Before studying this site you will need to know about how
it works. I have gathered together information on these
families from a multitude of sources. They can be seen attached to
the information they present. There will be links
which will lead to other locations. This kind of page
will be given to general family information, some more specific stories
or information. In the left margin is a link to the Family Data
(names, dates, places). Within each of the family pages will
appear links to people and incidents related to them. A Table of
Contents is also provided. Coats-of-arms will also appear in the margin
and will link to the family name they represent and its history.
(These coats of arms are presented as a point of interest and
decoration and no claim is made that the persons mentioned in these
pages are officially entitled to display them.) Getting around should
be fairly easy with the links and the back button.
Sources of information
in genealogy are many and various. They run the gamut from official
government or church records to hearsay. The
best of them is subject to error and the errors are by no means
few. I have tried to get more than one reference for each fact but this
is not always possible. I rate those sources highest that come
from vital records, church registers, family Bibles, and
diaries. Less reliable are Census records and family
genealogies unless they have reliable references of their own.
Newspaper obituaries and stories are also to be taken with a large
dose of salt. Unsubstantiated anecdotes and statements are questionable
sources. Some of these are used but only with great restraint and
selectivity and if I have been able to get a second more
reliable source for the same fact, I have. I have not included
any unreliable sources that I know of. I only mention it
because it's not that simple, of course. Most documents have
all levels of reliability in them and it is hard to tell which
is which. The bottom line is that this work is as accurate as I can make
it, but I am always open to correction since I have lately discovered
that I can be wrong.
This work will try to
cover the Crossett and Connors, Philley and Harrison families, back to
the generation who came to this country and as far before that as is
known. In following these families as they pass through the periods
of their lives and our histories, I will provide some reference to
those times, hopefully, without getting boring. Most emphasis
will be on the direct lines. They are not continuous. Information is
lacking in many respects. For this reason the stories
are presented as vignettes rather than as a continuous
history. Of course, you can go as deeply into the families as you want.
There is plenty of stuff for others to study, and, of course, my
own study is on-going and subject to update. That is the main
reason why this is on-line. I have designed the site for a screen
resolution of 1024 x 768 so it may appear a bit off at a lesser
resolution, but one cannot make it perfect for everybody.
Lets get on with it.
Contents