For more than 30 years, Michael Dunn has avidly pursued genealogy as a hobby. As a trained historian, he has also begun the task of writing up his findings. On the Collins side of the family, he is several chapters into a draft of his Collins Family History. On the Dunn side,  he has made a beginning. In addition, he has been working on the ancestry of his wife, Tam Mehuron. To learn more about Michael or Tam personally and professionally, click on their names to go to our home pages.

What's Here and What's Coming
 

This homepage, when fully complete, will offer links to several ways of accessing Michael's material. It is intended that it will contain, as soon as work permits me to complete it, the following, along with photos and maps:

• The draft text of the Collins family history, which has so far been completed from earliest origins in America through Henry Collins (1795-1860). The part of my family history farthest along in formal preparation, this is a full-scale history of my Collins line from earliest traces in America to (eventually) my grandmother, though it only goes to 1860 so far.  Many relatives already have the printed version of the draft history.  I hope to have the text and notes online at this site no later than Christmas 2000, with the maps and photographs at the same time or shortly thereafter. Later generations are coming soon, and some monographic material on John Collins (1819-1888) will go up soon. Eventually this site will also contain a transcript of John Collins 1851 journal of his migration from Tennessee to Texas.
• Preliminary notes on the collateral lines on the Collins side, including Cowden, Chestnut, Alexander, Martin, Vinson, Norris, Brown and other lines.
• A number of elements and draft material for a future Dunn family history. These include essays on the early history of the Dunn line and a provisional biography of Michael's great-grandfather, Rev. John Henry Dunn.
• Preliminary notes on the Dunn collateral lines, including Page, Wikle, Kell and others.
• Some preliminary historical material on my maternal line. As they were Irish post-famine immigrants in the mid-19th century, the line is considerably less well documented at this time than the deeper American lines on my father's side.
• Material on  my wife Tam's line, the Mehurons and Boylstons and their numerous intermarried lines.
• A way of checking all the names in our database, which includes the family data for both Michael and Tam, including known relatives. (Please do read the cautionary material, as not all this material has been documented as thoroughly as the material in the family histories above.) Soon we will have a GEDCOM available for download as well. However, all dates and locations for persons still living has been excluded from this database; for privacy reasons only their names appear.
• An essay on "35 Years of Digging for Dead Ancestors" (which explains my own background in the field).

In order to give access to the names in our database, a restricted GEDCOM file (with no dates or places for persons still living) has been generated to allow persons to browse the names and surnames in the database. You may go to it by clicking here. Please read the cautions at that site before using the material for your own lines. In time, we will be adding several other reports, charts  and historical material, more pictures (that's John Collins, 1819-1888, above) and eventually, the draft text of Michael's large history of the Collins family in America. Meanwhile, please enjoy what is here, and bookmark us so you can check back regularly for more.  Go to the Database.

35 Years of Digging for Dead Ancestors

This is just what it sounds like. It explains why I do what I do. Those who are interested probably already know. Those who can't figure me out might learn something from this, but probably won't ever check this page. Click here to go there.
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