Northwest Missouri

We've uncovered some embarrassing ancestors in the not-too-distant past. Some horse thieves, and some people killed on Saturday nights. One of my relatives, unfortunately, was even in the newspaper business.
Jimmy Carter
Former U.S. President

We are the children of many sires, and every drop of blood in us in its turn ... betrays its ancestor.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

He who has no fools, knaves, or beggars in his family was begot by a flash of lightning.
English Proverb

In all of us there is a hunger, marrow deep, to know our heritage - to know who we are and where we came from. Without this enriching knowledge, there is a hollow yearning. No matter what our attainments in life, there is still a vacuum, an emptiness, and the most disquieting loneliness.
Alex Haley, Roots

Life is lived forwards, but understood backwards.
Unknown

There are only two lasting bequests we can give our children - one is roots, and the other, wings.
Hodding S. Carter