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I have been "digging up my roots" since 1983. I retired at age 62 in Apr of this year and now have much more time to do family research. The main families I am searching are Rollins, Gee, Rusher, Runser, Bynum, McCarty, Clark, Patterson, Owens, Sommers and Shaffer. Other families are many and include Ackerman, Burnett, VanMeter, Young, Sipes, Spencer, McBride and Blow(e).
My Rollins descendants can be traced to John Rollins of Randolph Co NC. His oldest child, Elias came to IN with other siblings and they settled in Martin, Daviess and Greene Counties. My Rusher roots can be traced to John Rusher of Elsac, Germany who married into the Seraphine Runser family of France. The Shaffer (Schaeffer) family came to America from Rhenish, Bavaria. John Baynham (Bynum) came to America from England--Prince Edward Iles. The name Rollins (Rawlins) was originally Scandinavian then Norman and then English. The American families of Rollins (Rawlins) engaged in agriculture, marine, mercantile, mechanical and professional pursuits. In physical development and personal appearance, many descendants were of medium build with regular features and black hair and eyes.
Country of origin is not known to date for other families. I continue to make discoveries and have made many contacts through individuals, libraries, courthouses, cemeteries, archives, newspapers and books. Being on-line has been most helpful with my research and I have found some of my evasive relatives at web sites. Genealogy is my main hobby but I do pursue other interests occasionally. I am currently placing old photographs in albums by families and there are many unknowns in the photos. My mother (age 83) and other elderly relatives have assisted in identifying many people for me.
Both the Rollins and Rusher families have yearly reunions which I attend. I try to keep current on the happenings of my living relatives and that is at times more difficult than tracing those of generations ago. The Sommers family had reunions 1912-1915 and stopped when the elder family members were deceased.
I have 3 adult children and 3 brothers and a sister. My Father was killed in a horse training accident when he was 54. I didn't know either of my Grandfathers...both died when I was age 1. I did know my Grandmothers though I was only 10 when my Grandma Rollins died. My Grandfather Sommers was 56 and my Grandmother Sommers was 44 when my Mother was born. I am thankful that I had living relatives who knew some histories of my families when I began my research.
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