I want to find...

Not all, but several people, who trace their families do so hoping to find someone great. Which relates to finding they descended from someone famous.

I'm not a direct descendant of this person, but he was somewhat well known in his day, and there's a lot of history on him in Illinois. Possibly even in Kentucky and Ohio. He married my direct descendants sister. I read his autobiography. Based on his autobiography, he is not one of the ones I'd want to meet. I'm sure he was a nice enough man. I'm sure he went through plenty of hardships and sorrow. The truth is, I found his writings to be on the pompous side.

So much for a semi famous ancestor.

If you want to find someone famous, go for it. Me? I have found so many who were great and I'll take those over the famous ones any day of the week.

Roscoe Birdsell. With the help of his in-laws raised his three motherless children.

Claude Slate. With the help of family raised his five motherless children.

Oscar Birdsell. With the help of his family, especially his sister, Tute, raised his four motherless children.

Mariah Birdsell. Opened her home to her son, his ailing wife and their four children for the rest of her life.

William Birdsell. A man who had a wife and six children and has the belief in himself that at the age of forty he had what it would take to move over 400 miles in a covered wagon and claim a homestead.

Marion Birdsell. A man who wanted land of his own for his family and loaded his wife and three kids in a covered wagon and moved from Kansas to Washington state to claim a homestead.

Alfred Ellis Birdsell. A man who wanted his own land and migrated from Kansas to Southern California to claim his homestead.

Martha Matilda Gaines Knight Trubey. A woman with four children and two step children and found a way to carry on raising them, even as she lost her two step children to death and one of her own daughters.

James Watt Braden. A man who lost is beloved wife and raised his motherless children by himself.

Emma Campbell Coffield who buried three children, two of them within six weeks of each other and still found the strength to help raise two of her grandchildren.

The list is endless. That's not counting the ones who sacrificed for this country. Or the ones who actually immigrated here with nothing more than a belief in a better life and a prayer.

None of these people are famous, but these are the fathers and mothers of this country. They are the brothers and sisters of this country. They are the ones who took chances for us.

Go ahead and search for your famous ancestors. I'm so very happy with my unknown, but great ancestors.