This site is dedicated to those who came before me including the wonderful people and even the infamous folks in my family's history. And, this is my attempt to pay homage to our many friends, through the generations, who wrote about them. My purpose is the pursuit of new information to add to our common history as western European immigrants.
My focus is on the immigrant experience. What were the conditions which "pushed" our families out of their homes, causing them to endure the hardships of immigration? What were the perceived benefits from migration which "pulled" them to their final destination? And, how were their lives improved by "Coming to America?"
Comments on Touring Cemeteries
We do not claim any powers above the ordinary, but we have profound pity on any one who can not spend a pleasant hour in any God's acre where his friends sleep their last sleep. And perhaps the Witch of Endor is not such a great mystery as the unthinking reader imagines; to call up in your mind one after another and hear the voice and ideas is perhaps not such a wonderful feat after all.
Martin G. Weaver
Lancaster County PA
10/11/1914The frequenter of this hallowed spot beholds many objects, and is conscious of many trains of thought, which, by the power of association, carry him back to times long since past, and events and scenes once fresh, interesting and impressive, but now almost faded from the memory of the living, except when momentarily revived by the magic power of these massive walls, these antiquated relics of obsolete architecture, and these sepulchral memorials of generations who sleep in the dust.
Who can walk, thoughtful, through this ancient cemetery, mark the grave-stones and monuments of the almost forgotten dead, and their almost obliterated inscriptions, and survey the memorials of those who have gone down to the narrow house more recently, and within the recollection of the living, without being carried back in imagination to the days of old? Who that has the sensibilities of a human being, and believes that the spirit survives the dissolution of the body, can tread over these grounds, sacred to the dead and dear to the living, and mark where lie the ashes, and read the names and virtues of progenitors, kindred, neighbors and friends, without religious awe, and deep and solemn emotions; and feeling himself "quite on the verge of heaven," and bound by invisible ties to the spirits of the departed, and imagining that he almost sees them beckon him away, and hears them whisper "prepare to meet thy God!"
Rev. J. W. McCullough
Rector of Trinity Church
Wilmington DE
Aug. 25, 1842Notes about Genealogical Research:
"Standing on the Shoulders of Others"I do not claim to be the author of a great deal of the information on this site. Quite the contrary, I have benefited from the stalwart research of countless others, first among whom was my father. Dr. Arnold D. Lewis spent over forty years researching our Lewis family genealogy by reading, walking through graveyards, and striking up conversations with anyone who might provide additional information. Additionally, I would like to extend a special thanks to my cousin, Dr. Ed Smith of the University of Tennessee, who has provided photos for the Lewis/Campbell pages.
My contribution has been to compile available information in this one site, generating indexes, and providing a historical context for family migrations. The References page contains information on materials and web sites which have provided invaluable leads from which much of the information on this site has been developed.
Miss Marie Lewis, my father's widow, asked why I continue this never ending project. In addition to my passion for research and my continuing curiosity, another force propels me on. My response to Miss Marie was that when I am fretting over a genealogical connection or editing and re-editing the many pages, my Dad is watching over my shoulder. And thus, we continue our connection through our mutual reverence for our beloved ancestors.
CE Lewis
Davenport IA
2008