My mother's family came to the Ozarks in the early 1800s. Family lore has it that they came from North Carolina or Virginia, although I don't have documentary evidence.
My father's family history is better established. My great-grandfather wrote a history of his immigration from Germany to Madison County, Missouri, in 1848, a story that has been copied and treasured among my extended family for many years.
So my roots go deep in the Ozarks.
Check out my blog for reflections about the Ozarks -- its history, its landscape, its people. I will talk about some of my favorite places in the Ozarks, and I'd love to hear about yours!
If you're interested in learning more about the Ozarks, here are some books I'd recommend:
Anything by Lens & Pen Press.....just browse their catalogue.
Milton D. Rafferty's Ozarks: Land and Life
The reprint edition of Billy Monks' memoir of the Civil War and afterward.
Walter Schroeder's Opening the Ozarks (ok, it's expensive, so ask your library to order it).
The reprint edition of Leonard Hall's 1958 Stars Upstream.
David Benac's Conflict in the Ozarks.
(Photo by Wikipedian Kbh3rd, uploaded from Wikimedia Commons)
The Ozarks
