Dear family, and most especially Ed, this is the May 2005 update. Whew. Yes, there is a lot of work still to be done. For one, I just located some 20+ census records from 1860 to 1930 with the Perkins, Akridge, Gum and Lewis families, and I still need to input these. I can say with some certainty that I have documented to my own satisfaction the Rhodes line to Benjamin Rhodes of North Carolina. Now, Benjamin's son had a wife, Rachel Clinton, and whether she is the grandaughter of Thomas Kenan and Elizabeth Johnstone, I have yet to substantiate for myself. Two unique sources say so, and both of these sources say Elizabeth is the daughter of John (of Stapleton) Johnstone, who is listed in Burke's Peerage and has been traced to the kings and queens of Scotland. However, I've seen this disputed, so I'm still working on it. At the very least, our grandfathers, cousins and uncles have been governors and war heroes and eccentric characters throughout their time in the Americas. They've had cities and counties named for them. My goodness. And as for the women, I'm certain they have their own stories if I can just get at them. The Perkins line I have documented to my comfort back to the mid-1700s and Nicholas. His son was first of our Perkins line to settle in Green County, Kentucky. It's remarkable to think we have over 200 years of heritage in that soil. For sources on the Godtfredsen/Breums/Breaums of Denmark, I am ever beholden to Greg and Sandy. For those Godtfredsen/Breum/Breaums who came to the US, I am also beholden to Greg and Sandy ... and the Ellis Island web site and US Census and ancestry.com and the local newspaper too. The Lewises are still a mystery. Was great grandfather Harvey Lewis from Germany as family tradition says, or from North Carolina, as the census seems to say? Dunno yet. Some modern sources trace great great grandfather William Akridge (who I have documented through censuses) back multiple generations to 1700 and his ancestors, William and Elizabeth, of Maryland. I look forward to seeing the documentation on this. Other modern sources trace Abraham Gum (who I have in the censuses, too) to the Gums and Claypooles and others of England and Scotland in the 13th Century. If Anyone has "Leaves from the Gum Tree" by Muriel Martens Hoffman, I'd be ever grateful. She seems to have put together quite a book. My sources are a mess. My house is a mess. And there's still grading to be done to finish up this semester. But here's what I have to share with you, my family. ~L
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