Researching my family history is an addicting hobby I’ve been indulging in for the past twenty years or so. I’ve uncovered distant ancestors and met long-lost cousins along the way and I’m sharing some of the data with you on these pages. If you can’t find what you are looking for here, try the search feature or drop me a line. However, in most cases, everything I have is posted online.

The greatest proportion of my ancestors are English in origin. These include the Hurts and Smiths on my father’s side. These people lived mostly in the south, settling in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Virginia. They were mostly farmers and laborers. The families on my grandmother’s side seem to have been well educated, becoming doctors, lawyers, and artists. The ancestors of my grandfather, Bruce Straub Farquhar, seem to be of mostly German descent, settling in Pennsylvania in the areas of Easton, Bethlehem, Lehighton, and Slatington. They were of varying religions, including Moravian, Dutch Reformed, and Presbyterian. A few ancestors took part in the American Revolution; they are Moza and Philemon Hurt. Three ancestors fought in the Civil War: Joseph David Hurt for the Confederate Army, and Robert Emmett LeBlond and Jesse LaBar for the Union.

There were no thieves, rogues, or criminals, no skeletons in the closet. (Darn it!) Likewise there are no high-ranking government officials, no inventors, no sports stars, or noblemen. They all seem to be hard-working, church-going, upstanding citizens who valued education and were solidly middle-class.

At top is a list of surnames that I am researching. Click on a name to read a summary of the information I have found so far. Some of the lines have lots of info; others very little. Please enjoy your browsing!

You can also see my family tree at Ancestry.com by clicking here.

 

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