The journey of three ancestral families
We are so excited that you found our site! This is a culmination of decades of research, puzzle piece by piece, brick wall by brick wall. It's finally time to share what we know with you. What fun it is to get to know our ancestors as real persons who lived in a particular time and place! Perhaps you will discover a connection to your ancestors! We strive to present well documented facts about our ancestors and the context of their lives. If you have something you would like to add, please contact us.
George's genealogy explores the ancestors of Lindsey Bentley Pike & Agnes Bethany Pike. These two Pike branches both descend from James Pike who emigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony from England by 1641. Aggie's Pike line also descends from Mayflower ancestor George Soule. The Pike branches migrated from Massachusetts to New York (where they picked up some Dutch connections) and then on to Iowa by the 1880s.
Alice's genealogy explores the mingling of two predominantly German branches who emigrated from Württemberg at different times, some of whom passed through Pennsylvania and Illinois before settling in Iowa. Along the way, they picked up an Irish family.
Harry's genealogy presents another very German group of ancestors, picking up a Swiss connection in Illinois. Then there was a Scotsman thrown into the mix when they reached Iowa. We were fortunate to visit two of the Eiler (Euler in the Old Country) ancestral villages in Hesse. It is in Harry's family that we discovered not only a black sheep, but two condemned witches.
We are the chosen. In each family there is one who seems called to find the ancestors. To put flesh on their bones and make them live again. To tell the family story and to feel that somehow they know and approve. Doing genealogy is not a cold gathering of facts but, instead, breathing life into all who have gone before. We are the story tellers of the tribe. All tribes have one. We have been called, as it were, by our genes. Those who have gone before cry out to us: Tell our story. So, we do. In finding them, we somehow find ourselves.
I inherited an interest in family history from George, who had inherited it from his mother, Agnes Bethany Pike. We were indeed The Chosen. Fortunately, not only did I inherit the interest, but I inherited Aggie's letters, diary, photographs and family Bible pages. I began writing things down as a teenager, but it wasn't until later that I began serious research...all Before Online Sources.
Richard & Adaline (Jackson) Pike Family
Alice often told me stories about her parents and grandparents. I took notes, and while at first I was doubtful about her information, I eventually validated what she had told me. So, for 30 years I happily researched the Pike-Pike and Merkle-Schriver family lines. Then came the day my mother, Alice, told me that George, my father, was not my father. Fortunately she knew exactly who my biological father was...yes, it was Harry. She told me the whole story (no, I'm not sharing it) right at the time DNA was becoming popular. DNA validated that my brother was now my half brother and I also had two half sisters I didn't know about. This explained a lot of things in hindsight, and it gave me Eiler-Liddick to research! So: Three Family Trees!
These stories are in progress....
George Soule, our earliest known ancestor to arrive in the New World, sailed to Plymouth Colony aboard the famous ship Mayflower in 1620.
Peter Euler left Rudlos and settled in Bad Wildungen. Through his wife's Schotte family our ancestors have a long history there.
Dunfermline was known as a great weaving center. Our McCauley and related Lamond ancestors were among the weavers.
This is information about the person, place or story shown in the above image. There will be a link here for the whole story.
David Stumpp and his son-in-law Gottfried Knoos were both innkeepers at the Gasthaus Ochsen in Köngen, Württemberg in the early 19th century.
Following a popular migration route, our ancestors went up the Hudson River and linked with some Dutch families.
The Bakers and their close Thayer family moved to Virginia right before the Civil War began. It was a short stay, and they moved back north.
This was Castle Eisenbach where the Riedesel Barons lived. Michael Euler and his wife Helene (Gerbich) Euler lived in the accompanying Estate village of Rudlos toward the end of the 18th century..
The Bakers and a close Thayer family moved from NY to Virginia just before the Civil War. It was a short stay and they moved back north.
All of our ancestor lines linked together in Montgomery County, Iowa, or we wouldn't be here.
Here will be links to some resources
The odds that you are related to yourself are probably not less than 100%.
Your ancestor’s maiden name will be recorded on the one record page that is missing.
“I love history, but I dislike genealogy.” Don’t you want to tell these people that genealogy is family history?
There is a 100% chance that those elusive ancestors weren’t interested in genealogy.
If you go back far enough, we’re all related.
How so many published trees record people who died before they were born.
This is and always will be a work in progress. We will be adding content and documentation bit by bit. Please contact us if you would like to share research or have questions about the information on this site or how to navigate the site.
