I call it destiny......

Some time ago when I started my quest of researching my ancestors, I didn't know what fun I would have and how interesting it could be. I took it upon myself to go on this journey because my dad had expressed an interest in finding out more than what we did know. We didn't know a lot, but thanks to my dad's mother, she had written down quite a few ancestors names (who was married to who)and little notes (that she and her husband both had the same set of grandparent)and so on. Well this really got me interested and I had to sit down and figure out how this could be. Low and behold, she was right!

At about this time I purchased my computer and a genealogy program and set forth to build my Family Tree. I got on the internet and started with a few queries in places where you could do that sort of thing and had sent an email to a lady in California researching the same name as me. Well she replied that it was a different line she was researching, but she gave me a list of names and addresses of some people she thought was researching the same line as me. Well the months went by and one day I received in the mail a package with LOTS of information and a picture. It was from a 3rd cousin (someone I had never known). She lives in Tennessee and I owe a lot to her for taking me where I have gotten to today.

Oh yes, the picture. When I took the picture out of the envelope, I had goose bumps. Here was a smaller version of a picture that I had of my great grandfather, his brothers and sisters, mother and dad and wife and young son taken in about 1900. She wanted to know if by some chance I knew who the people in this picture were. I was so excited, I called her up and thanked her for the 'gold mine' of information that she had sent me and would in turn tell her who the people in the picture were.

From the information that I had put together, I could go back to my 3rd great grandfather John Roller. After receiving my cousin's info, I was now back to my 6th great grandfather Johannes Roller. I have since compiled more information on this line than I ever thought I would.

Now for what I believe is 'Destiny'. In about 1750 Johannes Roller came from Germany and settled in Rockingham County, Virginia. He lived in a town called Timberville. This is where he raised his family and quite a large one at that. As I have said Johannes is my 6th great grandfather on my dad's side. Now in a town called Elkton, some 35 miles from Timberville, lived George Jacob Moyer, my 5th great grandfather on my mom's side. He too had come from Germany in about the same time frame and raised his family, though not quite as large as Johannes'. As the years and generations went by, these two families migrated to other towns and states. Two descendants of these two men were living in a small rural town- Farmersville, Ohio.
One was Bobbie Frank Roller
and the other was Ellen Jane Moyer.
These two people are my parents.
They were married in 1948, almost 200 years after their ancestors had lived in such close proximity to each other.
I call it 'destiny'.

In 1966 my parents traveled to British Columbia and came to the small town of Chetwynd. While visiting here we met a family by the name of Shollenburg. Mrs. Shollenburg's family lived in the area also. They were the Nicholsons. We met Mrs. Nicholson and some of her family. Little did I know that the Nicholsons would be my inlaws down the road 2 years later. Destiny? I think it was!