My Books

The Mark Family Story

The Mark Family Story begins with Thomas Kenneth & N. Regina (Gruissy) Mark of Ohio. It moves back in time to include their ancestors and forward in time to their descendants. This story is the result of several years of genealogical investigation including research in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington, D. C. Birth and death certificates, marriage licenses, maps, newspaper clippings, church records and deeds have been pieced together to show the family’s progress through the years from Swiss and German ancestors to their American descendants. Through the years other family names become intertwined with the Mark family: Brown, Dick, Gruissy, Heffelfinger, Keck, Ritter and Wolf. Of course, family history is more than dates and places. These facts are only the trunk of the family tree. The leaves of the tree are people: aunts and uncles, grandparents, siblings and more. Old family letters and interviews with family members, local histories, timelines and photographs help the story and the people come alive once again.

Soft cover, over 400 pages with family charts, timelines, old letters, many photographs & an index. 

Book Comments:

Thank you for sending me your book, The Mark Family Story.  It is very well written and easy to "sit back and read".  I have already spent a few hours reading through it and plan to spend many more. No doubt, your book will be a big hit at the next family reunion.

-          Larry Knox, author of " The Ritter Family of Lehigh and Northampton Counties in Pennsylvania"

Colleen, the book arrived and it's a beautiful book.  I really like the personal stories and I'm looking forward to spending time with it. Thanks for all the time and love you've invested in this book.

- Terri Fryman in Ohio

Already learned many new things about the family. And I am enjoying the journey. Thanks so much for doing it.

- Aileen Roberts in Ohio

I think it's awesome! I really enjoy how you have incorporated historic facts and events in the book. It really helps paint a picture of the time.

- Nancy Dilley in Minnesota

I just wanted to know that I received your book and have been enjoying it and using some of the information in my own research. Additionally, I took it with me over the Easter break when my family was getting together and my mother thoroughly enjoyed reading the sections on her ancestors. 

- CJ LaCour in Colorado

My mother loved the book, of course she just sat and read all the bits most closely related to her life and I kept hearing her saying "oh wow" over and over, and "I remember that". But I had started reading the book from the beginning and wanted to get back to doing that so I still have it, and we will look at it again together next time we see each other. I loved the way you started it by placing the family in the environment of NE Ohio. I don't really know Ohio but it made me feel more connected to it somehow.  And really I just wanted to say thank you again, it's like you've given everyone such a tremendous gift with all your hard work and all we have to do is just read.  Also it's quite incredible how many children people had back then, so what a job!  

- J. Mark in Florida 


Remembrances

Remembrances is the story of my mother’s family from stories told me to when I was a child to research I did as an adult. My maternal grandmother’s family includes the surnames Brady, Coyle, Cunningham, Gibney, Mullane, Sullivan & more from the counties Cavan, Cork & Tipperary in Ireland. My maternal grandfather’s family includes the surnames Edelstein, Farkas, Gartner, Horn, Katz, Weissberg & more from Eastern Europe. How did these very different families come together? What was life like for my grandparents?  What were the celebrations and sorrows in their lives? Research in archives, libraries, courthouses & cemeteries helped me answer many questions about these families. Photographs, letters, diaries and documents helped to bring these ancestors to life once again. This book includes timelines, family tree charts, local history, source citations and an index. It is my sincere hope that the stories in this book will keep our family’s ancestors alive far into the next generations.

Soft cover, over 340+ pages with family charts, timelines, old letters, many photographs & an index. $40.00 + $5 postage


Book Comments 

I want to tell you how impressed I am with your book. What a challenge and what great work!

-Tara Cousins, MA

I have limited copies of my books. Please contact me at:
cgbp[at]nycap.rr.com for copies.

Printed at Troy Book Makers, Troy, N.Y.