My
name is Alice Lindsey Fluegge, I am from Chicago, but
am currently living out west. I have a husband Bob, and four sons and three foster
children, one girl and two boys and 14 adorable grandchildren. This site is 30+ years in the making so enjoy.
My
adventure into genealogy began in 1978 years ago when my grandfather asked me
to look into the parentage of his mother, an orphaned Native American. Little
did I realize what a never-ending and thrill-packed journey he started me on. I started with his family tree, and branched out into my
husband's. Our family is the true melting pot of America. It consists of all
races and national origins. These two
families arrived here when America was in its infancy.
My
ancestors were African, brought against their will to work the land without
payment. I am the descendant of African slaves, Native Americans and English,
German and Irish Slave owners whose ancestors came over shortly after the
Mayflower and migrated to the South. My
African-American ancestors fled from North and South Carolina to escape
oppression to the rich farmlands of Indiana and to the industrial Chicago area.
One of my ancestors risked his life to escape slavery by walking from North
Carolina to Illinois. Another ancestor left his family behind in North Carolina
to join the Union army. Others had to
flee where they were born after relatives were lynched.
My
husband Bob's family came here from England on the Mayflower to escape
religious persecution and later joined together with Germans escaping forced
conscription and non-ownership of their land, Irish and Dutch to form a
multicultural family unit spreading from New England to Washington State. They
came to the virgin farmlands of America from Europe for the freedom to own and
cultivate their own land and to have freedom of religious choice.
Our
children have expanded our rich cultural roots with the descendants of Mexico,
Puerto Rico and Columbia.
What
both families had in common was the need was freedom,
and they found it here. The descendants of these two families ranged the gamut
of American life. They were the homesteaders, sharecroppers, cowboys, teachers,
politicians, miners and everything in-between. They have served in every war
from the Revolutionary War to the Vietnam War and have suffered casualties in
all. They have shaped the landscape of America from coast to coast and have
fulfilled the legacy of freedom their ancestors craved.
When my paternal
grandfather asked me to find out about the parentage of his mother, he started
with telling me that she was a member of the Blackfeet Indian tribe and an
orphan who had been raised by a white family in Cairo, IL. But he didn't stop
there. He gave me the entire story of his family, as he knew it. I didn't know what to do or how to even
begin. He died shortly after making that request, (as have many other family
members who contributed to this work in progress. But the journey keeps them
close and I know that they are still helping me find my way) but I decided to
do what he asked if not for him, but for my children and myself. The
information I have is from various sources. Family stories: (As much as I hear
people knock family stories, I have gained a lot of verifiable information from
things family members have told me.), Census Records,
Cemeteries, County Courthouse records, Libraries, State records, Family
published genealogies and lately the Internet. Not all is completely verified
and is subject to correction. I do what's known as cluster genealogy; I have
information on both my family and my husband's family included in my family is
my stepfather's family that arrived to America in the late 1790's from Cornwall
and England. I am now up to 8,588 people in my family database and it keeps
growing. If you do see a family name
listed I may have more information on the spouse's family not doesn't show up
on our trees so please contact me for more information.
Come visit our family
pages where you will find family trees, stories, pictures, historical
references and links to other sites. We can watch the pages grow a little more
with your contributions and perhaps I can do the same for you. These trees are
for access to anyone doing research on the families involved, there is more
information on these families on Ancestry.com, if you are a member look at the
trees online or if you are interested in having access to them contact me
through my email any information or comment to me at: alicelinzy@yahoo.com