PLEASE USE MY NAME OR THE NAME OF THE PERSON I GOT PICTURES FROM IF YOU REUSE ANY PHOTOS I MAY HAVE POSTED. SOME OF US EXPEND A LOT OF TIME & EFFORT IN RESEARCHING. IT JUST SEEMS LIKE WHAT AN IGNORANT THIEF WOULD DO, TO TAKE BUT NOT CITE YOUR SOURCE.

When I was in my teens I went to Virginia on a trip with my father where he had grown up. There, we went to an old woman's house to purchase a book that was supposedly about our family history. The book was entitled, "Some Descendants of John Counts of Glade Hollow".

Many years later I would realize that the old woman had been much more. She was the researcher's wife, the compiler of all of his years of research and was the publisher of the book that would be the guide for generations of Counts researchers: Hetty Swindall Sutherland.

At the time I, like most people of all ages, showed no interest in the book or even knew what genealogy was.

Approximately 20 years later, my dads sister, aunt Selma Counts Sloan of Nealy Ridge Virginia, took me to a Counts reunion. Again, I didn't give it much thought. It seemed as if everyone knew each other but me and it seemed all they did was pass around food to eat. I was not impressed.

A few years later I attended a family memorial and there I met new relatives. They were lovely; friendly intelligent and funny. I saw it as a nice visit and at the end of the day, it just felt good.

I lived my life and in my older years, like a clock striking midnight, suddenly, without warning, when my new job offered me two weeks of paid vacation and I wondered where on earth I would go, the thought came to my mind "look up Counts reunions". So, I did.

I discovered that there was a reunion and a special road commemoration for a Jacob Rasnick dating back to the 1700's. The Counts connection was that John Counts of Glade Hollow, Virginia had a daughter named Molly Counts who had married Jacob Rasnick. They lived within a few miles of each other.

Since I had never bothered to look into that book my father had purchased some 40 years previously, I did not connect this Rasnick fellow to my Counts ancestors. It was the first I had heard of Molly Counts & Jacob Rasnick. I was inquisitive and wanted to know more.
My employer at the time encouraged me to attend the event and when I balked at driving and perhaps getting lost in Virginia's hollers and hills, she responded, "As long as you're in Virginia, you're not lost!" It made perfect sense to me in a humorous non-threatening way.

I had trepidations of meeting total strangers but knowing somehow I was related, I forged ahead. My daughter Rachel and I attended and thanks to the friendly Rasnick folk, the organizers and especially, Marie Fetzer Rasnick, the Rasnick Descendant and researcher who also knew about John Counts of Glade Hollow , it was a fantastic time.

The Rasnick descendants (mainly Marie) had invested many, many years of research even going so far as visiting Germany to locate more information on Jacob. The Rasnick descendants attended by the carload and I, and my daughter, Rachel, were the sole Counts representatives at the event.

I was taken by the amount of research, and celebratory presentation of a government approved historical roadside plaque acknowledging their ancestors life and contribution to the formation of the early days of Russell County Virginia. Then, without realizing it, I became hooked.

Following the ceremony, my daughter and I visited John Counts of Glade Hollow's cemetery. We saw the fantastic view and the land once belonging to our ancestor. We saw the large boulder-sized monument that was laid by John and Mary Counts's descendants in 1948.

Then we were off to the 75th commemorative Counts reunion in historic Sulphur Springs Primitive Baptist Church. After doing some research I discovered that many of my Counts' relations attended this same church in this remote section of Southwest Virginia located off Sandlick and Frying Pan roads in Tiny, Virginia.

Just the name Frying Pan alone was too much to ignore. Every move I made I found it more and more intriguing. I loved it. I couldn't get enough of it and we showed up at the following year's reunion as well; at which I got to meet a newfound cousin of mine that I had met online through research. What an experience to meet new relatives -- and what an absolute joy to feel enriched by knowing them.

The research, the connecting, putting together a glimpse of an ancestor, is very rewarding. I love it and I'm so thankful that my young daughter likes it as well. I wish I had loved it sooner.

The chance of knowing and telling your family history greatly diminishes with the passing of every relative. Don't wait to find out. Start telling your story.

PLEASE USE MY NAME OR THE NAME OF THE PERSON I GOT PICTURES FROM IF YOU REUSE ANY PHOTOS I MAY HAVE POSTED. SOME OF US EXPEND A LOT OF TIME & EFFORT IN RESEARCHING. IT JUST SEEMS LIKE WHAT AN IGNORANT THIEF WOULD DO, TO TAKE BUT NOT CITE YOUR SOURCE.

When I was in my teens I went to Virginia on a trip with my father where he had grown up. There, we went to an old woman's house to purchase a book that was supposedly about our family history. The book was entitled, "Some Descendants of John Counts of Glade Hollow".

Many years later I would realize that the old woman had been much more. She was the researcher's wife, the compiler of all of his years of research and was the publisher of the book that would be the guide for generations of Counts researchers: Hetty Swindall Sutherland.

At the time I, like most people of all ages, showed no interest in the book or even knew what genealogy was.

Approximately 20 years later, my dads sister, aunt Selma Counts Sloan of Nealy Ridge Virginia, took me to a Counts reunion. Again, I didn't give it much thought. It seemed as if everyone knew each other but me and it seemed all they did was pass around food to eat. I was not impressed.

A few years later I attended a family memorial and there I met new relatives. They were lovely; friendly intelligent and funny. I saw it as a nice visit and at the end of the day, it just felt good.

I lived my life and in my older years, like a clock striking midnight, suddenly, without warning, when my new job offered me two weeks of paid vacation and I wondered where on earth I would go, the thought came to my mind "look up Counts reunions". So, I did.

I discovered that there was a reunion and a special road commemoration for a Jacob Rasnick dating back to the 1700's. The Counts connection was that John Counts of Glade Hollow, Virginia had a daughter named Molly Counts who had married Jacob Rasnick. They lived within a few miles of each other.

Since I had never bothered to look into that book my father had purchased some 40 years previously, I did not connect this Rasnick fellow to my Counts ancestors. It was the first I had heard of Molly Counts & Jacob Rasnick. I was inquisitive and wanted to know more.
My employer at the time encouraged me to attend the event and when I balked at driving and perhaps getting lost in Virginia's hollers and hills, she responded, "As long as you're in Virginia, you're not lost!" It made perfect sense to me in a humorous non-threatening way.

I had trepidations of meeting total strangers but knowing somehow I was related, I forged ahead. My daughter Rachel and I attended and thanks to the friendly Rasnick folk, the organizers and especially, Marie Fetzer Rasnick, the Rasnick Descendant and researcher who also knew about John Counts of Glade Hollow , it was a fantastic time.

The Rasnick descendants (mainly Marie) had invested many, many years of research even going so far as visiting Germany to locate more information on Jacob. The Rasnick descendants attended by the carload and I, and my daughter, Rachel, were the sole Counts representatives at the event.

I was taken by the amount of research, and celebratory presentation of a government approved historical roadside plaque acknowledging their ancestors life and contribution to the formation of the early days of Russell County Virginia. Then, without realizing it, I became hooked.

Following the ceremony, my daughter and I visited John Counts of Glade Hollow's cemetery. We saw the fantastic view and the land once belonging to our ancestor. We saw the large boulder-sized monument that was laid by John and Mary Counts's descendants in 1948.

Then we were off to the 75th commemorative Counts reunion in historic Sulphur Springs Primitive Baptist Church. After doing some research I discovered that many of my Counts' relations attended this same church in this remote section of Southwest Virginia located off Sandlick and Frying Pan roads in Tiny, Virginia.

Just the name Frying Pan alone was too much to ignore. Every move I made I found it more and more intriguing. I loved it. I couldn't get enough of it and we showed up at the following year's reunion as well; at which I got to meet a newfound cousin of mine that I had met online through research. What an experience to meet new relatives -- and what an absolute joy to feel enriched by knowing them.

The research, the connecting, putting together a glimpse of an ancestor, is very rewarding. I love it and I'm so thankful that my young daughter likes it as well. I wish I had loved it sooner.

The chance of knowing and telling your family history greatly diminishes with the passing of every relative. Don't wait to find out. Start telling your story.