the story of us
There are now eight main collections — four from my family — Hile, Penrose, Bousman, and Korhonen/Johnson — representing my grandparents. Two collections — Baugh and Dudymott — come from my wife Lynne’s family. Lewis and Benson are the two newest collections. The Lewis Family Collection relates to my kids’ maternal side, but also includes the spousal branches, namely Baca and Epps. While it makes for an ever-increasingly crowded field, it will also provide historical context for my and my wife’s grandchildren. The Benson Family Collection provides a similar forum for Lynne’s children to preserve the Benson and Dare branches.
Just identifying these eight tree branches is a complex task, but it doesn’t stop there, as family connections have more than one surname. The Hile Family Collection, for example, will also contain items related to surnames that married into the family, such as Kennedy, Smith, Coppedge, Dameron, Skinner, and others, and as these grow they may very well necessitate their own separate collections, as well. The concept of consanguinity, where family lines intermarry, also comes into play here, as there is, for example, more than one instance of Hiles marrying Penroses.
Nor does the complexity stop there, for regardless of family line, the physical location of families over time must also be considered. Thus, there are also sections on particular locations.
This page is also the starting point for exploration of more general topics in genealogy and family history. One of my Twitter feeds — @Hile Family History — contains valuable, up-to-date information. Longer, more-detailed posts can be found below, and also on the relevant family collections. Over time, more photos will be added and captions that tell the story behind the photos will come, as well.
The stories, posts and photos on this site are intended to be interactive. Feel free to post comments, questions, and ideas for further exploration. You may also use the general comments page if you want to keep it just between you and me.
family tree galleries
Hile Family
Initially believed to have come to the US from Germany and other parts of northern Europe, the Hile family — spelled in a variety of ways, including Heil and Hiles — initially settled in Pennsylvania and New …
Penrose Family
The Penrose family has a long history in North America, having emigrated beginning in the 17th century from England and Ireland. My direct line of Penroses came from the Cornwall region of England.
Bousman Family
The Bousman family arrived in North America from Germany before the American Revolution, settling primarily in Pennsylvania. Other prominent surnames include Mills, Hawkins, and Shoemaker.
Korhonen Family
In the early 1890s, Otto William Korhonen emigrated to the U.S. from Finland, where he met and married Marianna Fiskaali, another Finnish emigrant, eventually settling in Ironwood, Michigan.
Baugh Family
The Baugh family arrived in the U.S. at the end of the nineteenth century. Although the surname has German roots and was once the ancestral home of the family, the emigrants had mostly been …
Dudymott Family
Dudymott, maiden name of my wife Lynne’s mother, of all the surnames in my family tree, it has been the toughest to trace. The women have been easy to trace, but the men have been more elusive.
Benson Family
The Benson family roots are located in French-speaking eastern Canada and upper New England, and in Northern California. Also included is Watson, Dare, and Hampton, found throughout the U.S. …
Lewis Family
Among the Lewis names are Baca, Epps, Witherspoon (yes, that Witherspoon), Hunt, Walker, and Durbin. The family roots can be found in Illinois, Oklahoma, and throughout the West and Midwest.
location galleries
The Old Country
Initially believed to have come to the US from Germany and other parts of northern Europe, the Hile family — spelled in a variety of ways, including Heil and Hiles — initially settled in Pennsylvania and New …
The New Country
The Penrose family has a long history in North America, having emigrated beginning in the 17th century from England and Ireland. My direct line of Penroses came from the Cornwall region of England.
Kentucky
The Hile families have a long and rich history within the Commonwealth of Kentucky, in Scott County and areas around Lexington, as well as participation with the Christian Church of Kentucky and the Cane Ridge revival.
