Those who came before us carried lifetimes of stories, joys, hardships, and family ties. With the passage of time, their memory and their legacy inevitably fade. It is left to those who are living to preserve their legacy and to remember and honor them.

There is a quote I have often read in different forms. I cannot find the original source, but, to paraphrase it, everyone experiences two deaths - the first is when they pass away, and the other is when nobody alive has any memory of them.

My families of interest are:

- The Fernandes family (of Monção, Portual)

- The Schmidt family (of Thorn Bromberg, Ost Prussia)

- The Osterdahl family (of Gotlands län, Sweden)

- The Kelusak family (of Poland)

- The Vagacs family (of Bystricany, Slovakia)

- The Santucci family (of Italy)

- The Dowd family

- The Pickens family

- The Pfeil family (of Plauen, Saxony, Germany)

- The Fitzpatrick family (of Scotland)

- The Colaianni family (of San Pietro Avellana, Italy)

When I was young, my grandmother, after seeing the interest that I was developing in family history, entrusted me with her family photos and documents. She asked only that I promise to care for them, preserve them, and share them. Most of the information, photos, and documents that I am in the process of adding for the Kelusak, Schmidt, and related families are a part of the fulfillment of this promise made decades earlier.

For years, our family had a photograph of a smiling child with her first name written in the margin. Older generations in our family never spoke of her, and younger generations were simply unaware of her. I found her headstone; she died as a young child. She now has a full memorial (98207800) with her photo and the link to her family, so she is no longer forgotten...

"Show me the manner in which a nation cares for its dead, and I will measure with mathematical exactness the tender mercies of its people, their respect for the laws of the land, and their loyalty to high ideals" - Sir William Ewart Gladstone

Additional information, corrections, and comments are always welcome.

Permission is granted to use photos for personal, non-commercial use.