You are right, it can be lots of fun. Old Johannes is my G6 grandfather; I am straight down from him, Hans Jacob, Jacob, John, Jacob Franklin, Adam Horton, Charles Joseph, and Charles Joseph, Jr. who is my dad. Following the branches can be especially enlightening. I decided one day to use the good services of Ancestry.com and follow the female lines. After all, although their names are different, if they married into the family and became a maternal ancestor, they, too, are blood relatives! I have been following those lines and have found so many family surnames to which I am related that I have created a long list entitled "The People Who Made Me Me." I am back to the year 980 so far and it's amazing.

Incidentally, regarding the Germanna immigrants, we know that they left Germany thinking they were going to Pennsylvania, but their ship was diverted to the colonies in Virginia. My Broyles line stayed in VA and TN until my father moved us to FLorida when I was five years old. Well, 9 generations later, I finally got us to Pennsylvania! :)

Robert Faw Broyles
Carlisle, PA