There’s nothing like researching your family’s genealogy to re-awaken a sense of pride 
in the history of our country and the people that “built it”. It has been a wonderful 
journey backwards in time. 

Uncovering the diversity of cultures and beliefs of our ancestors who sought and 
fought for freedom from the tyranny of dictators, and those who came out of  the 
simple desire to see and enjoy the results of their own labor to build a future for 
their children’s children has been a labor of love that we now pass on to our 
children’s children. 

My side of our family came mostly from Western Europe, England, Germany, Ireland, and 
Scotland.  A few were already here in the southeastern region when the Mayflower made 
landfall in 1621 at Plymouth,MA.

Nearly every family line on our "Anglo Side" as well as a few of our Hispanic 
Ancestors had one or more sons who fought for their new found freedom in the 
Revolutionary War.   Some I have found, others I haven’t ‘proved up’ yet.  

My husbands ancestors cane from Spain and, as he so often remarks, “were here long 
before the first European set foot on the Atlantic Shore (a statement I'm 
finding  'not entirely accurate' but many were).  Those brave people settled initially 
in Mexico, and pioneered up into what is today Texas, New Mexico and Colorado.  Many 
were here to open up new territories for the Spanish Crown, others for the same 
purpose as their counterparts on the East Coast - !!FREEDOM!! from tyranny and the 
opportunity to enjoy the fruits of their labors and to pass on their successes to 
their children and their children. 

As I searched the history of our ancestors I sometimes ran into very 
interesting ‘stories’ that couldn’t be  proved or disproved as valid.  So, I took a 
bit of poetic license and fabricated plausible stories based on the ‘facts’  we did 
know.   Those are interesting reading but are not to be taken ‘absolutely’!   

Another, but very important, part of my search was to uncover as many old photographs 
and portraits as I could.  Some I found had been treasured and lovingly cared for by 
generation after generation. Those needed only to be copied, framed and displayed.   
Some had been shoved into a closet and as out of sight and mind as the people 
themselves.  I discovered still others that had been damaged or neglected to the point 
they were in danger of extinction.  Those were scanned into my trusty scanner, 
and ‘photo shopped’ until they too were presentable for display. 

When our grandson Zachary was about three, he stood very quietly looking at the 
pictures and asked "Mammy, who I look like"?   And so our dinning room wall of ‘old 
people’ became  our “Who I Look Like” wall, and gave us the name for this website. 

To fail to mention all the terrific ‘cousins’ I meet along this journey backwards thru 
time, those who share the excitement of uncovering an "elusive"  ancestor would be 
unforgivable. SO, TO ALL OF YOU !!!!!MY HEARTFELT THANKS!!!!!!

Ann “Mammy” Conner Galas