Who Am I? My name is Jolynn and I'm New England born but raised in the South; South Florida, to be exact. I guess that makes me a "Southern Belle" by nurture instead of nature; it certainly made me a die-hard Miami Dolphins and University of Florida Gators fan! However, for the past 28 years or so I have made my home in a small town in the Mid-Ohio Valley region of West Virginia. The Florida in which I grew up does not exist anymore, so I feel very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to raise my children in a small town environment. However, living in a community where everyone is related to each other does make one wonder about their own family and where they came from.....
What Am I Trying to Accomplish - And Why? Despite the size and scope of this page, I am not simply a "name collector". I am quite fascinated by the sheer amount of people that it takes to create us! I have 25 pages dedicated to my direct line ancestors--and most of those are dedicated to more than one direct line surname. It's mind-boggling when you think about it. And consider this--the information on this website is totally from my father's side of the family. I have not gone too far in my mother's line because her father came here from Sicily and very few Sicilian records are online as of yet. Hope springs eternal....
When I started to try and put together a family tree many, many years ago, I didn't get very far. I had no idea where to get the information that my family could not provide, so I gave it up. When we got our first computer, I starting poking around the Web. I found some genealogy websites, and began to dig a little. Not being able to find very much at first made me even more curious about my family, so I started digging deeper.
Little by little, bit by bit, information began to trickle my way. Then I thought, "If I put my stuff--sparse as it is--out on the Web, maybe I can find more people who are looking for the same information. And maybe they would have stuff that I didn't! And maybe--just maybe--they'd share it with me."
Did it work? Well, it sure helped; because I now have almost 50 pages of information on this site! Sadly, I can only list 25 of them on the main page, but the other pages are linked to those featured. And while the information is grand in and of itself, the people who sent me that information are even more precious. I was (and still am!) contacted by so many cousins! And they freely and willingly shared information and pictures and anecdotes and copies of news clippings. One generous cousin even sent me CD's of her parents' music. Another cousin drove me all around Williamstown when I went for a visit in 2003; taking me to the town hall and the cemetery and Williams College, as well as having lunch and dinner together and becoming good friends. I'm so proud to come from a family of such warm and wonderful people.So, you see, it is not about simply gathering names and dates. It is also learning about their lives--what their talents were, what they were passionate about, how and where they lived their lives--and why. It's finding out the good, the bad, and the ugly. Among the fine and upstanding citizens that are contained in these pages, you will find a couple of murderers, at least one bigamist, and more than one person who "led a scandalous life". We have teachers, musicians, stone masons and folks with artistic talents--one of which was my father.
I have always believed that if you want to get, you must give. Because I have been the lucky and grateful recipient of family information--from lookup volunteers as well as those family members mentioned above--I am compelled to share what I've found and learned with others. Of course, I do not share details about folks who I know, or believe to be, still living. If you think you know one of my living relatives, e-mail me (the addy is at the bottom of the page) and I'll do what I can to help you.
Is This All I Do With My Life? When I must be dragged (kicking and screaming sometimes!) from the past to the present, I work as an office aide in a law enforcement capacity. I also spent 3 years as a foster parent and 9 years as a 911 dispatcher in both Pleasants and Wood counties in West Virginia.; the latter of which elected me "Telecommunicator of the Year" for 2001--an honor of which I am very proud. I began my dispatch career in Lake Worth, Fla; where I worked back in the late 1980's. Although I left my first dispatch position to pursue other avenues of employment, law enforcement seems to draw me back in!
When not at work, spending time with my grandchildren or on the computer, you'll either find me in the kitchen (I love to cook), in the garden, or watching football with my hubby. I am the proud parent of a son and 2 daughters, and I LOVE being Nona to their children! I also love music; and while my favorite band is Led Zeppelin, I enjoy a wide variety of music; from classic rock to jazz, swing, 60's, 70's, 80's, and even a few of the newer rock bands.
Another thing that is hard about living so far away from "home" is losing touch with those that you grew up with, went to school with, etc. I love hearing from old classmates or people I used to know from Deggeller or Conklin Amusements. My e-mail address is at the bottom of the page, or you can find me on Facebook.
This page was updated January 2018. .
Noel Family of Brockton, MA by Jolynn Noel Winland is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States LicenseWhat does this mean? .
Email: littleangeljw@yahoo.com
