I am a genealogy enthusiast. Stoltz, Dietz, Kapp, Moravian, Lutheran; these are some of the names that are prominent in my family genealogy. From the time I was a young girl, I have had a desire to know my roots. Like most people, I knew my great grandparents' names and had the honor of knowing some of them personally, but I wanted to know about my family from as many generations back as possible. Where this desire came from, I don't know, but I am compelled to learn of those who came before me. Thanks to a beloved grandmother with an abundance of family knowledge and patience in answering questions, I had help getting started. She was able to provide me with birth dates and marriage dates from several generations back.

My roots lie deep within the Moravian and Lutheran communities of North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and that part of Europe once known as Prussia. My great, great, great, great grandfather Kapp was one of the earliest settlers in the Moravian community of Bethabara, NC, and he laid the cornerstone of his house there in 1754. He was born in Muechenstein, Basel, Switzerland in 1729. His parents were buried in Switzerland and their tombstones still exist there today.

I am still in the process of compiling information regarding my family's history. The Moravian Archives in Winston-Salem, NC, is on my list as the next place to visit. When I have finished gathering my data, I will put it in writing and present it to other members of my family, hoping they will have as much interest and curiosity regarding their ancestors as I do.

Researching your family's genealogy can take years of work, but it can lead you on a fascinating journey. Who knows what you will find! I would recommend it to anyone.

For those of you who are interested in pursuing your roots, good sites with which to start are The Mormon Church, The USGenWeb Project, Rootsweb.com, and Ancestory.com. A Google search will provide you with many more websites, some of which are free.

Become your family's self-appointed genealogist and have fun poking around in the past!

LS Montgomery

January 9, 2010