What were our ancestors like? Where did they live? How did they live and how did the events of their time influence their lives? How have our own lives been influenced by the events of their lives?

Much of the work of genealogy centers on accumulating facts: the date of someone's birth or death, the maiden name of a mother, her place of birth. We start with these simple facts, add some stories which we remember or others relate to us, read about the history of a region, and slowly piece together our own family history. The process is slow, indeed. But as a group of people working together on a project of mutual interest we can gradually assemble the broad outline of our history and accomplish far more than any of us working individually.

How much do we really have in common? We are not the product of a single "Schlotfeldt" clan but of many families joined together, generation after generation. The investigation of our history is truly a monumental task because the width of our tree expands geometrically as we trace it back. Yet there is much that we share: my Uncle Herman (the oldest boy in the picture) looks so much like my son, Michael, that when my wife saw Herman's picture (expanded and isolated) she honestly believed that it was a modified picture of Michael. I was startled to discover that Gerard Schlotfeldt of Peru looks much like myself (hope he is not offended by this opinion). I once received a phone call from Dale Schlotfeldt of Milwaukee and thought he was my Uncle Dud.

And beyond any physical resemblance we share a history. In every imaginable way our lives have been shaped by the events of the past. We try to understand the history which compelled our ancestors (or gave them reason) to emigrate to America, Mexico, Chili, Peru, South Africa, Australia and wherever else their descendants may live. Even a single event such as the early death of a parent: a mother in childbirth, a father struck by a train may change the way their children live and grow up, form their character and set the mold for the following generations.

Wars. Schlotfeldts emigrated to avoid them. Two World Wars divided us. An American soldier met his wife in Scotland; another was one of the first to enter Nagasaki. At least one German Schlotfeldt died in the Second World War. We have all been touched by war, changed by it, formed by it. Yet our memories are so short that our children experience peace and lose the reality of war. It becomes a television fiction.

Memory. After 150 years in America we even differ on the pronunciation of our name. How much more basic can you get?? We need to record what we know, or at least what we think we know. Here, at least, is what I think I know about the pronunciation of our name. And some Schlotfeldts have dropped the final 't'. We find record of Schlotfeldts with and without the 't' living in the same German towns though direct relationship evidence is still missing.

One nice thing about having an uncommon name is that we can search the Web for "Schlotfeldt" and know that anyone we find is likely to be related to us in some way. In the case of American Schlotfeldts, there were only a few families which immigrated in the mid-1800s and Celia (Schlotfeldt) Dooley researched the tree very extensively. Until recently I believed that all American Schlotfeldts were descended from the same immigrants. Now I know that is not true. In fact, there are at now several clans in America. We have recently established a direct relationship between most American Schlotfeldts and some who live in Germany. Perhaps this Web page will encourage others to some shed more light on the situation and will help to spread the word as we get more information. It is likely that a direct relationship can be established for most if not all Schlotfeldts.

We have had contact with Schlotfeldts in Denmark, Chile, South Africa, Germany, and with Schlottfeldts in Brazil. We know that there are Schlotfeldts in Australia and perhaps Mexico. We hope especially to hear from them and from any Schlotfeldts anywhere. Everyone has some small amount of information to share. By putting the pieces together we can develop an interesting story. Indeed, we are already amazed by the information which has emerged. We are no longer small groups of people who only share a name. There is a common story.

I am actually more interested in family history than in family trees. Not just the basic facts, but real stories about people who have influenced me and people who have been influenced by some of the same events which have influenced me.

Finally, our experience demonstrates that the web offers great advantages for genealogy. I want to see others get involved in this in every possible way, including the development of related web sites.

Much of the content of this site was provided by Celia Dooley, Carmen, Fay Schlotfeldt, Larry Schlotfeldt, Mary Langevin, Tim, Otto, Helmut, Christiana and others. Sorry, but this list of acknowledgements will not to keep up with the flow of information. I must, however, at least acknowledge in general the numerous members of the Internet community who have generously used their own time for our benefit.

Please notify me if you find content here which is incorrect or which should be changed for any reason.