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INSPIRATION AND DEDICATION
DEDICATED TO
The two men who most inspired my interest in Genealogy were my Great Grandfather Matthew Leroy Vandiver and my Grandfather Kieth Frances Wentz.
Naturally this is also dedicated to my two children Ian Tristan Vandiver and Shelby Alexandria Vandiver.
There have been many others along the way who have helped me “learn the trade” or who have motivated me to keep searching. Here are a few: E. B. Vandiver, Steve Vandiver, Edward Jesse Vandivere, Alice Imig Stipak, Valerie Caulfield and everyone on the mailing lists I have joined.
INSPIRATION
"The following pages are not recorded because I have accomplished great things, nor expect this to be a best seller, but are recorded to satisfy a desire I have had for some time to leave for my children, grandchildren and great grandchildren a mini-autobiography of my life. If I am able to put into words some of the battles encountered when going through life with a limited education and no few shortcomings, perhaps this biography will be of interest to some and possibly an inspiration to some. All my life I have wished that my grandfathers had left a diary or biography of their lives, particularly Grandpa Vandiver with many experiences fighting throughout the Civil War. Reading the story of their lives would have been of intense interest to me hopefully, some of my descendants will get a kick out of reading mine..."
Matthew Leroy Vandiver - "An Autobiography of Matthew Leroy Vandiver 1899-1977"
“Big Daddy"; as he was affectionately called by all his grandchildren passed away shortly after the above paragraph was written [page 28 not quoted here] and to the best of our knowledge never got started on the first tape. There was still much to tell, many hardships to endure and many happy times he could have held you captivated with but those stories are probably gone forever. The most important thing in his life was his family and he believed as I do that a man achieves a degree of immortality through his children and he passed his parents teachings on to us by example and word. We can best honor him and our forefathers by continuing this tradition and live our lives in a manner that they would be proud of!!!
Glenn W. Vandiver
Glenn is my Great Uncle, who gave me permission to publish the paragraphs above on this website.