YOUR BRANCH OF THE FAMILY TREE

Wonder where you and yours fit in?

Well, let's start with what you know and work toward what you don't.

And try to provide me with as much information as you can. Something like "My grandfather was Joe Parmelee from New York -- can you tell me where I fit in the family?" is pretty rough. I have no idea if you are a junior high student whose grandfather might be about 55, or someone in their 80s talking about a man who's been dead for years. And New York City or the state? The more you can tell me, the better.

Presently I have more than 22,000 names in my database of Parmelees and their spouses; about 3,000 of those I haven't been able to link to the two main families. I've been at this for about 25 years!

First, tell me about the current family: names (including middle names), birth dates and places. Then go to the previous generation of Parmelees with their names, birth dates, birthplaces, spouses' names, deaths and burial places -- include all the Parmelee siblings. Then do the same for the generation before that -- and repeat the exercise until you run out of names.

Middle names can sometimes be the maiden name of a mother or grandmother. They are sometimes handed down for several generations in a family, too. Occupations sometimes are clues; one branch of the family, for example, has more than a dozen dentists.

Sometimes it helps to make it a family project -- see what your closest relatives know too.

At any rate, I'd be glad to help.

Write to me at ParmeleeFamily@gmail.com. Put PARMELEE in the subject field so I don't mistake your email for spam and delete it. Haven't heard from me in a week? Try again. I've been known to hold down the "delete" key too long from time to time.