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Richard's Genealogy Page
I'm aiming to finish the majority of this genealogy web page
sometime this year -- hopefully during the summer.
As my family genealogy web page will show, my father was born
and raised in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Specifically,
he was born and raised in Ishpeming,
Michigan -- a small town outside of Marquette. My family
took several summer vacation trips to the U.P. when I was a child.
I have returned there three times as an adult: once for my father's
internment in 1996, once for my mother's internment in 1998,
and then again in 2000. It is really a very beautiful part of
the country. Like much of the upper mid-west, it has lots of
beautiful lakes, forests and wildlife.
My paternal great-grandfather emigrated from Norway just after
the American Civil War. He was one of those extraordinarily rare
invididuals who literally lived the Horatio Alger, rags-to-riches
myth. He hob-nobbed with the rich and famous, and was eventually
elected State Treasurer of Michigan around the turn of the 20th
century. While there are no monuments dedicated to his memory
(as was his wish), the Michigan Nature Association does have
a nature preserve named the "Braastad Nature Sanctuary"
in the Ishpeming area.
I'll have more to write about my father's
side of the family as I develop this webpage during the summer
of 2001. Look for a number of family photos -- especially dating
from the early 20th century.
| My mother was born and raised in Kentucky. Most
of my family there lives in the heart of bluegrass country, in
a small town called "Versailles"
-- not far from the city of Lexington. Everywhere else in the
world the town's name would be pronounced "VER-SIGH".
But in Kentucky it's pronounced "VER-SAILS"! |
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My mother's side of the family can trace its roots back to
the Mayflower -- even to English royalty. In fact, one
of my maternal cousins conducted extensive genealogical research
-- the results of which I hope, one day, to reproduce here in
cyberspace. However, my cousin's notes are buried in storage,
and may not become available for several months. Hopefully, I
will have access to those notes -- and post that information
to this site -- by the end of this year.
Richard Braastad
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