The stories in Chapter 4: Discovering Ancestors came about from weaving research (some of it before the internet) with genealogy and pondering old keepsakes and tales. 

They were such fun because of my journey of discovery–scrolling through old newspapers on microfilm, requesting esoteric books (Jesse James, Santee Sioux, etc.) through Interlibrary Loan, finding a connection between an old photo and a story from a grandmother’s memoir, and pondering old autograph books. 

Mom and I drove over gravel roads to hunt for the area where Patterson’s Ford must have been. We drove up around the Victorian house before the city of Guthrie Center condemned it. And sis Gloria and I visited Audubon to visualize where the Independence Day parade marched decades ago. I hope those of you who enjoy research will relish the stories that resulted. 

The Des Moines Register sent a photographer to the Dexter Cemetery for this one. He took a photo of me at the gravestone of my earliest ancestor buried there. (February 1977, a Sunday issue)

In his Foreword for the book, Lee Habeeb said this story, “which chronicles the life of a small hometown cemetery” was his favorite. “It’s a very specific story – and yet such a universal one, too. It reminds us all that we sprang from someone else’s dreams and hopes. We landed where we landed because of choices prior generations made.”

The Immigrant and the Outlaw: A Collection of Stories from America’s Heartland will be released on Amazon.com tomorrow, May 13. 

In another week or so, you can find autographed copies at the Urbandale Machine Shed Restaurant, and in person and by mail through Beaverdale Books in Des Moines (515-279-5400).