Close to forty years ago my parents began working to piece together the history of the their parents and ancestors. This started out mainly including the families of Lockhart, Archer, Myer, Taylor, Harper, Summers and Fields.  I remember many weekends of heading out onto the back roads of West Virginia in search of old cemeteries, chuches and home places. Usually we'd have nothing to go on but a county road map or someone having told us about a place they remember when they were a kid. Sometimes we'd find ourselves having to cut back through the briars and brush to find an abandoned cemetery. Sometimes the car would get stuck in what seemed to be a bottomless mud pit on on an old road the was not much more than a cow path. But it didn't stop us from going out again the next weekend. And continuing to try to read old weathered tombstones to gather dates or find references to other family members. That was many years ago when I was in my mid-teens. I have many fond memories of that period of time. Gerry Lockhart

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It has been a long 40-year journey that began with just a goal to find our own families…our roots…and we spent many weekends taking our small children on picnics through country cemeteries throughout West Virginia to gather that information.

In 1991 we retired to Florida and left our genealogy material packed away, at least for a few years until our son Gerry asked for information to enter into a computer genealogy program he had purchased. That got us started again! If he was willing to enter the information, then we were willing to do the research. After two years he graciously taught us how to do what he was doing because he had become too busy to keep up with the entry work. We also gained fantastic new research resources with the Internet and e-mail.

We have collected and compiled much information over the years and now records and statistics are much easier to find than when we started. We continue to find additional information and make ever-expanding contacts with family members and other genealogists. We received so many requests over the years to share information that we finally gave in and began creating books containing descendant information for specific families—many of which are in the West Virginia State Library in Charleston. This book is just one of the results!

There are so many people that have contributed information and help to us over the years that it is impossible to name and thank them all. There are a few, however, that deserve special recognition. My parents, Clyde Matthew Taylor and Bessie Frances (Summers) Taylor, could never have realized how much we relied upon them. Their fantastic memories and close association with relatives have been invaluable. My genealogy partner and husband, Jim, has spent hundreds of hours entering information into the database as we’ve worked together since retirement. As mentioned, our son Gerry re-ignited our interest, introduced us to computerized genealogy and has been our personal technology consultant in formatting and creating books.

It has been, at times, frustrating, but always enjoyable as we continue the search. We have tried to find and correct all errors; even realizing that is practically impossible. If you find mistakes, please let us know. Also, if you have additional information to share, we always appreciate learning more! Our books, like families, are living works in progress.

We hope you enjoy the result as much as we enjoy the search.

Flora Janet Taylor Lockhart

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