The following is a sampling of my roots. As you read this, please realize that I began my research based only on a small scrap of paper containing the names of my grandparents.

1. My 1st cousin, 12 times removed, John Cordray/Cordery was killed at the Jamestown, Va. massacre in 1622. The families of his brother and descendants eventually moved to the Absecon area of NJ, where they became active in the Quaker faith.

2. Another Quaker line began with Theophilius de Bellangee/Bellanger, who fled France and the rule of Louis XIV with his family. They hid in forests and caves until they were able to escape to England by 1687. (from Shroud, Thomas. History of Fenwick's Colony. Bridgeton, NJ: George F. Nixon Publishers, 1876.) Theophilius was my 9th great grandfather.

3. Pieter Wolphertse Van Kouwenhoven, my 8th great grandfather, moved to New Amsterdam (NY) in 1630. The "Van Kouwenhovens" eventually moved to Oceanville, NJ and became known as the "Conovers."

4. My Puritan ancestry includes John Hunting, Sr., who was the first Ruling Elder of the Dedham, Mass. Church. He is my 8th great grandfather.

5. Horace Mann, Sr., the Massachusetts humanitarian and politician who campaigned against slavery and for hospitals for the insane in the 1800's, is my 1st cousin, 6 times removed.

6. Yerrick Emrich, my 4th great grandfather immigrated to America as a blacksmith from Germany. He settled in Stone Church, Bucks County, Pa.,where he changed his name to Jacob Emery and served in the Revolutionary War.

7. A descendant of Yerrick, my 2nd great grandfather John Emery, moved to Ocean County, NJ where he married Beulah R. Birdsall, a Quaker from Barnegat. The Emerys owned a farm and cranberry bogs. Two of their sons served in the Civil War; in 1864, one of them was killed in battle.

8. Another Ocean County line is that of my 2nd great grandfather, Edward Archer, Sr. He was a skilled basketmaker and charcoal maker, which were common industries in NJ during the 1800's. Ed also served in the Civil War.

I hope that I have enticed you to start your own family tree! If interested, please contact me for hints on getting started.