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Biographies & Family
Four grandparents. Six generations. One American family.
Every family tree is built from individual lives—people who loved, worked, migrated, and persevered through the challenges of their times. These biographies tell their stories: four grandparents who shaped the most recent generations, and the ancestors who came before them.
From Jean Rambaud, who arrived from France in 1880, to Benjamin Franklin Van Dyke, who documented Oklahoma Territory through pioneer photography, to Lenore Young, who lived through an entire century of American transformation—each person contributed their chapter to this ongoing American story.
Four distinct family lines converged in the 20th century, bringing together Dutch, English, French, German, and Celtic heritage from across four centuries of American history.
Maternal Grandmother
1918-2018
A century of American life, from horse-drawn wagons to smartphones. Lenore witnessed and embodied the transformation of the American West.
9 Revolutionary War patriots including William Van Dyke
Maternal Grandfather
1915-1999
Born in Oklahoma Territory, James embodied both immigrant and colonial heritage through his Prussian-German and English-Irish ancestry.
Prussian-German immigrants & Montgomery patriots
Paternal Grandmother
1920-2013
Daughter of French immigrant Jean Rambaud, Norrine carried forward the story of French Huguenot refugees seeking religious freedom in America.
French Huguenot & European ancestry
Paternal Grandfather
1915-1984
Through the McMichael and Rhoads lines came Celtic heritage and Revolutionary War service spanning multiple states.
Celtic migrations & Rhoads patriots
Beyond the four grandparents, certain ancestors played pivotal roles in shaping the family story.
Great-Grandfather (Norrine's Father)
1880-1950s
The most recent immigrant in the family story, Jean arrived from France in 1880, settling in the industrial cities of the Midwest.
French immigrant, arrived 1880
Great-Great-Grandfather (Lenore's Grandfather)
1859-1944
Attorney, Oklahoma Territory warden, and pioneer photographer who documented the transformation of the American frontier through glass plate negatives.
Son of Revolutionary War patriot lineage