Hello everyone, I'm a new member, so thought I'd introduce myself. My name is Deb, and I've been working on my family's genealogy off and on for several years (mostly off, I must confess). I get stuck and then frustrated, then give up for a while, then the bug bites again and off I go. Anyway, I've been trying to research my Ferris/Farris line and always seem to come up against a wall. Here's what I've got so far (not much, but it's a start): 1. Warren Farris b. Feb. 8, 1847 d. July 11, 1918. M. Julia somebody... 2. Dea Ferris b. April 5, 1881 in Steuben County, IN, d. Aug. 8, 1960 M. Mercy Naomi VanPelt... 3. Opal Ida (Ferris) Smolinske b. Sept. 25, 1913 in Steuben Co., IN. M. Robert Heinrich Smolinske... Grandma (Opal Ferris) Smolinske is still living, but I've gotten as much info. from her as I can. Seems like the family is hesitant to talk about Grandma's side of the family and I can't get much more info. than this. I don't know where Warren Farris was born, or the maiden name of his wife, Julia. Apparently Julia died when Dea Ferris was only 4, and Dea was sent off to a foster home, at which time the spelling of his last name was changed from Farris to Ferris. The thing that makes tracing my genealogy so difficult at this point is, I live in Sunbury, PA and my entire family still lives in Indiana, so I can't just hop over to the local courthouse or whatever to check records. I've been getting a teeny bit of info. via the internet/e-mail. I guess I need to plan a genealogy trip to Indiana combined with a family visit. I've also written to various family members who supposedly have traced some of the genealogy, but get no replies. Grandma always mentioned that we were Scots/Irish, and judging from the last names on her side (Farris/Ferris and VanPelt), I'm assuming it was the Farris line since VanPelt is Dutch, unless there are other ancestors I haven't found yet that are Scots/Irish. (Who knows, maybe Warren Farris married Julia O'Connor or something). I'm interested in tracing the Farris line back to "the auld sod".... Hope you all have a nice Memorial Day weekend! Deb Edmonds Lusby Sunbury, PA