Searching for my ancestors

This is the story of my journey into the past, my family history. It began on a family trip to Galena, Illinois about 35 years ago. I asked my mother and father about their parents and grandparents and wrote it all down. An uncle, Athur Andersen, had documented the birthdates of the members of my mother's family. This was the start.

My father died in 1984 and my mother died in 1985. I felt cut off from my past so I started my search.. I ordered death certificates and wrote to the Oakdale Cemetery for burial information. I paid a genealogist in Philadelphia $40 to find out more. And I ordered a book that was advertised to be a history of the Kemps Family. It was fairly useless and provided a list of many people named Kemps who were not related. I contacted my father's cousin, Richard Kirkpatrick, and I wrote to the Kemps Dairy. I sent copies of all of my research to my brother and my cousin Charles.