This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/SWB.2ACE/1065.2.1 Message Board Post: I would guess then that you must be the daughter of Ruth Burns Collins; my name is Tom THUMM and we would be 5th cousins (correction - 4th cousins). As a family researcher for over thirty years, what began as a project to answer questions for my 66 year old grandmother in 1971 has become a love that I am eager to share with all family members (grandma, by the way, is alive and kickin' and will celebrate her 97th next month!). Over time, I have compiled a library of the family histories of my 32 ggg grandparents ancestral and descendant families, as well as the 32ggg grandparents ancestral and descendant families of my wife -- comprising a collection of histories that make up the ancestral and descendant stories of the 64 4xg grandparents of my children. I share the family histories -- free of charge -- with all who care enough to take the time to contribute their knowledge on their individual branch or otherwise have an interest the history that connects us to our relatives and ancestors. In addition, I maintain family mailing lists to provide periodic updates to other related family researchers as new information is discovered and added. If you are interested, I -- and other interested relatives -- would be very pleased to fill in your branch of our tree. We share a ggg grandfather Peter ROß/ROSS and ggg grandmother Margaret, nee BAUMAN, ROß/ROSS; your gggrandfather Johann "John" ROSS was their eldest son and my gggrandmother Barbara M. ROSS THUMM was their youngest of three daughters. Peter ROSS emigrated on the ship "Parkfield", which arrived in NY on 10 Aug 1854 from Hamburg Germany. His accompanying family included his second wife, Eva (nee Reuschel) ROSS and daughters, Catharina, age 17, Margaretha, 11, Barbara, 6, Kunigunde, 3, Regine, infant; a son, John, 9 The father's occupation on ship's manifest was listed as farmer. "Peter Ross was born in Oberpreuschwitz, Bayreuth, Bayern on 28 October 1800. He married in 1832 Margaret BAUMANN of Oberpreuschwitz with whom he had seven children. She died in 1849 and in the following year he married Eve Keuschel of Misselbach and they had 2 children. They came in 1854 to America. He died 23 January 1855, Beaver County PA." Obit from the records of St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, Wall Rose, Beaver County PA Upon his death, all evidence indicates that the second wife and widowed step-mother to the eldest children, placed the 3 minor children of the 4 documented step-children into the care of the religious commune in Old Economie (the eldest daughter, Anna Katharina "Kate" Ross, was at this time 18 years old and an adult; she married Matthias "Mathew" Guttmann three years later in 1858) . The step-mother remained in the immediate vicinity, recorded in the records of St. Mathews Lutheran Church, Walls Rose, Beaver County PA in the marriage to her second husband Georg Heinrich KREDE on 24Jan1856 (exactly one day and one year after the death of her previous husband/our ggggrandfather). SOOOOOOOOOOO, as you see from the text above, my gggrandmother and your gggrandfather were orphans within 5 months of arriving in this country from Germany, given up by their stepmother! If you think that this family history may be of interest to you or your family, let me know. I know your grandmother Alvie is a retired teacher and had the two children. My understanding is that her divorced husband George died in a truck accident hauling logs out west -- but this is anecdotal and I would love details to verify info. Did she ever remarry?. I have no biographical info on your mother and Father Frank COLLINS (I am making an assumption there -- forgive me). I know even less about her brother Frank. Anything you could provide on these questions and/or the descendants of Ruth would be great for a start! I will be glad to share the entire history of over 200 pages plus pics. If not, I am sorry for the time I have taken and apologize for any intrusion into your time. Appreciatively - your cuz. Tom