The connections between our stories
Four family
branches.
A quick guide to the four grandparent families and the main ancestral lines behind their stories. Use the interactive tree for the full relationship explorer.
Open the interactive family tree ↗The four grandparent stories
Our FamilyFour connected histories · A growing family collectionOne grandparent pair
Nancy & Dale
Immigration-era Slovak and Galician family lines meet long-established German-speaking Pennsylvania lines.
One grandparent pair
Don & Evelyn
Don's Oldwick roots meet Evelyn's Kennedy and Wainwright family history, from twentieth-century New Jersey back to earlier generations.
Explore documented branches
The earlier
generations.
Browse 64 individual profiles drawn from the family tree and selected original records, or follow the branches below into particular generations.
Nancy · Paternal
Kovish · Palencar · Ulicny
John “Sambo” Kovish and ancestors from Koškovce and Široké, then foundries and households in Emmaus.
Explore Nancy’s ancestors ↗Nancy · Maternal
Dwornak · Mruk
Wasyl Dwornik and Zosia Mruk, born in Galicia, traveled independently to Pennsylvania and began a family in Allentown.
Meet Basil Dwornak ↗Dale · Paternal
Ritter · Giering · Price
From Heinrich and Martin Ritter through Daniel, Joel, John Martin and William to Dale, alongside other branches through marriage.
Meet Martin Peter Ritter ↗Don · Paternal
Melick · Van Horne · Craig
From Johann Peter and Tunis's colonial mills, through generations in New Germantown, to the Craig and Melick farms.
Meet Tunis Melick ↗Don · Maternal
Beavers · Shaffer · Pickel
Margaret Beavers and the other Hunterdon County families who shaped Don's childhood and family inheritance.
Meet Margaret Beavers ↗Dale · Maternal
Bilger · Bright
An eighteenth-century Württemberg village, later Bilger households in Pennsylvania, and Dale's maternal family.
Meet Hiram Bilger ↗Evelyn · Paternal
Kennedy · New Jersey
Charles Frederick Kennedy, Hannah Wainwright and the older Kennedy family lines leading into Evelyn's childhood.
Meet Charles Kennedy ↗Evelyn · Maternal
Wainwright · Chumard · Shreve
Generations of New Jersey families, including the handwritten Shreve register, a will, and early Wainwright household records.
Explore Evelyn's maternal line ↗Meet the ancestors. Explore the 64-person historical directory for individual lives, family connections, and linked original records. This curated collection will expand as additional records are reviewed.
For privacy, the public directory excludes living relatives and private family details.