FAMILY HISTORY

I recently read a quote something to the effect that a family tree will wither and die if its roots aren't tended. I guess that is what I am doing in my family research ~ tending the roots of the family tree. In the process I have made some wonderful discoveries and am meeting distant relatives I didn't know I had. I have learned I am of 25% Irish ancestry, which I didn't know prior to starting my research. I thought I had 1 Irish great-great-grandfather, only to learn that my father's side of the family is almost 100% Irish and one family lived in Burnsville, MN and donated the land for the first school in Burnsville. They owned much of the land around what is now Burnsville High School.

I have been contacted by a second cousin once removed on my father's Irish side. Her grandmother and my great-grandfather (Charles Hawkins) were brother and sister. She still lives in Richmond, WI, where the family settled. She has been doing research for over 20 years and has lots of photos and stories. We are making plans to meet sometime this summer.

I have also been contacted by two daughters of my Great-Grandmother's (Emma Kjorven Christopher) sisters on my mother's side. Again, I didn't know they even existed. I have corresponded with the grandson of my Great-Grandfather's (Hans Ege) sister in CA. And I have even discovered distant Ege relations living right here in Minneapolis.

I hope I can continue to add roots and leaves to this family tree. It definitely gives me a sense of where my family came from and how their lives continue to influence me to this day.