Dear Family and Friends-Several years ago Shirley Johnston Hulbert sent me a copy of her 12 year research on our family. Shirley was my father's cousin. The family sur names include Ellison, Smith, Brown, Kirkendall, Dement and Frandell. I was able to take her research and connect our family line back to the American Revolution (actually two generations before that). The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) recently approved the research and verified the work. On February 7th I will receive an official number. It appears that I was the first one on this line to apply for verification. Believe me this would not have been possible if it hadn't for the work of Shirley Johnston Hulburt, a newsletter Bits of Dement and a book Dement Through the Ages. I hope your family will feel a sense of pride and connectedness knowing that one line of linage was involved in founding our great country. Love, Carol Jean Spicer