It has been interesting to find so many connections and surnames. When I began on this journey, I initially only knew a few of the family surnames: Keys, Lang, Thompson and Kerr. When I look back I am amazed at how little I knew. It was hard for me to determine a plan of action because I had so little information. I started by looking at my parents and moving backwards. I was a Keys along with my dad, my mother was a Thompson, her mother was a Kerr and her paternal grandmother was a Lang. I never would have gotten any further than that if it were not for Ancestry and their online records. Through working on that site I discovered more surnames such as King. Polk, Evans, Peyton, Windham and Sterling. Death certificates are a goldmine! I was so grateful to find so much information. I could not imagine another lucky find such as this.
With the growing popularity of DNA testing, I eventually realized that I would need to take one. I knew that I would have some matches and maybe, hopefully, find some great ancestor somewhere. I was wholly unprepared for the volume of matches I would get and what these new relations would mean. I realized that with every match came multiple surnames....most I had never heard within my own family and I was at a complete lost at how to find our common ancestor. Then slowly I started to realize that some surnames began to stick out. I had a few matches with the same surnames and people and I started keeping track. I figured out that while I have not found the connection yet in my tree and thanks to chromosome browsing, I could concur that we all shared the same ancestor somewhere and I could possibly include the surname into my collection. Then....the flood gates opened. Now along with the surnames that I had traced so far now there were more:
Duckworth,Glasker, Jones, Johnson, Mcwhorter, Hoge/Hogue/Hogg and Vance.
As I continue my search, I hope that I will find those connections between these surnames and my ancestors. I truly look forward to the journey.
