all my father through his Ferris line, though Ferris is English, probably by way of Normandy.  After sorting through piles of alternative spellings, patronymics, and the Anglicizing of Dutch names which might have been French, German or even Walloon to begin with I am almost grateful for my mother's being not Dutch.  Moreover, the settlers of New Amsterdam seemed opportunistic breeders who frequently married 1st cousins once removed making family trees a twisted affair.  That is not to say my mother's folks who bounced over the trail via Fort Cumberland did not see groupings of siblings marrying siblings in other families as they populated Kentucky, Indiana, and Missouri.  Folks tended to marry others who were near or they knew.

So, when you have an opportunity take some time to look at our family on WikiTree.  Please share this with others and add facts, photos and additional branches where you can.