John Benjamin Hartzell

I started out on my family history when I was a young girl (sorta). My gramma lived next door and I loved to stay all night with her. She didn't have a car and since all the family lived nearby, we would just walk to visit them. Gramma would wear me out, I couldn't keep up. She gave me pictures of her family when I was young, but didn't realize the importance of putting the names on them or the year. I got sidetracked alot over the years, work, raising children, taking care of my parents and now my children are grown and parents are gone, my husband is fishing or deer hunting constantly, so when I am not at work, I have my head buried in books at the library or on the computer. Most of my family is french and came from France to Canada on my mother's side and on my father's side, his family came from Switzerland/Germany. They came to Pa. then to Ste. Genevieve, Mo. and onward to Washington Co., Mo. My husband's family are from all over, but the ones I've spent most of the time researching settled in St. Francois Co., Mo. and later moved to St. Louis, Mo.