Extended Family
The history of our family not only stretches back to lands across the seas, but has been enriched by marriage ties to many other families. I grew up visiting some of these families and listening to wonderful stories of the pioneers who left their homes to find freedom and better farm land.
One of my uncles, Jim Ausland, explained the ties to the Ochsners and Shontzes in Wisconsin and South Dakota. One story involved a relative who helped Teddy Roosevelt dig the Panama Canal and went on to help build the New York subway system. Later I discovered that a Bailey cousin, who lived in Arkansas, had similar interests. Bill Bailey did more than any person I knew to document the intricate family relationships back to colonial New England — including to the long-time governor of the Pilgrim settlement at Plymouth. Eventually I met a Norwegian cousin, Sofus Ausland, who had researched the Ausland family back to Leif Erickson.
I’m developing this website to share that history and preserve those stories. You'll find descriptions of each of the families that make up the extended family. And narratives of some of the most dramatic or significant people. Along the way I've come across biographical statements about some of our forebears, and I've written some others. You'll find these tales of our past (and present) by clicking on Where to Begin.
But this story is hardly complete. More research is needed and I need and welcome your help. My email address is below. And, of course, each new generation will have its own stories to tell. Power to those who follow.
--Mart Bailey