I first became really interested in learning about my family’s history after the birth of my son. His baby book had a mini-family tree, and I realized I could not even name one of my great grandparents. Once I started digging a bit, I began to learn more about my background and what events shaped the lives of my ancestors.
One of the most interesting things about the combination of families of my four grandparents is their history in North America. Miranda is the name I know the least about, but has been in the United States since the mid 1850s. Our oldest traced Miranda was by oral tradition part Yaqui Indian, a tribe that has its traditional home in Northwestern Mexico. Many Yaquis came to the United States starting in the mid-19th century. The Greene name is rich in history, and thanks to the dedicated work of past researchers, has a quite well-documented history in the United States dating back to the 1630s, with at least three associated branches linked back to the Mayflower. Some researchers have taken the line back to England and even Normandy, France. Our Vielma line has been in the United States since the early 1900s, and we have traced it back to late 1700s in Northern Mexico, with associated lines back to the early 1700s. The Despatie line has been in the United States since the late 1800s, but was previously in Quebec, Canada from the mid-16o0s. Several researchers have taken the line back to northern France.
It is safe to say that my family is strongly North American – two grandparents spoke Spanish as a first language, one spoke French as a first language, and the other spoke English as a first language. I hope this site can serve as a resource for other members of my respective families, for future generations, and perhaps even for those distant family members I have not yet discovered!
I dedicate this site to my mom and dad for all their support throughout the years, and my wife for finally getting me to organize my research in a single place.
