The Chinese have a proverb that states, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step". The first step in pursuit of the genealogy of the Hollopeter family kept us stepping until we had entered, through correspondence, four con-tinents, many foreign countries, and all but five of the United States of America. Considering that the records we secured of the American branch of the family cover but little more than two hundred years, it seems astounding that our family tree has extended Itself over so much territory.
From 1890 to 1892, my father, Brenton Silas Hollopeter (Indiana), interested himself in learning something about his family history and its connections. Since he added nothing to his records after those two years, they were quite meager. However, they gave us a starting point, and were of much value because they indicated who the head of the family was, where he had located and the names of seven of his children. They told, too, of the places to which his five sons went when they left their native York County, Pa., and gave names and addresses which brought us into correspondence with some of their descendants. Had all our letters brought response this record would have been more complete.
We were fortunate that Mrs. Chester Burris, of Hamburg, N. Y., my cousin, and co-compiler, had access to the Grosvenor Genealogy Library of Buffalo, and was willing to delve through early history of Pennsylvania, to ferret out any bit of information pertinent to the family, She had the inspiration to write to the York County Historical Society which resulted in the employment of the Society’s librarian, John D. Kilbourne, for research. He was able to find official records which were authentic, and to locate the grave of Matthias I.
My own efforts were directed toward learning of the descendants of the five sons of Matthias. If there are errors or omissions, they were in the records sent to me, and we regret them. We are most appreciative of the help of those who sent in information about their families. Perhaps a later historian will be able to build upon the foundation we have established.
Most Sincerely, EVA HOLLOPETER RIDENOUR (Mrs. Arthur M. Ridenour) April, 1957 Wabash, Ind.
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