Why would anyone want to write a family history...our ancestors are all dead?  Why should we care? That refrain is heard over and over again as people neglect and endeavor to get rid of their heritage, believing it to be "old stuff" that needs to be forgotten. But in this age of “knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing,” there are those who innately know the value of family memory. In each family there seems to be someone called to find the ancestors, the “chosen one,” who gathers the genealogy. And by the sheer act of finding the information, breathes life back into the lives of our loved ones who went before.

Family history is not something obscure or unimportant. Old letters, photographs, scrapbooks, the family bible, and many other things help us to recall our past and the history of our family and the communities they lived in. Family history comes alive when someone is able to not only read about the past, but is also able to visit the places, appreciate the images, touch the heirlooms, study the actual words and place your ancestors in given places, times and events.

Memories are an important part of all our lives. We learn from our past in order to achieve greater influence over our future. History serves as a model of not only of who and what we are to be, but to learn what to embrace and what to avoid. Every day decision-making around the world is constantly based on what came before us.

No matter how long you research, family history is never finished. Black family history is especially hard to research because of the lack of records. But what we uncover shows the hardships and the joys in the lives of our ancestors. We get a sense of who they were and see traits passed down the years in our genes. By writing a family history you are leaving a written legacy, all of the things that quite literally make us who we are.

Bless you Rhoda...What a gift to give your children, born and unborn...roots and wings to fly.

Best Wishes, Roger Kammerer

To- Roger Kammerer, my treasured friend, my heartfelt thanks for a most reflective, beautiful, and inspiring opening for our book. Mr. Kammerer is a well-known genealogist, artist, and historian. He has authored or co-authored 21 books or booklets on genealogy records.

Wishing you God’s Blessings, Rhoda