My grandmother gave me a copy of our family tree for my fourteenth birthday, but I didn't really get started on tracing my roots until I was in my 30's. I am trying to build on the information I already have, specifically information on the McPeak, Ringleben, Rumer, and West Families. My family is strongly rooted in West Virginia, but I am finding that we have ties to Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Florida, also.

The biggest mystery in my family is finding information on my grandfather, William McPeak, born ca. 1899 in Virginia. He was married once before he married my grandmother, Kate McPeak, and they were divorced in 1937 in Florida.