Can you help me with these brick walls?


Currently, I am stuck in my quest for information on the following ancestors:

  • Lenhart, Christian (Sr.) — Germany? -> Pennsylvania (prior to 1764)
    Does anyone know where Christian Lenhart, Sr. was born? Or who his parents were?

    Note: We now have DNA proof that he was not Johann Peter Lenhart's brother.
  • Smith (Smyth), James — of Ireland
    Can you help me find out exactly where James Smith (Smyth) lived in Ireland and who his wife was?

    What we know so far is that it may have been in Kilamoat/Kiltegan, County Wicklow or somewhere in County Westmeath. He had a number of sons immigrate to the United States and settle in Iowa. Sons include Leeson, Henry, and William, and possibly Charles, Thomas and John.
  • Neff, John — Pennsylvania
    Can you help me find out who his parents were? And where he was buried?

    What we know so far is that his parents were born in Holland and he was born in Pennsylvania. He and his children show up as land owners in Jackson County, Iowa. He may have died in Iowa.
 


  • A family history
    leads to the satisfaction in really knowing who you are
    and from when you came.

  • "Nor long shall any name resound
    Beyond the grave, unless't be found
    In some clerk's book; it is the pen
    Gives immortality to men."

  • A good life lasts for several generations.

  • In all of us there is a hunger, marrow-deep,
    to know our heritage, to know who we are
    and where we come from.

    — Alex Haley
  • To forget one's ancestors
    is to be a brook without a source,
    a tree without a root.

    — Chinese Proverb
  • Family faces are magic mirrors.
    Looking at people who belong to us,
    we see the past, present, and future.
    We make discoveries about ourselves.

    — Gail Lumet Buckley
  • In every conceivable manner,
    the family is a link to our past,
    a bridge to our future.

    — Alex Haley
  • What greater thing is there for human souls
    than to feel that they are joined for life – to be with each other
    in silent unspeakable memories.

    — George Eliot
  • Some people come and go in our lives.
    Some stay forever.

  • We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors,
    we borrow it from our children.

    — Native American Proverb
  • The memories we give may a lifetime live in the heart
    of those we hold so close.

    — Unknown
  • Families are like fudge . . .
    mostly sweet with a few nuts.

    — Unknown
  • The family is one of Nature's masterpieces.

    — George Santayana
  • Having a place to go – is a home.
    Having someone to love – is a family.
    Having both – is a blessing.

    — Donna Hedges
  • Every man is his own ancestor,
    and every man is his own heir.
    He devises his own future,
    and he inherits his own past.

    — Fredrick Henry Hedge