Sonke and Anna Petersen family, about 1900
Stevens Family
The Stevens family line is quite diverse with German/Jewish, Scots-Irish, and English roots. This family includes Stevens, Brown, Wilson, McGee, Lehman, Pessels, Dalmbert and Hart families and their descendants. But the Stevens family origins are wrapped up in the mystery of William Stevens. What we know is that he was in Ohio in 1832 and later moved to Indiana where his family remained for four generations. Stevens Picture Album
Petersen Family
The Petersen family is pure Danish but much more mixed ancestry on the Roberts side. This family includes Petersen and Christiansen (Danish), Roberts (Irish) and Francis (mostly English like the Daniels and Keep families but also the Dutch Mills family). Petersen Picture Album
McKay Family
The McKay family has always thought of themselves as Scottish but in truth have more English and German heritage. This family includes McKay and Deary (both with a mix of Scots and English ancestors), Scramlin (mostly German) and the (mostly English) Ford, Howard and Sackett families. McKay Picture Album
Freeman Family
The Freeman family is the branch with the strongest Southern connection. The Freeman family and the Barron/Barnes family have English roots. The Ratliff family is also English. The Scots-Irish Jordan family married into the German Schmidlapps. Freeman Picture Album
Digging Deeper
How to use the database
This page describes how to navigate the information on this site
Finding Distant Stevens (Famous) Relatives
The relatives on this page are not direct ancestors but are more distant relatives (i.e., directly related to our direct ancestors but not directly related to us)
Stevens Notable Ancestors
Here are some direct Stevens ancestors with interesting stories
McKay Notable Ancestors
Here are some direct McKay ancestors with interesting stories
Old World Ancestors
These ancestors go back to European roots
Stevens Family History: Religion, Military
The stories on this page relate to certain themes among Stevens ancestors including: military, religion, economics, politics, slavery, and witches
McKay Family History: Military, Religion
The stories on this page relate to certain themes among McKay ancestors including: military, religion, economics, politics, and slavery
Finding Distant McKay (Famous) Relatives
The relatives on this page are not direct ancestors but are more distant relatives (i.e., directly related to our direct ancestors but not directly related to us)
If you have any questions or comments about the information on this site, please contact us. We look forward to hearing from you.
One discovery of this research was just how important the Indiana story was in the family history on both sides. The following map shows how many ancestors migrated to Indiana since the early 1800s.
- Thom 1815
- Ramsey & McGee 1820
- Barron 1820
- Hubbard & Hart 1830
- Jordan & Brown & Schmidlapp 1840
- Stevens 1850
- Dalmbert 1854
- Wilson 1860
- Lehman 1870
- Petersen 1885
- Deary 1890
- Francis & McKay 1900
- Freeman & Roberts 1910
- James Stevens 1954
- Charlotte McKay 1956
Color code: Yellow = Stevens side, No color = McKay side