Starting Out

Well, this is something that I have been thinking about doing for a long time. I have been interested in genealogy since I was in the 7th grade (I'm almost 40 now), and had to do a family tree for a class project. My dad was able to provide me information going back several generations, while my mother hardly even knew who her grandparents were. Since all of my grandparents had died before I was born, I found learning about them, and their ancestors, was a way to connect with them. My family has saved many things through the years, so I am blessed with boxes of old letters, old photos, old sermons (my great-grandfather Simeon Dederick was a minster), and many old family heirlooms. I still have yet to go through all the letters, and sadly I don't know who many of the people in the photos are, but I hope to post those pictures and letters here over time, and maybe someone else out there searching for their ancestors will see a name or a face that they recognize. To get started I will post a couple of pictures, and parents/grandparents.




My father, Forrest Dederick and his sister Marie, probably taken about 1917, Warsaw, IN.








Forrest about 1928 or so.


















Me: Cheryl Dederick

My Parents:

Forrest Dederick
B. 7-27-1913
D. 3-28-2001

Patricia Westfahl
B. 3-19-1931
D. 8-25-1995


My Grandparents:

Willard Wright Dederick
B. 10-18-1869 D. 6-6-1946
Eva Marie Herrin
B. 3-8-1889 D. 12-14-1967

Herman Westfahl
B. 1-31-1886 D. 10-22-1944
Minnie Itzakowsky
B. 7-1-1888 D. 2-16-1943