The "Help Me" Page (click here for home)
This page is designed to give you a general description of this - the Suhler/Thompson Family History Web Site - and how to best navigate through it. It is divided into three parts: (1) Introduction to the Family History Research Project; (2) Glossary of Family History Terms; (3) Guide To Using The Specific Web Site Pages.
1. INTRODUCTION TO THE FAMILY HISTORY RESEARCH PROJECT
"This has been a colossal project!"
In early December 1997, a breakfast meeting at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington DC introduced John and Charlotte Suhler and myself, and we initiated a discussion to research their family history. After receiving a package consisting of several file folders with basic data known about the family, we began an adventure that would eventually become thirty-five volumes of history as well as an Internet Web Site.
After the initial computer database of information was created, over 1800 hours have been spent in research and organization time. Over a period of more than three years, research was conducted at the Utah Genealogical Society in Salt Lake City, Utah as well as on location in Kansas and Illinois where the family's ancestors primarily resided in the United States. Relatives directly connected to the family were contacted in person and by e-mail. Distant cousins were found through research on the Internet.
Other research was conducted at local area repositories such as the DAR Library, Library of Congress and National Archives in the Washington DC area. Finally, foreign Swedish research was conducted through the services of Richard W. Price & Associates in Salt Lake City, Utah as well as German records examined by relatives onsite at the ancestral home.
One of the most time consuming parts of this project was actually conducted by Sue Suhler of Wichita, Kansas over a period of two years. She organized over 1,000 photographs on the Suhler-Holmberg family that were eventually placed on CD disk for preservation as well as easy access. This material will be eventually be one of the many pages for study once the photograph captions have been written. A similar experience was initiated in July 2000 when Marian Thompson graciously brought forth her collection of photographs and allowed me to bring them to the east where I could organize them for the Thompson-Manley family.
Anyone who gets involved in this type of work would be wise to remember the time proven adage once shared with me by the sexton of a local cemetery. He said, "you don't prune your family trees, you prune your apple trees." There is much family lore which cannot be proven because the written record is more often than not available to the researcher as verification. Something we can do is to participate in turning the tide of these circumstances by recording our own life history for others to read in the future.
Records collected and analyzed for this project eventually built a story identifying over 5,000 people who span four centuries, lived over thousands of miles worldwide and yet all have a relationship to John and Charlotte (Thompson) Suhler in some way. We are confident that the Legacy of the Suhler-Thompson Family has been woven together quite worthy of your time, study and lifelong enjoyment, as well as a testimony that "we live what we are."
Andrea Osinchak
Genealogist
2. GLOSSARY OF FAMILY HISTORY TERMS
Ancestry: All of a person's lineage in generations preceding the person, all previous generations, past mankind
Census: An official periodic count of population recording names, ages, sex, birthplaces, etc. The United States began taking census in 1790 and it continues to be taken every ten years. The census in foreign countries has been preserved without consistency, depending on the geographic area.
Certificates: A written or printed statement by which a fact is formally or officially certified or attested. Records of birth, marriage and death, church membership and leadership, military service, lineage society membership, educational honors are examples of information found on official certificates.
Descendant: A person who is an offspring, however remote of a common ancestor, tribe, clan, lineage, etc.
Family Bible: The Bible is structured to have illuminated pages for recording family births (christenings), deaths (burials), and marriages.
Genealogy: The tracing of one's descent. This number one hobby in the United States for persons over age 30 comes from the Greek word "genealogia" meaning everybody who was anybody that could claim descent from the gods and heroes.
Heritage: Something handed down from one's ancestors or the past as a characteristic, a culture, tradition.
Legacy: Anything handed down from one ancestor to their posterity.
Pedigree: A list of ancestors, record of ancestry, all succeeding generations, future mankind.
Posterity: All of a person's descendants, all succeeding generations, future mankind.
Tradition: The handing down orally of stories, beliefs, customs from generation to generation.
3. Guide To Using The Specific Web
Site Pages
There are 16 main "pages" within this web site. Within each "page" are additional links. A description of each of the pages is listed below. Most of the links lead to scanned original documents. Included in the various sixteen pages are photographs, family letters, vital records, wills and other information pertinent to the listed family surnames. To return back to the main page after you view a scanned image, press the "back" button on your computer.
These pages contain statistical information about the Suhler and Thompson families. The bulk of information gathered by the research project conducted by Andrea Osinchak is found in these two pages.
On each of the main pages you will find a
button that looks like this: 
Clicking on that will link to a location
(below) in this "Help Me" page which will present a more detailed
description of the contents of the page in question. To return back to the
page where you were, click on the underlined part of the description (or click
the "back" button on your computer.)
As noted, there are a total of 16 main "pages" within this web site. These can be found and accessed in one of three ways: (1) by going to the Home Page and clicking on the links in the table; (2) by clicking on the "Quick Links" section found at the bottom of each of the 16 pages; and (3) by clicking on one of the 16 links found below in this "Help Me" page. Throughout the web site there are blue Help buttons found on each of the main pages which give a description of that specific page (it will lead to the the link found below).
Two notable pages are the (i) John Stuart Suhler family history page and (ii) the Charlotte Kay Thompson family history page. Within these pages you will find all the family history data organized in what is called a descendancy history. Birth, marriage and death dates/places are provided for the oldest ancestor known on a particular surname and for the descendancy of that ancestor. After each listed name you will find a direct, blood line pedigree cited in parenthesis (i.e. Bror Holmberg). The numbers attached to each individual in the history leads the reader to the source of information for that person. (i.e. Bror Holmberg #5).
Explanation of contents of each major section of this web site:
1. John Stuart Suhler family history: This page contains information about John Stuart Suhler and his children, siblings and parents. This page also contains detailed information on the Suhler ancestral line. Found on this page is a listing of various family surnames. By clicking on the surname, one can find out a wealth of information about that particular family. This information has been compiled with the popular PAF software. The information includes detailed account of descendency from the earliest known ancestor and contains statistical data for birth, marriage, death, dates and places. It also contains sources of information and biographical notes.
2. Charlotte Kay Thompson Suhler family history: This page contains information about Charlotte Kay Thompson Suhler and her children, siblings and parents. This page also contains detailed information on the Thompson ancestral line. Found on this page is a listing of various family surnames. By clicking on the surname, one can find out a wealth of information on the family. This information has been compiled with the popular PAF software. The information includes detailed account of descendency from the earliest known ancestor and contains statistical data for birth, marriage, death, dates and places. It also contains sources of information and biographical notes.
3. Baptism: Found herein are baptismal certificates of the Suhler/Thompson ancestors.
4. Bible: This page contains documents taken from various family bibles.
5. Birth: Contained here are birth certificates and announcements.
6. Death/Burial: This page contains death certificates as well as cemetery and tombstone information.
7. Census: Census records in the United States are available from 1790 - 1920. The research that was done reviewed whatever census records were available for all families and the information is provided for your review.
8. Family Letters: This page contains scanned family letters that were collected from various family members who have been so generous in sharing their personal records.
9. Geography: This is designed to present information on the areas where the Suhler/Thompson families have resided. Sketches of local and regional information as well as maps, whenever possible, are provided. In the United States, genealogical records are kept on a town/county/state basis. In other countries such as England and Germany genealogical records are kept on a parish/county basis.
10. Marriage: Scanned documents of marriage certificates and marriage licenses of Suhler/Thompson ancestors.
11. Military: This page contains scanned military records of Suhler/Thompson ancestors who served in the military. Records include military and pension files from the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Mexican War, Civil War, and foreign military service.
12. Immigration and Naturalization: Passenger lists and records of citizenship of those Suhler/Thompson ancestors who left foreign lands to make a new life in America.
13. Photographs: Photographs of the fabulous Suhler/Thompson families and their ancestors. The photographs are part of an extensive collection by family members that have been collected and preserved over the years.
14. Probate: Probate records include administrations, wills, inventories and other miscellaneous documents pertaining to ancestral estates at the time of their death.
15. Research Contacts: Various research contacts and sources were used in compiling the data for this web site. The names and contact information for the individuals who helped contribute to this web page are found herein. Also found in this section are links that can be of great use for further genealogical pursuits. Cindi's List is a major genealogical web page which contains a plethora of genealogical information. FamilySearch contains multiple databases with millions of names that are added on a regular basis (this is the official genealogical site of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).
16. Help page: This page should serve as a general guide in guiding you through this web site of the amazing and fabulous Suhler/Thompson families and their ancestors!