....Links With The Past....

~~~Hello, I'm Dave Masonhall and this website is primarily dedicated to my ancestral lineage, those persons who came before me who, through their life experiences and unique genetic traits, contributed in some way to make me the particular individual that I am. I truly believe it is important for everyone to have a knowledge of his/her past because what we are has, in many respects, been determined by those who came before us. Although some would not find this so important, I firmly believe that a link with the past and those that share a common ancestry leads to a better understanding of ourselves and gives a sense of continuity and completion to our lives.

~~~I have always enjoyed history, and genealogy has fascinated me from the time I was a young boy growing up in central and western Oklahoma. Although I had no siblings, I was part of a large extended family of cousins. aunts, uncles and grandparents who were never far away. This unity of loved ones gave me an appreciation for family that I hold dear to this day. (One of the tragedies of modern life is that the extended family and its benefits have vanished. We are no longer "never far away" but seemingly dispersed to the winds in this mobile society of today.) It also instilled in me an abiding interest in finding out from where and who I came. And with that knowledge, what ancestral factors contributed to the mix of genetics, values and perhaps beliefs that I now shared? Fascinating...

~~~I believe my ancestral mixture to consist of German, English and Scotch-Irish, a rather common blend, with perhaps an occasional dash of Native American thrown in for good measure. The farther one reaches back into their family history, the more the number of forks in the tree increases and soon tracking one's origins is like trying to find the headwaters of a mighty river when faced with the forks of a hundred creeks all feeding into the main channel.

~~~So as these tributaries of genetic traits in our ancestral history continue to spill into the mix, we pick up bits and pieces of characteristics that all eventually come together into the being we are. That makes each of us truly unique as no other entity, except for an identical twin, could ever be the product of that one-of-a-kind recipe of life.

~~~That mix considers surnames, upon which we tend to sometimes focus in our study of genealogy, absolutely irrelevant! Simply because half of our forebears were female and engaged in the somewhat archaic practice of giving up their birth names when they were married doesn't mean that they or any of their offspring are any less related.

~~~I have perhaps approximately 50 2nd cousins (we share the same great grandparents) with approximately 25 different surnames---very few that are "Masonhall," yet every single one of them is related to me in exactly the same genetic proportion.

~~~The bottom line is that genealogy is basically for one person only. Each person that embarks upon a quest for his/her heritage finds a unique a specific path to follow that only applies to him/her. There cannot be a document for me titled "Masonhall Family History" because it's as much "Doane Family History," "Peckham Family History," "Sample Family History," etc. etc.. Even if you and I were half-siblings, with the same last name, fully one-half of the above studies would be inapplicable to you. They only apply to me as my "name" is interchangeable as Dave Masonhall, Dave Doane, Dave Peckham, Dave Sample, etc---they are all the same person genetically-speaking---and that's just on my paternal side. In regards to my "Maternal Family History," I'm Dave Cates, Dave Singletary, Dave Elam, Dave Looney, Dave Kelly, etc..

~~~Did you know that you have at least 32 great-great-great grandparents, 16 great-great grandparents, 8 great grandparents and 4 grandparents? Of course you knew the number of grandparents, most of us have childhood memories of grandma and grandpa. But when you see the geometrical growth as you delve back into your ancestry, you begin to wonder if there's anyone who's not a cousin somewhere along the line. If you and the neighbor across the street had just two of those 32 great-great-great grandparents in common, you are officially 4th cousins! In my research I have found the task of locating the descendants of my ancestors (there's that extended family again) just as rewarding as the ancestral hunt.

~~~Speaking of those ancestors, thanks to those in my past with birth names of George Henry Masonhall; John William and Henry Mesenholl; Isaiah, John Conley and David Andrew Cates; William Harrison and Ina Isola Singletary; Lewis, Richard Thomas, Benjamin Grant and Addie Doan(e); William, John W., David A. and Rebecca Jane Sample; John, David and Mary Elizabeth Kelly; Isaac, William Russell and Sarah Emily Looney; Charlotte Grieger/Kruger; Chandler Norment and Sarah Emily Elam; John C. and Sarah Jane Peckham; Isabella Hockenberry; John W. and Anna Eliza Beckett; Nancy Foley; Nancy Shelton; Edward and Eleanor/Ellen Holman; Miriam and Rachel Rue; Anna Margaretha Reuters; Mary Asbury; Alice Hickman; Rebecca Davis; Tabitha Catherine Harris; Elizabeth Briggance and many more---I wouldn't be here without you.

~~~As for all of you long-lost cousins with names like Drake, Winsell, Metcalf, Smith, Paul, Gile, Flinn, Menefee, McRae, Milgrim, Epperly, Moore, Leslie, Miller, Oder, Pogue, Robertson, Hultman, Palmer, Kopf, Coyle, Whitehead, Pickens, Newman, Urban, Williams, Wears, Becker, King, Miles, Ames, Walters, Johnson, Blakeman, Koth, Anderson, Kramer, Hephner, Darter, Weir, Habbershaw, Denton, Pratt, Boyd, Stockman, McDaniel, Spina, Vuletich, Jordan, Pollock, Perisol, Haines, Hunsperger, Outhier, Burrow, Kabriel, Bryant, Hutton, Wedel, Furnas, Willaman, Patrone, Gaunt, Westergaard, Eidson, Ballew, Thomas, Burke, Josephs, Winn, Cato, Howe, Bakewell, Cason, Motl, Galloway, Cox, Henson, Ewing, Henley, Hurlburt, Eldridge, Gudgell, Rue, Byers, Tischoff, Phillips, Denham, Dirksen, Georgeson, Schales, Qualls and several more I've probably forgotten to include, you may have one more cousin here that you didn't even know existed until now!

~~~For related info on this topic, please refer to the reprint of "GENEALOGY," the Winter, 1999 topic from my Homepage and my first writing on this fascinating subject. Also, I have included the "Website Navigation" guide on each of the eight pages of this website to facilitate your visit. Detailed data on my paternal family history, documents and maps, and a special biographical segment on my Grandpa and Grandma Masonhall are all found within these pages. The next update will include similar materials on my maternal family history.

~~~You are certainly welcome to copy and share the information included on any of the pages of this website with immediate family members but you may not reproduce this copyrighted material for profit nor post it on your own webpage without the expressed written consent of the author. If you copy it for your own personal use, please let me know who you are so I may send you any updates and/or corrections as they may occur. Finally, the data herein is accurate to the best of my knowledge and research; however, if you find incorrect or incomplete information, please e-mail me with your findings.

~~~I sincerely hope you enjoy your visit to this site and that you let me know your thoughts and/or observations by signing the guest book. Your comments are most appreciated.