Wen and I live in North Central Washington, more specifically, Brewster.
Even though Wen was born in Washington, his familial background is Southern with roots in Kentucky and Virginia. His mom, Dora BROWN, was born in Appalachia, Virginia and his dad, Leonard James BOGGS, was born in Knott County, Kentucky. Except for a short time after his father died, Wen has lived his entire life in Washington. Wen's major surnames in his direct line include BOGGS and SHEPHERD. We hit a "brick wall" with both of his grandmothers, Rachel ELKINS and Rebecca Jane GRIFFITH. We believe we have solved the Elkins mystery but have had no luck with Rebecca. We are not even certain of the spelling of the last name. It could have been Griffith, Griffiths, Griffit, Griffits, Griffis, etc. I tried to locate a census record using every variation of the last name and found nothing. We know she was at least part Indian, most likely Cherokee; however, we have "no proof".
My dad's side of the family is Swedish on his mother's side, BERGLUND, and German on his dad's, ARNOLD. His father and paternal grandfather were 100% German even though they were both born in New York. All of my mother's ancestors are from Alamance County, North Carolina. The Alamance County surnames include: ANDERSON, ISLEY, GRAVES, HURDLE, HOLT, FAUCETT, MEBANE. Three of my Alamance County lines are German: ISLEY, GRAVES, and HOLT. I'm an Air Force brat. I don't remember any of the places I lived before I was three. Since that time, I've lived in North Carolina, Japan, Virginia, Washington, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Texas, Georgia again, Maryland, Georgia once again, and finally back to Washington.
If you have any photos relating to these families, please share them. E-mail is posted above. |
