I was not aware of the mass amount of genealogy information, interactive forums, and mail lists that are available to researchers. When I begin to search for my ancestry on the web, I went to the Adair County Kentucky Query Forum. There I posted information on G.T. Wilson and wife Martha Jane Wilson. This was new to me, knowing very little about how to search, or what to post to get a good response on my requests. I did not receive any help at first on my Wilson request, so I decided to look for my wife's family.

My Wife's Family Lineage
Using some searches engines on the internet I found Carter County KY Query Forum. Where her grandfather Stephen Kiser lived and where he passed away. I began my search for his father and mother. After reading a number of posts there, I saw a post by Harvey Kiser about some of the Kiser family members in Carter County, some had replied to his Kiser message. Upon contacting him, it turns out that he is a distant cousin of my wife Lola. Harvey offered to help in any way possible to find her great grandparents. Staying in touch with Harvey, he later introduced me to another Kiser cousin, Julie Voyles. She had been researching the Kiser Surname for years. Harvey, Julie and I exchanged messages a number of times. After some time I was aware of the large amount of family data Julie and Harvey had available.

I asked them their thoughts about creating a Kiser Family Web
Site. They both agreed that it would be good to have our family data on line. That way other family members could have access to it and share their findings as well. Today that family page is: KISER, KAYSER, KEYSER COUNTRY I have an article on the site, with some details about the missing link to my wife's family. I am placing some of it here as an excerpt...

In Search Of The Missing Link!
In search of my wife Lola's great grandfather, I posted the name of her grandparents on the Carter County, KY Query Forum. There were some replies posted and email sent to me with a large amount of genealogy information of a Charles "Karl" Kayser (Kiser) dating back to the early seventeen hundreds. Someone asked about a "Kiser Pictorial Book" and my knowledge of it. My reply was "I am interested in it. They began to tell me about some of the contents. I located the book in the Rowan County KY Public Library, Genealogy Room

But still no link to great grandfather. Grandfather Stephen and a number of his family was buried in The Hogtown Cemetery at Elliottsville, KY. However, his father could not be found there either. Later we heard of the Kiser Cemetery in Carter County, KY. Again we posting on the Carter County, KY Query Forum, asking for information about the location of the Kiser Cemetery. Still no leads or clues to help us find the link to great grandfather Stephen Kiser parents.

Noah Kiser 1853 - 1922.
Lola's niece that week went to Frankfort, KY, looking for Stephen Kiser's father, who turned out to be Noah Kiser (1853 - 1922). With this information, we could connect the family to the Kiser Family records dating back to Charles "Karl" Kayser 1702.

Previous entries in this series:

• Family Quest Part 2
• Family Quest Part 1