User Home Pages: The Samuel Hedges and His Descendants Home Page
| My interest in family history began in the 1980sas an out crop of wanting to know who I was.My father, Melvin Wayne Hedges, was a Chief Petty Officer in the Navy for Twenty years.As a result, I did not have the chance know my immediate grandparents and their stories.As I grew older I realized that I had a natural affinity for history, and soon found myself collecting what precious little stories my immediate family could recall. After I had exhausted the oral tradition from my immediate family, I had little other directions to explore.Records on the Hedges were hard for me to find, and, with the exception of my cousin, I knew of no other living relative. Then in 1997 two break-throughs occurred that supplied me with a great deal of information.The first was a brief genealogical project that I had funded through the Filson Club in Louisville, Kentucky.The Filson Club Librarian, was able to locate the census records for two generations beyond what I had uncovered up to that point.This was a remarkable stroke of luck given that I did not know the birth places of these two ancestors.The second event was the discovery and subsequent participation in the HERG (Hedges Educational Research Group).This is a exceptional group of about fifty genealogical researchers of the Hedges name who have created a forum on the Internet for the free exchange of information on genealogical research of the Hedges lineage. With these resources and sensing a need for a source detailing information about the story of Samuel Hedges and his descendants along the Bracken County, Kentucky, lineage, a desire took form to compile and write this account.At times the writing has gone slow because of family and work agendas, but this has been a labor of love.More times than not, I wanted to make time to sit down and be with my "family." The search through the history of our family has been rewarding in greater knowledge and acquaintance with family members.There has been excitement in discovering important or enlightening information and in reliving some ancestor's achievement or experience.No where is this more evident than in my researching the exciting lives of Charles and Joseph Hedges in the 1700's.These were men who were founders and patriots of this great land.A profound sense of belonging has come over me with the realization that my predecissors have been walking the mountains and valleys of this United States of America for over 300 years.I now read accounts of U.S. history very differently and find myself thinking, "What role did my forefathers have in this piece of history?" The pursuit of historical facts does not invalidate or exclued the writer's viewpoint.Sometimes hours and days have been expended in the pursuit of one fact or key item.Although I am putting this history down on paper now, this work is far from being complete.I look forward to a life-long pursuit of these traditions. My final desire is that all who wish for a greater understanding of thier own histroy will become acquainted with the many strong, believing, and sacrificing people of the Hedges family heritage. | The Samuel Hedges and His Descendants Home Page Updated September 6, 2000 |
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