About us
There has been a tremendous coming together of the various Smelser/Smeltzer family cohorts over the last 20 years. Following on the heels of great work by Marjorie Smeltzer-Stevenot, Polly Pollack, Jesse and Ralph Smeltzer, Cleo Smelser Bailey, Sylvia Schmelzer, Paul Schmelzer, June Smelser, Harold Smelser and many others, there is a resurgence in our efforts. Newfound tools like DNA testing, better Internet access to ever increasing files, and great collaboration by many many family researchers of all surnames are reinvigorating our quest to better understand our family.
Meticulous and sometimes boring research in libraries, courthouses and records repositories, countless letters, emails, phone calls, Internet searches, photographic collections, website development and management, and recording of GPS locations of important places have and will continue to contribute in large part to the body of knowledge regarding family origins and the lives of those Smelser/Smeltzer (and other surname variations) who have come before. These efforts will not be replaced by DNA testing. However, DNA testing will enhance the quality and focus of those efforts.
Most of our family members lived their lives not knowing (and maybe not caring) that people like us were curious about our roots and cared so much about their individual existence. Their stories and our stories are important. Their lives (and our lives) were and are important. This DNA project specifically is intended to simply add to that knowledge base in its own unique way, hopefully to find new cousins, to clarify the unknowns that have puzzled us for years, and to add new stories in our quest to know and understand. The total research effort, including all of the traditional methods of genealogical research, should continue and grow.
This project is dedicated to all of you who have worked to gather, save, interpret, share and enjoy information about OUR family. To all of you I say THANK YOU. We encourage you to join us today.
Meticulous and sometimes boring research in libraries, courthouses and records repositories, countless letters, emails, phone calls, Internet searches, photographic collections, website development and management, and recording of GPS locations of important places have and will continue to contribute in large part to the body of knowledge regarding family origins and the lives of those Smelser/Smeltzer (and other surname variations) who have come before. These efforts will not be replaced by DNA testing. However, DNA testing will enhance the quality and focus of those efforts.
Most of our family members lived their lives not knowing (and maybe not caring) that people like us were curious about our roots and cared so much about their individual existence. Their stories and our stories are important. Their lives (and our lives) were and are important. This DNA project specifically is intended to simply add to that knowledge base in its own unique way, hopefully to find new cousins, to clarify the unknowns that have puzzled us for years, and to add new stories in our quest to know and understand. The total research effort, including all of the traditional methods of genealogical research, should continue and grow.
This project is dedicated to all of you who have worked to gather, save, interpret, share and enjoy information about OUR family. To all of you I say THANK YOU. We encourage you to join us today.