Sometimes truth hurts. But it’s still truth. What I’ve always been able to do is express my opinion, even when it got me in trouble, and that’s what I do here as I explore the family history of, well, me.

Me outside my grandparents Long Beach, California home

If you want to know more about me, click here, but I have always been a voracious reader, a student of history, interested in how the world works, and wanting to know our place as humans in it. What is the meaning of life? Is there a meaning to life? Is there a point to the progression of human events, or, as has been said, is history just one damn thing after another? It is these “big picture” concepts that fascinate me, but also draw me to the specifics of my own evolution as a human being that compels me to investigate it. 

At the same time, lately, I am also inspired to write about it by all those who feel the need to loudly proclaim their version of “facts” but demonize those who might think otherwise. You know who you are. Well, actually, you probably don’t, but just know that you will always be welcome here. Challenge me, take me on, prove that I am just another one of those radical, left-wing California whacko snowflakes beholden to the mainstream media, the Clintons, the Obamas, George Soros or any combination thereof.   

And so, The World According to Greg is a blend of genealogy, history, current events, politics, religion, education, and, well, you name it. And trains. There’ll probably be a lot about trains.

There are several parts to this project. First, there is the raw data — who is related to who, laid out in a tree or some other form, the emergence of DNA as a common tool, and the methods used in researching those connections. That can be exciting as one discovers connections or relationships never seen before. 

Second, there is the what happened when. Even more exciting — or touching, or gripping, or sad, perhaps — are the stories and things that bring us together as a family, that try to explain the meaning of our lives, or, are just plain funny. Or touching. Or gripping. Or sad.  The stories here are in no particular order, and as you will see, reading these stories and looking through photos, documents, and family trees, the story to date is expansive. It encompasses Hiles and Penroses, Bousmans and Korhonens. Add in my wife’s family, and you have Baughs and Bensons, Huffines and Dudymotts, not to mention all the other branches extending out on both sides.  Our family tree includes three American presidents, another major-party presidential candidate, a U.S. senator, some prominent scientists and doctors, business tycoons, and a family that extends back to the colonial era well before the American Revolution. It also includes our share of scoundrels, philanderers, neer-do-wells, a domestic terrorist, and possibly even a murderer or two. 

Adventure Assembled …

I Am Not a Crook, But I Am Your Cousin

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While doing routine ancestry research one day on my own family tree, I discovered a rather significant and totally unexpected family connection on my mother’s side with the Quaker tradition. In doing so I also came across the surname Milhous, which I knew to be the middle name of the only Quaker American president, and began to put two and two together.
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Adventure Assembled …

The Begatin’ Man

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Based on family oral history it is highly likely that I am related to William Jennings Bryan but exactly how is still not quite clear from the documentary evidence. This points out an important factor to consider when doing genealogy research, namely that one cannot sit in front of a computer and expect perfect, full, and complete answers.
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