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So, just how did we become a family?
Well, it all started with a series of unlikely events:
- A shepherd family in Middlesex, England pooled their modest resources to send their 18-year-old son to America in 1856. It was a long and dangerous venture.
- At about the same time, a couple in Longesminde, Denmark set out on a similar journey with their family. Their daughter was just 13 years old.
- Somewhere between Iowa and the Utah Territory, the young man and the young woman met. They were married two years later. Their names: John Hardcastle and Stine Larson. Their story is included here.
You can read the similar stories of Benjamin Ainsworth and Harriet Goff (a common set of ancestors on both sides of the family). Since this is a work in progress, I will later add excerpts from the lives of Abram Jarvis and Carolina Swenson, Charles Sandquist and Mary Holland, Newbolds and Becksteads and Hacketts.
It is continuing still. Look at our own generation. Kevin met Debbie over 800 miles from the place he was born. Kerry had to travel an additional 2000 miles from there to meet Teri, Kory added 250 miles to find Karen and Kristin the same to meet Mike.
It all points to a plan; a purpose. We are here not as the result of cosmic coincidence, but as part of a detailed plan devised by a loving God. We have been prompted throughout our lives to make the choices that would lead us back together – to be a family.
We would like to express our love and gratitude to be associated with each of you. We are so blessed to have a family of friends. We hope that this web site will allow us to share with you the deep appreciation we have for our heritage and kinship.