Several years ago, my grandmothers kept articles, lots of stories to tell and pictures to show. I still have my very first scrapbook that my mam-maw helped me with. I treasure that to this day. My grandmothers gathered their information by hand for they didn't have a computer. After their passing, I gathered their information and went to work on carrying on their legacy. I researched family articles and photos and vital information. I have a family tree program of almost 15,000 names including American Revolution Veterans, Civil War Veterans, WWI and WWII Veterans, Vietnam, Korean, etc. Captain Martin Van Buren Bates and Anna Swan Bates was "The World's Tallest Married Couple." He is my 3rd Great-Grand Uncle. I have been Bates Reunion Coordinator in Seville, OH where the Bates home place and burial are. I am also a member of the Abner Baker Chapter #1404 United Daughters of the Confederacy in Knoxville, TN.

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Lord, help me dig into the past
And sift the sands of time,
That I might find the roots that made
This family tree of mine.

Lord, help me trace the ancient roads
On which my father's trod,
And led them through so many lands
To find our present sod.

Lord, help me find an ancient book
Or dusty manuscript,
That's safely hidden now away
In some forgotten crypt.

Lord, let it bridge the gap that haunts
My soul when I can't find,
The missing link between some name
That ends the same as mine.

-- Author Unknown

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