Preface

Researching family history feels like creating a piece of sculpture. You are trying to capture the form of something and hope that what you have is an accurate resemblance. Every new certificate or document adds a new contour or shape.

Just like a sculpture, the end result is only at best a facsimile, it does not represent who the people were, what they were like, or what they went through.

In some ways, it is like looking at a fossil, you are able to see some of the detail but not as it was only the impression that is left.

For reference purposes

When referring to the Stout family: Margaret Henrietta Williamson Stout (Rita Deans) is used for a reference point. When referring to the Deans family: John Moran Deans (John Deans) is used for a reference point.

Names that appear in bold refer to direct ancestors.

Katherine Rankin

Katherine’s research was meticulous and refined, you can see from her notes how she distilled information and factchecked everything to make sure the data she had was as rich and accurate as possible. She applied this diligence at all levels of her work from individuals to family groups, their relatives, lives and locations.

The genealogy in this book contains at its core the research by Katherine Rankin.

The most difficult aspect to genealogy is getting started, Kathy made it possible to not only have a solid foundation but all the ingredients necessary to create this family tree.