Getting to Know You

Getting To Know "The Cordonnier Family" Lineage from 1653 to 2011.Family Stories of Joseph's immigration of 1845, his son Nicholas and his children and grandchildren. Stories of their lives will introduce you to your ancestors; where did we really come from, were we French or Swiss, what were their occupations, why they immigrated to America, who paid for their fare, their hardships and daily lives.There is more to genealogy than just a name with dates. We will never know our oldest ancestors because there is no record of their life story. We do have a record of Joseph's immigration to America. My mother was born in 1918 and has told me many stories about her childhood, growing up and her adult life. She has given me treasured family pictures and told me stories about my grandparents and great grandparents. So many stories and pictures are lost because they have not been properly recorded. I decided to extend my research to explore and include the lives of Nicholas and Marguerite and their seven children and twenty-six grandchildren. There are many family photos.In addition to Nicholas' ancestors, it embraces the lives of his children: Stephen I., Lawrence August and his eight children, Raymond John and his three children, Stephen Frank and his four daughters, Aloysious Adolph and his four children, Gertrude AKA Sr. Terentia, Bernadine and her seven children. I have interviewed many relatives I had never met before. In May 2011, I flew to Dayton, Ohio to uncover Cordonnier history. We drove to Russia, Ohio, to find my great, great grandfather, Joseph Cordonnier's farm. It is still in the Cordonnier family! We located deceased relatives at St. Remy Cemetery in Russia, including the tombstone of "Joseph Cordonnier and Catherine His Wife". We also drove to Loramie, Ohio, to find Nicholas' summer cottage that he had in 1920. We explored Calvary Cemetery in Dayton Ohio. My 7th cousin in France and my 5th cousin in France helped with lineage and history findings of Grandfontaine, Switzerland. Learn how it was once a part of France. What is the French pronounciation of Cordonnier? Five hundred years ago, the ancestor of the Cordonnier family had probably been a French shoemaker or cordwainer. Enjoy reading these precious stories of our ancestors as you Get To Know them.