Wilson Family Genealogy
About the Sources for this Genealogy
There is presently no "official" Wilson Family Genealogy. Instead, many family members have maintained records of their own family lines, while others have done extensive research into the broader family tree.
The genealogy used as the basis for this website was maintained by Fern Eleanor (Cook) Lynn. Fern inherited the genealogy from her mother, Florence May (Wilson) Cook, who in turn based her information on a genealogy started in 1926 by Eunice Eleanor "Ellen" (Wilson) Capen. Much additional information was provided by Fern's grandparents, Benjamin Ernest and Mary Catherine (Smoyer) Wilson.
Although Fern's genealogy was the framework, work done by many other family members has been incorporated. These other family members include William Frank Arlington, Michelle "Micky" Chapman, Gail (Morey) Clements, Alta Pearl (Baker) Eggert and her daughter Marcia Jean (Eggert) Shaffer, Judy (Campbell) Goff, Edith Florence (Morey) Kuschel, Jan M (Hughes) McIntosh, and Robert Walter Wilson.
We thank every family member who has provided information for, or made corrections to, these various genealogies over the years. Without your continued help and interest, we would not have anywhere near the breadth of information we presently have.
Information in this genealogy comes from a variety of sources, including:
- family members, through both:
- received oral history and
- their personal knowledge of family relationships and events;
- documents maintained by family members, such as:
- birthday, anniversary, and address books,
- family history notes and other genealogical information,
- journals and diaries,
- photographs and photograph albums,
- announcement cards, invitations, programs, and newspaper clippings on
- births
- graduations
- weddings and
- deaths;
- cemetery and interment records and gravestones;
- online research into:
- census records,
- birth records,
- marriage records,
- death records,
- immigration records,
- draft registration documents,
- genealogical, family history, and other historical publications, and
- online family trees researched by others; and
- research into historical documents, both as:
- the actual documents and
- compilations of documents, such as of wills and land records.
Whatever the source of a particular piece of information, the information itself is the best we presently have. However, that does not mean everything is correct, because
- our sources may have been wrong,
- we may have copied information incorrectly,
- we may have made typographical errors when adding the information into the genealogy program, and
- we may have picked up information on the wrong person.
While we have tried our best not to make errors, we are human. That's where you come in.
A genealogy is always a work in progress. Information needs to be corrected as errors are discovered. New information constantly needs to be added when more information is found on ancestors, and when family members marry, have children, and unfortunately pass on. The work of maintaining an accurate and "complete" genealogy needs to be shared by the entire family. This is especially true of families as old and large as the Wilson family. We invite each of you to participate in maintaining this genealogy. A few examples of things you can do are:
- Notify us of mistakes or omissions in your family's information;
- Share photographs;
- Share information about, and records on, life events in your family such as births, marriages, graduations, anniversaries, and deaths;
- Share your memories of family members - our ancestors, contemporaries, and children;
- Talk with older family members about their childhoods and their family memories, and record and share what they say;
- Check out the photographs in the "Do you know these people?" section, and let us know if you recognize anyone;
- Share genealogical research you have done;
- Volunteer to research a person or branch of the family;
- Help us locate and get back in touch with Wilson family members who have not heard from the family in a while;
- Send us email and snail mail addresses for your family so we can update and expand our mailing lists;
- Take pictures of gravestones of Wilson family members who are buried in cemeteries near where you live, travel, or vacation;
- Volunteer to help maintain this website;
- Attend the Annual Wilson Family Reunion;
- Provide transportation to the reunion for a family member who otherwise would not be able to attend; and
- Do anything else you can think of that will help expand the family's knowledge of itself and its members.
In order to make it easy for you to share information, we will be developing a form that you can fill out and send online, or download and mail to us. But don't feel compelled to wait for that form to be available before sharing your information. You can always contact us.
Introduction to Eunice Eleanor "Ellen" (Wilson) Capen's 1926 Genealogy
Conventions Used in this Genealogy
Genealogy Index Page