My genealogy journey began on Find a Grave in 2010 with surnames Allen/Allin, Carlstead/Carlstadt/Carlstedt, Homsley/Homesley, Henry, McDonald/McDaniel and connected families - Scottish, Scotts-Irish, Irish, English, German, Scandinavian, etc. settling in various states (North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Illinois, Missouri, Texas, Colorado, Oregon, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, New York, Connecticut, Maryland, California, Hawaii, Utah etc.).

Find a Grave keeps the memories of loved ones alive and available for future generations. Thanks to fellow Find a Grave members for creating memorials and contributing edits, links and photos. Thanks to all who contacted and visited cemeteries, libraries, historical societies and churches to help discover and verify information.

Love of nature is in our genes on both sides of the family. The common milkweed shown in my profile photo is a perennial self-seeding plant in my yard, a food source for various butterflies. The butterfly in the photo is one of many types of fritillaries known for their chessboard patterned wings. The milkweed is also a host plant and source of nectar for beautiful monarch butterflies. Parsley is a host plant for beautiful black and yellow swallowtail butterflies. Hummingbirds, hummingbird moths, honeybees, bumblebees and other pollinators are also attracted to milkweed. Violets, zinnias, hollyhocks, dillweed, lilacs, altheas, tulip trees and catalpa trees are also among the favorites for the pollinators.