Welcome to Our Family Tree

This site exists to tell stories and connect people. It is a way for us to share the stories with our family members who are not yet old enough to understand that the people who lived before them had adventuresome lives full of hardship, scandal, and drama, as well as laughter, joy, and fun. We also hope to connect names and families back through time, until we have gotten all of our ancestors out of the United States. In other words, we want to show how each branch of the family tree came to be in America.

Join our Adventure

Every life tells a story.

Every story is part of a life.

Hey there! We’re Jef & Kelly…

a Northern Girl from the suburbs of Wisconsin and a Southern Boy from the hills of Tennessee. Early on in our marriage we realized we both had a love for genealogy.

As children, we both enjoyed family reunions, and we still do as adults. Family is important to us, and being able to share stories about ourselves and our ancestors brings smiles to our faces. Finding a new cemetery and searching out the graves of family members is considered a hot date.

More about us…
  • Us at Meteor Crater Natural Landmark 2019

Navigating This Site

Each person will have their own page, which will include their name, birth/death dates, marriage date(s), names of children, and any other pertinent info we find, along with photographs of paperwork, headstones, and the people themselves. Each person will have their stories listed near the bottom of their page, so you can get to know them individually. And each person will be linked to their family members, making it easy (I hope) to navigate the site.

Latest Family Members Added/Updated

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    Olive (Ketterhagen) Verhalen

    Born: October 3, 1882 Marriage: January 7, 1902 Death: December 8, 1954 Father: Joseph Ketterhagen Mother: Hannah “Anna” Bidding Spouse: Jacob James Verhalen Children: Germaine “Jimmie” Anna Catherine Verhalen Schelvan (1905 – 2008) Elden James Verhalen (1908 – 2003) Edgar “Eddie” Charles Verhalen (1910 – 1991) Walter “Red” Anthony Verhalen (1912 – 2003) Myra Dorothy…

  • Jacob James Verhalen

    Born: April 15, 1875 Marriage: January 7, 1902 Death: May 16, 1953 Father: Herman Verhalen Mother: Katharina Koenen Spouse: Olive Ketterhagen Children: Germaine “Jimmie” Anna Catherine Verhalen Schelvan Elden James Verhalen (1908 – 2003) Edgar “Eddie” Charles Verhalen (1910 – 1991) Walter “Red” Anthony Verhalen (1912 – 2003) Myra Dorothy Verhalen Weber Reich (1914 –…