The Grimes Group - Past & Present
This is no longer my first attempt at Website generation for genealogy purposes, but I'm still rather a neophyte at it. While I have been working on my various families and their information since the early 1970s, it has been an on-and-off kind of thing, mostly off more than on. With the advent of Web technology and online information sharing, I have started back into the active ranks of researchers once again. It is my hope that by posting my results to date on the Web, that someone will recognize one of their branches, and some of my "brick walls" will be chipped away some more.
I have several families of interest here. Obviously, my main family focus is on the Grimes family. This particular branch is based in Union County, OH, and came from Preston County, WV. Henry Grimes is the root ancestor of this branch, and he and his family from Preston County are my brick wall for this branch. Henry and his family came to Union County, Ohio in 1869. While I have found some census records on Henry and the family back to at least 1850, things get fuzzy before that.
Next is my mother's family, the Pattens (or Pattons). Joseph Patton is the root ancestor of this branch, who went from somewhere in PA to Bourbon County, KY, most likely in the late 1780s, either with, or soon following, Daniel Boone. The family then moved to Shelby County, OH in 1830 and spread to Logan County some time after. I have good information back to before 1800 because I have some Bible records from the Joseph Patton branch. The last name spelling is interesting, and has little pattern to it. While I have developed my direct lineage here for the most part, I have gotten a lot of invaluable help for my indirect ancestors.
Another family is the Shaw family, that of my paternal grandmother. The root ancestor so far is Harrison Shaw, who came from Harford County, MD to Union County, OH in 1843. Recent research has pointed to Nicholas Shaw being his father, and I show him as such, but more confirmation is still needed on that. This family is large, and spread from Union County in ensuing years. For this family I have received a lot of help from several other researchers.
One other family of interest is that of the Croy family. That is the family of my maternal grandmother. The root ancestor of this branch is William Croy, or more recently found, his father John. They were from Morgan County, OH as far back as I have found, but are believed to have been in PA before that. Much of the Croy clan moved west to MO to homestead the prairie just after the Civil War. This family has the noted author, Homer Croy in its ranks. I have found some information online for this line, and have gotten quite a bit of help from other researchers.
The final family of major interest dealt with here on my side is that of the Stoll (or often spelled Stall) family. This is the family of my paternal great-grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Stoll, and the basis of our annual Stoll-Grimes reunion in Marysville, OH along with her children through her husband, James Henry Grimes. George Stoll came to America in April 1851 with the Michael Lusch family. They came to the Columbus, OH/Franklin County area where George married one of Michael's daughters, Catherine Lusch. They then moved to the Union County area soon after.
There are other families of interest, such as Green, Coder, Hamilton, Blue, McVay, and Tibbles on my side. Coder and Hamilton, in particular, are areas of current research and a lot of success, especially with connecting to others' posted ancestries.
My other current work is for my wife's families. These include Raver, Hartman, Wildermuth, Baker, Gregg, Reed, and Mummey to name a few. In the future I will probably split them into their own site, but for now they are included here.
The Raver family has been largely in the Fairfield County, Ohio area since the early 1800s. However, the family has split and many branches do not communicate, and in many cases, have no clue they are even related.
The Hartman family has been researched by several people in a couple different branches. The Peter Hartmann family came from Germany about 1832, migrating after a time to the Ashland county, Ohio area. One small branch went on to the Allen county, Ohio area, and another over to Tazewell and Livingston counties in llinois. The family started as Mennonite, and the different branches were active in that religion for differing time lengths. My most recent research has expanded on the Illinois branch the most, that of Peter's daughter, Agnes. So far, three sons and one daughter of Peter have been found with descendants, but much more work is yet to be done.
The Gregg family has had an excellent researcher in John Ogden, and for the moment I have merely included the direct line information going back from my wife's branch.. He has much more, but not yet online.
I would urge anyone viewing this site who is connected with the families here to e-mail me with any updates to their information. If you are unsure whether you might be connected, or if you might have information to add to ancestors further back, please also e-mail me. I am willing to share information.
In any case, kudos to Ray Nicklas and his Family Matters software. Finding and adopting his program has made my documentation life so much easier and more enjoyable. If you find a connection here, or just have questions, feel free to e-mail me. Many people have helped me get as far as I am today with my research; I try to return the favor whenever possible.
In addition, I would like to remember my Uncle, Howard Grimes, who passed away not long ago. He helped greatly in furthering my interest in family and genealogy, and gave me much of my start. He will be sorely missed by all who knew and loved him. Between him and my Aunt, Virginia (Alexander) Grimes, I got a great start in my family search from the information they had collected over the years, and much support along the way.
When I started my genealogy quest, my grandfather, Ralph J. Grimes, had just passed away and my uncles and aunts were the Grimes family elders. Now, about thirty years later, only one uncle still survives, along with a couple of aunts and a few extended family. and my generation is now the "family elders". This merely shows that time waits for no one, and that tomorrow's history is made today.
There is both a Individual Index and a Family Index available. You can switch between them by using the links at the top and bottom of the lists.The index is ordered by SURNAME, First Name, then Birth Date. Another index provided is for other topics of interest in this genealogical endeavour, called chronicles by the Family Matters software.Another index provided is for pictures provided here.
This is a frames-oriented genealogy web site. You seem to be using a non-frames web browser. You will appreciate this site more with the frames, but all is not lost, as long as you can view tables. Use your browser's back button to bring you back to here. E-mail me at GrimesGang@Comcast.Net if you would like to contact me about my genealogy, or about this web site. This page generated 12 Sep 2005 by Family Matters® genealogy software, Version 4.22b.