Time Goes By

I've not had too much time to devote to my internet research at FindMyPast.co.uk , BUT I did have the great pleasure to host my cousins from Wales in April.  We found each other through the internet in 2000 after I posted the names found in the bible of my grandfather.  It showed the family of Elias Rees of Merthry Tydfil, Glamorgan, Wales.  His granddaughter, Jane, came to America in 1881 and married her intended shortly after her arrival in Des Moines, Iowa, where their son, my grandfather, Leonard PearceL was born.  Other descendants of Elias Rees contacted me after seeing the names on Rootsweb, and we all got together a couple times in Wales and England.  One cousin, Judith, and her teenage triplets visited me a couple years ago and it was such fun.  Recently, Jan and Russ, were finally able to make it to my home in Hawaii and see how their American cousin lives.  I kept them very busy seeing all the sights and doing all sorts of fun things.  We recalled the days we had spent driving around Wales visiting the sites where Elias Rees was  born and lived.  We spent time in the Carmarthenshire archives and held family reunions.  At one reunion I managed to sing the Welsh National Anthem with them, in Welsh.  I hope I can return to the beautiful country of Wales and learn more about my family and the history of the places they lived so many years ago.  In the meantime I am going to work harder to get more answers from my online genealogy subscriptions.