The Kessler Family History
About the Research process
Hello my name is Tim Kessler and I'm the middle child of Wayne & Joan Kessler. Let me explain to you how this website came about and the ongoing research that is still happening.
Ever since I was a child I always had to find out how something worked. When I was given a toy as a child I would play with it for a while but soon I would be taking it apart to see what was inside. Sometimes I would be able to put it back together and have it work and sometimes not. I was satisfied either way because I understood how it worked.
I think my love for history stems from this urge of understanding how things work. Understanding history is to understand societies and the people who belong in those societies. Here in America, it is important for one to understand the American Revolution in order to grasp why we so often cite the Bill of Rights, or why we hold such an abstract idea as freedom on such a high pedestal. History also helps us to identify the changes within a society that led it to being what it is in the present. How can one understand why the South is different from the rest of the country and why it’s culture is unique, without first knowing about the events leading up to and resulting from the Civil War? Through history we can learn from the failures and atrocities of societies from around the world. Once we understand what led up to the
enslavement of millions of Africans, the Trail of Tears, and the Holocaust, we can take steps as a society to make sure those things do not happen again. History helps us understand how society works.
Now that you know a little about me you can understand how a simple gift from my mother turned into a passionate hobby for me. For Christmas 2013, my mother gave me a photo album that she had made. In the album amongst the old photographs were 3 x 5 cards with information about our family tree. That album started my gears turning and with my love of history it was only natural to study my family history. Maybe then I could find out how my family works. By taking a look at the roots of one’s family tree you can see why your family belongs to a particular faith, help you appreciate a family name that has been passed down through the generations, or understand how you came to live in a certain area. These things can all give you the feeling of being bonded to your family as well as giving you a better understanding of your own identity.
History is an overall look at how the events of the past created, affected, and changed a society. The study of genealogy or family history is a look at the individuals who partook in the events of history and how those events affected their lives. The study of one’s genealogy helps one to further grasp the events of history. I have study a lot about WW II and understand how devastating it was. However, through researching my family history I learned how it changed my grandfather’s mental health to the point of giving him epilepsy and now I have a better understanding of the true severity of the war.
My research started, like many others do, by gathering stories and information from my father, mother and grandmother. I then went online and started gathering more information from several genealogy websites. Looking up names and records and trying to connect them to the information I had from my family. I am still in the process of researching and trying to make the information as accurate as possible. I know that some of my dates may be off and there are still gaps and questionable connection in our lineage. That’s all right this sight was not created to be a genealogical gospel on the Kessler family.
I created this website for two reasons. The first and most important reason is my family is getting older. As you grow older you begin to think more and more about your past. Family is important and I wanted my family to be able to see some of the family stories come alive. While I was researching my Grandmother’s lineage she was able to come visit us. Being able to share with her what I had found and seeing how happy it made her made it all worthwhile. I wanted to be able to share that same joy with everyone in my family. That is why this sight is different then most family history sights. I wanted them to be able to see pictures and read stories that make the name and dates more exciting.
The second reason for creating this website was so it could help others who may be researching their family. When I started my research I was able to find several family trees that somehow connect to mine. By looking at other families’ history I was able to get a much better starting point then just a few names, dates and stories. Some of the information was accurate some was not but it was all helpful in a way. So if I can help someone else with his or her research all the better.
So if you are part of my family I hope that you can get a joy out of looking over where you came from. If you are a fellow researcher I hope that some of the information here will be helpful. Either way if you see any wrong dates, names or anything else or you just want to say hi use the form below to send me an email.