Honor Code Signatory Signed 23 Jul 2020  10,970 contributionson 1,209 days(83/90 recent)|1,396 thank-yous|1,323 connections

Genealogical Interests

Biography

Background

Steven Greenwood is a five-year editor of this wiki site (Greenwood-3667), having joined on23 Jul 2020. He may appear on social media under his handleRealgar. He is usually a part ofNew Member Q and A which meets on Zoom twice a month.

Starting in February 2024, he became theCoordinator of theTanzania Project, which is a subproject of the Global Project. (Need help with this.)

Starting 11 Jan 2023, he is theTeam Leader of theGermany Project'sCategorization efforts.

From 26 Jan -July 2022, he was theTeam Leader ofLower Saxony Team within Germany Project (it has since been restructured).

Greenwood has also worked on other wikis including:

• Wookieepedia, the Star Wars Wiki, which he co-founded in 2005.
• Futurepedia, the Back to the Future Wiki, which he founded in 2007.
• Wikipedia, which was founded byJimmy "Jimbo" Wales in 2001.

He believes he has a thorough understanding of wiki markup. He sucks at thons though.

Greenwood currently resides inMilwaukee, Wisconsin, an American city known for its large German population and ancestral heritage, and has been making occasional trips toSauk County, Wisconsin for some first-hand research.

He had376 connections with 7 degrees as of 30 Jul 2022,390 as of 16 Aug 2022,405 as of 26 Aug 2022,423 as of 13 Sep 2022,427 as of 16 Oct 2022, and428 as of 5 Nov 2022 (WikiTree Day). His degrees to QEII decreased by one after making a new connection to the tree through the Pope surname. It was434 at the beginning of the January 2023 Connect-a-Thon, down from441 a week earlier. This was likely due to some changing along the Alwin/Raedel line. After the January Thon was over, when Greenwood was actively working on his CC7, that number increased to455. After the April Connect-A-Thon, it jumped slightly to458. By October 2023 due to the occasional branch improvement over the year, it has increased to476. After a Elfmas Wish was granted in early January 2024, the CC7 increased to512! After making some Wisconsin connections during the January 2024 Connect-A-Thon, it jumped to527, mostly in the 6th and 7th degree circle. At some point in the year this grew to533. By Dec 2024, it reached to550 (!), mostly in the 7th degree. After Connect-A-Thon XIII (January 2025), it rose by 32 to582, from contributions in the 5th, 6th, and 7th degrees! In June 2025, Greenwood wasRAWKed by the WikiTree community, most notably from his friendBee, as well as Judith Fry, Kathy Zipperer, Tiah Balcer, and Chet Snow. His CC7 grew to1284 by the time of the reveal on 16 Jul 2025!

Most of what you may see from Greenwood on WikiTree is cleaning up profiles, adding narrative and categories, and removing FindAGrave as a citation for anything but the location of burial. The dates on the gravestones areclues, but we should and must cite genealogical documents when available. If there are lines of information that are not sourced, please use {{Citation Needed}} immediately after that information.

Space Pages Managed

• Sauk County, Wisconsin
  • Ableman-Rock Springs, Wisconsin One Place Study
  • Saint John's Cemetery, Rock Springs
  • A County Named Sauk
  • Good Old Golden Rule Days : A History of Sauk County Wisconsin Country Schools (to create)
• Landkreis Uelzen, Niedersachsen
  • Röbbel, Niedersachsen One Place Study
• Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  • Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame
• Clarksville, Tennessee
  • Montgomery County, Tennessee Photograph Descriptions
• German inventors and discoverers
• German One Name Studies
  • Klitzke Name Study
  • Ripke Name Study
• Eponyms and Namesakes Project (ENP), not anactual project
  • Eponyms and Namesakes: United States Counties
  • Eponyms and Namesakes: United States Municipalities
  • Eponyms and Namesakes: Villes
  • Eponyms and Namesakes: Streets
  • Eponyms and Namesakes: Structures and Other Areas

• Ripley's Encyclopedia of the Bizarre

His personal category is accessible atCategory:Greenwood-3667, which includes his brick wall ancestors and multiple maintenance categories.

Genealogical Interests

Steven Greenwood is a member of theGermany Project.

Steven Greenwood has German Roots.

Steven Greenwood has roots in the region now known as Niedersachsen, Germany.

Steven Greenwood has roots in the region now known as Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany.

Steven Greenwood is a member of theKlitzke Name Study Project.

Steven Greenwood is a member of theRipke Name Study Project.

Steven was featured in a Meet Our Members Post on theG2G Forum!

WikiTree Day Attendee: 2022

Steven Greenwood participated withGermany Genies during the 2021 Source-a-Thon, adding sources to30 previously unsourced profiles.

Steven Greenwood participated withGermany Genies during the 2022 Source-a-Thon, adding sources to8 previously unsourced profiles.

Steven Greenwood participated withGermany Genies during the 2022 Connect-a-Thon, and added36 connections.

The Genies placed16th out of 30 teams with1,725 connections and had a normalized score of157.

Steven Greenwood participated withGermany Genies during the January 2023 Connect-a-Thon, and added36 (again!) connections.

The Genies placed3rd out of 35 teams with5,596 connections and had a normalized score of295.

Steven Greenwood participated withGermany Genies during the April 2023 Connect-a-Thon, and added79! connections.

The Genies placed3rd out of 34 teams with5,221 connections and had a normalized score of326, the highest!

Steven Greenwood participated withGermany Genies during the January 2024 Connect-a-Thon, and added21 connections.

He tied with 556th place out of 704 total participants. The Genies placed4th out of 37 teams with5,331 connections and had a normalized score of254.

Steven Greenwood participated withGermany Genies during the July 2024 Connect-a-Thon, and addedX connections.

Steven Greenwood participated withGermany Genies during the April 2025 Connect-a-Thon, and addedx connections.

The Genies placed5th out of 41 teams with3,333 connections and had a normalized score of159.

Steven Greenwood participated withGermany Genies during the 2025 Source-a-Thon, adding sources to3 previously unsourced profiles.

Steven Greenwood was a RAWKER in the We Will RAWK You Event.

To-Do List

His research is predominately focused on his pedigree. The paternal surnames includeGREENWOOD,RIBBKE/RIPKE,WIATROK/WIATRICK,SCHIEFELBEIN,MITTLESTADT/MITTELSTEADT/MITTELSTAEDT,KROLL,POST,STOLTE,SCHULZ,GAUSE,MAAHS/MAAS/MAAß,PERLEBERG,MÜLLER,OETZMANN,GLEASH, andKLITZKE. The maternal surnames includeSPROLL/SPRAUL/SPROUL,SAUER, andHUBER (clearly more underdeveloped).

The families of paternal origin largely started inLandkreis Uelzen, Hanover, Prussia (now Lower Saxony, Germany) andPomerania/Posen, Prussia. Both groups emigrated to America and ended up inSauk County, Wisconsin in the United States, an area apparently with a similar farming capability to that of the Luneberger Heide or the Central European Plain (See projects). His maternal ancestors appear to be confined to southern Germany (Rheinland-Pfalz/Baden-Württemberg) and stayed in Germany until the last generation.

Despite not having direct ancestry through theMilwaukee area, he finds that he is working more on profiles in the area that he lives, as cemeteries are accessible and local geography is better understood after a good decade of residence.

In addition, he is interested in the distribution ofKELSNER around the world. Per Forebears, the surname only appears in Germany (100% in North-Rhine Westphalia) and the United States. Overall it appears as a ratio of 1:331,233,388 people (effectively the population of the United States in 2010).^[1]

Recent knowledge from Y-DNA results in late 2021 are pointing to a strong paternal origin of Scotland through the father of Leo Greenwood. If said father was an Armstrong, it would be consistent with that ofClan Armstrong's placement overseas. The results state a Haplogroup of R-M269, consistent withArmstrong research, and one match is of the Glasgow surname, which incidentally leads to Glasgow, Scotland through Northern Ireland.

mtDNA matches also appear to point in a Scandinavian direction, but how it gets there is currently unknown. His maternal lines need to be expanded to confirm this connection.

Greenwood is concerned that mental illness in his family lineages plays a big part in his own experiences. There may be an attempt to understand the conditions his ancestors faced and the troubles they endured in their lives. If anything, it would be in the hopes to generate more awareness of mental health in America and end the stigma.

Acknowledgments

Greenwood has to acknowledge the previous research already performed byDonna Lange (Sauk County and Germany specialist who may have been responsible for much of the ground truth regarding his ancestry and adjacent families to his own that emigrated to America),Eberhard Behnke andHeinrich Porth (German genealogists of the Uelzen area),Heather Abrahamson (genealogist with a strong focus on the families of Sauk County),Kathy Waddell (transcriber of many cemeteries in Sauk County to Interment.net), the lateOscar Sandstrom (gravestone photographer who documented many sites in Sauk County to Find A Grave), and his first cousin twice removedKathy Janzen nee Ribbke.

The Germans: WikiTree genealogist (and WikiTreer of the Week forFeb 1-7, 2021)Dieter Lewerenz has been incredibly helpful in regards to translating documents and acquiring information from the area of Landkreis Uelzen, Niedersachsen (more below). My ninth cousin once removed and WikiTreer of the Week forJune 5-12, 2023Oliver Stegen has also been integral to unlocking the structure of the Gause family of Bienenbüttel, through his access to long out-of-print books, and was able to break my first brick wall! Later thoughout 2022 and 2023, WikiTreer of the Week forMar 1-8, 2022Florian Straub was able to communicate with locals in Rheinland-Pfalz and acquire documents for individuals on my maternal side.

Surnames as of 12 May 2023

For earlier surname charts, see theResearch subpage.

• Click on Surname to view EKA - Earliest Known Ancestor
• Paternal Grandfather ,Paternal Grandmother vsMaternal Grandfather ,Maternal Grandmother ancestors

• Abbot (Abbott),Abbott ,Alyngham ,Andrews
• Bausche,Behn ,Benedict ,Betke ,Birdsall ,Bock ,Braithwaite ,Bridgham ,Brüggemann ,Buchholz ,Burmeister ,Burmester ,Bülow ,Bünstorff
• Carstens,Cherrye ,Clement ,Cook
• Dreyer,Dreyer
• Eacre,Ebeling ,Elithorpe
• Fletcher,Friedrichs
• Gade,Gause ,Gifford ,Gleash ,Goche ,Grasmeyer ,Greenwood
• Hagelberg,Hahn ,Hallensleben ,Hamborg ,Harms ,Harriman ,Hartig ,Hilmer ,Huber ,Hull
• Ives
• Kempe,Klinge ,Klitzke ,Koch ,Koosen ,Kroll
• LeMonte (Sproll),Linde ,Lübbe ,Lückenbach
• Maahs (Eickhoff),Maaß ,Mallory ,Markham ,Meier ,Mennerich ,Merriman ,Messenger ,Meyer ,Meyer ,Meyer ,Meyer ,Meyer ,Meyer ,Meyer ,Meyer ,Miles ,Mittelstaedt ,Müller ,Müller ,Müller
• Niebuhr,Niemann
• Oetzmann (Ötzmann)
• Parker,Perau ,Perleberg ,Ponz ,Post ,Preston
• Rebek,Ribbke ,Riekmann ,Riggert ,Ring ,Ring
• Sale,Sander ,Sander ,Sauer ,Schiefelbein ,Schlickau ,Schmets ,Schröder ,Schröder ,Schulz ,Schulz ,Schütte ,Scott ,Shepard ,Stegen ,Steinhauer ,Steinmetz ,Stephinson ,Stolte
• Teldau,Tiedemann
• Vertein
• Warfer,Wellmann ,Wiatrok ,Winchester
• Yale
• Ziesemer,Zilmer
• Öhlrichs

Surnames as of 14 Oct 2024 (15 generations)

• Click on Surname to view EKA - Earliest Known Ancestor
• Paternal Grandfather ,Paternal Grandmother vsMaternal Grandfather ,Maternal Grandmother ancestors

• Abbot (Abbott),Andrews ,Ashenden
• Barron (Baron),Bausche ,Behn ,Belcher ,Benedict ,Betke ,Birdsall ,Bock ,Bridgham ,Brüggemann ,Buchholz ,Burmeister ,Burmester ,Bülow ,Bünstorff
• Carstens,Clement ,Cook
• Dreyer,Dreyer
• Ebeling,Elithorpe
• Friedrichs
• Gade,Gause ,Grasmeyer ,Greenwood
• Hagelberg,Hahn ,Hallensleben ,Hamborg ,Hammond ,Hammond ,Harms ,Harriman ,Hartig ,Hawkins ,Hilmer ,Huber ,Hull
• Ives
• Kempe,Klinge ,Klitzke ,Koch ,Koosen ,Kroll
• LeMonte (Sproll),Linde ,Lucht ,Lyon ,Lübbe ,Lückenbach
• Maahs (Eickhoff),Maaß ,Mallory ,Martin ,Meier ,Mennerich ,Merriam ,Merriman ,Messenger ,Meyer ,Meyer ,Meyer ,Meyer ,Meyer ,Meyer ,Meyer ,Meyer ,Miles ,Mittelstaedt ,Müller ,Müller ,Müller
• Niebuhr,Niemann
• Oetzmann (Ötzmann)
• Perau,Perleberg ,Ponz ,Post ,Preston
• Rebek,Ribbke ,Riekmann ,Riggert ,Romancsyk
• Sale,Sander ,Sander ,Sauer ,Schiefelbein ,Schlickau ,Schmets ,Schröder ,Schröder ,Schulz ,Schulz ,Schütte ,Scott ,Sealis ,Stegen ,Steinhauer ,Steinmetz ,Stephinson ,Stolte
• Taylor,Teldau ,Tiedemann ,Tolman
• Vertein
• Warfer,Wellmann ,Wiatrok ,Winchester
• Yale
• Ziesemer,Zilmer
• Öhlrichs

Surname meanings

• Behn/Behne = 1) An unusual name of Low German and Flemish origin, one of the diminutive forms of the medieval male personal name "Benedict", adopted from the Latin "Benedictus", "Blessed". 2) from a short form of the personal name Bernhard. in some cases, perhaps a variant of Bein, from Middle Low Germanben ‘bone’, ‘leg’.^[2]
• Burmester/Burmeister = Derived from the German wordsbur orbauer, meaning "farmer," andmeister, meaning "master;" thus, the name literally means "master farmer." Alternatively, the Low German termBurmester refers to the town elder who held a position just below that of the mayor.
• Eickhoff = from Middle Low Germaneke +hof 'farmstead', 'manor farm'. Topographic name from Westphalia for someone who lived at or owned a farm or estate that was marked by oaks.
• Friedrichs = Patronymic name from Friedrich,^[2] derived from the rootfrid meaning "peace" andric meaning "ruler" or "power".
• Gause = Of geese or like a goose.
• Horstmann = "Man of the wood".
• Huber = Derives from the German wordhube meaning "hide", a unit of land a farmer might possess, granting them the status of a free tenant. It is in the top ten most common surnames in the German-speaking world.
• Klitzke = "Klitz" from Old Germanicklotz meaning "awkward, clumsy" + ke = son of = son of awkward or clumsy one.
• Kroll = from Middle High Germankrol = "curly hair".
• Maas = Dutch and North German patronymic name, archaic short form of Thomas and possibly a toponymic name from the river Maas (Meuse)
• Maahs = Americanization of Maas, highest concentration in Wisconsin.
• Mennerich - Unknown, the highest concentration in Niedersachsen.
• Mittelstadt/stedt/staedt = Habitational name of Mittelstädts or Mittelstedts in Bavaria or Baden-Württemberg, effectively "Middle town".
• Müller = also Mueller, Muller, an occupational name for "miller", one who works at a mill, the most common surname in Germany, Switzerland, and some French départements.
• Oetzman - Unknown. Either original to Germany or an Americanization from Oetzmann. There is a large population of Oetzmans in Sauk County, Wisconsin.
• Oetzmann - Unknown, the highest concentration in Germany, in America it is Minnesota
• Perau = Possible variation of Anglo-Saxon Pereau which comes from Peter.
• Ribbke = Americanization of Ripke, unique to Central Wisconsin though family members have since spread out.
• Richers = Derived from the name Richard, which is composed of the elementsric, meaning "power", andhard, meaning "hardy" or "brave".
• Riggers = 1) North German: Frisian patronymic, a variant of Ricker.^[2] 2) Derived from the Middle High German wordsreigel orreiger, both meaning "heron".
• Riggert = Derived from the name Richard, which is composed of the elementsric, meaning "power", andhard, meaning "hardy" or "brave".
• Ripke = Germanized form of Slavic Ripka ‘fish’ (see Czechryba). from a pet form of the personal name Riepe, Ribbe or Rippert, a compound ofric ‘power(ful)’ +berht ‘bright’, ‘famous’.^[2]
• Sander = patronymic name, meaning son of Alexander. The name derives from the abbreviationxander, with Alexander deriving from the Greek "Ἀλέξανδρος" (Aléxandros), meaning "Defender of the people".
• Sauer = from Middle High Germansur = sour", nickname for an embittered or cantankerous person.
• Schiefelbein = Habitational name of Schievelbein,Pomerania.
• Schulz = Occupational name for a person of authority such as sheriff, magistrate, overseer, from the Middle High Germanschulteize = the person in charge of collecting payments on behalf of the lord of the manor.
• Steinhorst = "Rock wood".
• Stolte = from Middle Low Germanstolt = "proud", magnificent".
• Tiedemann = "Man of the people".
• Wiatrok/Wiatrick/Waitrok - Unknown, Polish in origin.
• Zimmer = "Room".
• Zimmermann = "Man of the room", effectively "carpenter".

Ancestor Table

"I've seen this a few times (i.e.Robinson-27225,Langholf-2), and I wanted to recreate one of my own."

There are 2046 total possible ancestors within 10 generations without pedigree collapse. Changes are before and after March 2021 Gause Brick Wall Breakthrough.

New data available from the Tree App Ahnentafel which actually automatically calculates percentages is available here, as of 3 Mar 2024:

• Parents 2/2 = 100%
• Grandparents 4/4 = 100%* one grandparent is unknown beyond name.
• 1GG 6/8 = 75%
• 2GG 12/16 = 75%
• 3GG 16/32 = 50%
• 4GG 19/64 = 29.69%
• 5GG 22/128 = 17.19%
• 6GG 17/256 = 6.64%
• 7GG 21/512 = 4.10%
• 8GG 37/1024 = 3.61%
• 9GG 49/2048 = 2.39%
• 10GG 41/4096 = 1.00%
• 11GG 33/8192 = 0.40% (1 duplicate)
• 12GG 31/16384 = 0.19%
• 13GG 19/32768 = 0.06%
• 14GG 22/65536 = 0.03%
• 15GG 16/131072 = 0.01% (0.012207%)
• 16GG 8/262144 = 0.00% (0.0030517%)
• 17GG 4/524288 = 0.00% (0.0007629%)
• 18GG 1/1,048,576 = 0.00% (0.0000953%) (John Atte Stone-7360)
• 19GG 2/2,097,152 = 0.00% (0.0000953%) John's parents (Walter Atte Stone andElizabeth Empson) - current only "sources" for Elizabeth, after GEDCOM dump, is Ancestry tree and Rootsweb link
• 20GG 2/4,194,304 = 0.00% (0.000047683%) (William Atte Stone andUnknown Unknown (1369-1409))
• 21GG 2/8,388,608 = 0.00001192% (Unknown Stone (b. abt. 1330)) andUNKNOWN-58112
• 22GG 2/16,777,216 = 0.00001192% (Walter Atte Stone) andUnknown-677504
• 23GG 1/33,554,432 = 0.000002980% (Phillip Stone)
• 24GG 1/67,108,864 = 0.000001490% (Walter Stone)
• 25GG 1/134,217,728 = 0.0000007450% (Philip Stone (1220-1250)) - current only "source" is an Ancestry tree....

According to the automatically generated connection finder displayed with the WikiTree Browser Extension, as of 23 Feb 2025, I have a king for a 38th great grandfather,Sancho Garcés (Pamplona) de Pamplona aka Sancho I (abt.0880-0925).

As of 3 Aug 2025, by way of cousinKylie, we share an English 21GG ofRobert Belknap who was Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas of England commencing in 1377 until his banishment to Ireland in 1388 by King Richard II. On June 2, 1381, he arrived in Brentwood to summon jurors to indict the rebels (the Peasant's Revolt). However, the commons refused and made him take an oath not to attempt such a task again. He was also the great grandfather of Sir Edward Belknap, Privy Councillor to Henry VII and Henry VIII.

Cousins on WikiTree

Greenwood is related to the followingWiki Genealogists:

Via German ancestors

• 1st cousin once removed ofRoger Ribbke Jr. (viaHerman Ribbke (1900-1962) andLeona Margaret Lucille Maahs (1909-1954)) (4°)
• 2nd cousin ofRoger Ribbke III (viaHerman Ribbke (1900-1962) andLeona Margaret Lucille Maahs (1909-1954)) (5°)
• 2nd cousin once removed ofPamela Horstman Speich (viaHeinrich Friedrich Ribbke (1868-1945) andAnna Catherina Marie Dorothea Gause (1870-1938)) (6°)
• 2nd cousin once removed ofRobert Henry (viaHeinrich Friedrich Ribbke (1868-1945) andAnna Catherina Marie Dorothea Gause (1870-1938)) (6°)
• 3rd cousin once removed ofJori Lyon (viaAugust Ferdinand Fredrick Klitzke (1847-1915) andJohanna Caroline Perleberg (1847-1929)) (8°)
• 3rd cousin twice removed ofNancy Mildebrandt (viaJohann Heinrich Eickhoff Maaß (1819-1887) andCatherine Margaretha (Meyer) Hahn (1838-1899)) (9°)
• 4th or 5th cousin ofJosh Klitzke --connection to be made
• 4th cousin twice removed ofDavid Alwin (viaErdmann Raedel (1787-1875) andCatharine Schmeer (1792-1848)) (16°)
• 5th cousin twice removed ofBurghard Wellmann (private) (viaAnne Elisabeth (Riggert) Maaß (1767-1834))
• 6th cousin once removed ofHenning Saucke (viaHans Jürgen Ripke (1741-1813) andMargarethe Elisabeth Schütte (1744-1797)) (14°)
• 7th cousin ofErin Brown (via 6GGHeinrich Christoph Wilhelm Maaß (1757-1833) andAnne Elisabeth (Riggert) Maaß (1767-1834)) (15°)
• 7th cousin once removed ofDennis Fischer (viaAndreas Richers (1700-1744) andIlsabe Margarethe Meyer (1702-1759)) (14°)
• 8th cousin once removed ofKarin Hoyer (viaAndreas Richers (1700-1744) andIlsabe Margarethe Meyer (1702-1759)) (16°)
• 9th cousin once removed ofArndt Krüger (12°) andLaurie (Snook) Hughes UE (20°) (viaCarsten Sander (1644-1701) andMagdalena Tiedemann (1648-1715))
• 9th cousin twice removed ofSteven Weinert (viaChristoffer Richers (abt.1637-1716) andAnna Dorothea Behn (1647)) (15°)
• 10th cousin ofOliver Stegen (viaCarsten Sander (1644-1701) andMagdalena Tiedemann (1648-1715)) (16°)
• 10th cousin once removed ofChristian Asseburg (17°),Sheryl Cain (17°) andKaren Cain (17°) (viaHelmke Müller (d. 1694))
• 10th cousin twice removed ofNicola Wenhold (17°) andHelga (Behrens) Nordhoff (17°) (viaSimon Behn (?-aft. 1697) andCatharina Schröder (abt.1625-1697))
• 11th cousin ofNancy Fast (viaHelmke Müller (d. 1694)) (18°)
• 11th cousin once removed ofStefan Nordhoff (viaSimon Behn (?-aft. 1697) andCatharina Schröder (abt.1625-1697)) (18°)

Via English ancestors

• 10th cousin twice removed ofJeffrey Wall (23°) (viaEllis Barron, Jr. (1633-bef. 1712) andHannah Hawkins (1637-1674))
• 11th cousin twice removed of Poland Project CoordinatorSkye Sonczalla (viaRichard Miles Jr. (1598-1667) andCatherine Elithorpe (1605-1688)) (21°)
• 11th cousin twice removed of WikiTree leaderAzure Robinson (viaRichard Winchester (abt. 1570-bef. 1628) andEllen Martin (abt. 1575- aft. 1628)) (19°)
• 11th cousin three times removed ofJohn Scaife (via my 13th GG and his 10th GGMatthew Harriman (b. 1583)) (20°)
• 13th cousin twice removed ofGregory Jonason (Johnson) (viaJohn Hayward (abt. 1550-?) andMargeryunknown (bef. 1563 - ?)) (17°)
• 13th cousin three times removed ofSarah McKissick (viaJohn Thayer (abt. 1535-1584) andMaryunknown (Cooke) (1535-1611) (22°)
• 14th cousin once removed ofTricia Payne,Elaine Weatherall Martzen, andLaurie (Simmons) Sutherland via 14GGThomas Myles (b. abt. 1536) andElizabeth Eacre (b. 1540) (all21°)
• 17th cousin five times removed ofKylie Haese (via my 21GGRobert Belknap (abt. 1330-1401) andJulianna Darset (d. 1414)) (27°)
• 25th cousin once removed ofJ Wilson (via 25GGRobert Beauchamp (bef. 1223-bef. 1263) andAlice Mohun (abt. 1222-1284)) (21°)

mtDNA results imply a relationship toDeclan Thornton (genetic distance 2) and a 1:1 GEDmatch comparison shows a shared segment 7.1 cM on Chr 9. 594 SNPs. 70.038 Pct SNPs are full identical. Total Half-Match segments (HIR) 7.1cM (0.197 Pct). Estimated number of generations to MRCA = 7.5 (approximately a seventh cousin).

mtDNA results imply a relationship toCindy Cotton (genetic distance 2) however there does not appear to be any considerable shared DNA through a 1:1 GEDmatch comparison.

Y-DNA results and theory to the paternal family of Leo Lane Greenwood led to a possible match with three people viaFrancis Armstrong Jr (abt 1695 - 1783) though distant:

• Susan Harding (later Reeves): 1:1 GEDmatch comparison shows 3 shared segments when reducing threshold to 3 cM, including largest segment = 4.5 cM. Total Half-Match segments (HIR) 11.5cM (0.32 Pct). 51.466 Pct of 199716 SNPs used for this comparison are fully identical.
• Kenneth Harding: 1:1 GEDmatch comparison shows 2 shared segments when reducing threshold to 3 cM, including largest segment = 5.2 cM. Total Half-Match segments (HIR) 8.2cM (0.229 Pct). 51.589 Pct of 199319 SNPs used for this comparison are fully identical.
• Louis Parker: 1:1 GEDmatch comparison shows 4 shared segments when reducing threshold to 3 cM, including largest segment 5.1 cM. Total Half-Match segments (HIR) 16.2cM (0.45 Pct). 51.254 Pct of 200348 SNPs used for this comparison are full identical. Comparing Kit T657339 (*Lou Parker) [Migration - F2 - F] and Kit XX4022213 (*SMG) [FTDNA]

UsingDaniel Armstrong (abt. 1794 - 1864), two people come up for comparison:

• Jan Lamoureaux (later Klatt): 1:1 GEDmatch comparison shows 1 shared segment at full analysis = largest segment 8.3 cM. Total Half-Match segments (HIR) 8.3 cM (0.232 Pct). 51.018 Pct of 178362 SNPs used for this comparison are fully identical. Estimated number of generations to MRCA =7.1. When reducing threshold to 3 cM, comparison shows 6 shared segments. Total Half-Match segments (HIR) 28.7cM (0.801 Pct)
• Her daughterNicole (Dull) Lacko: 1:1 GEDmatch comparison shows 8 shared segments when reducing threshold to 3 cM, including largest segment = 4.8 cM. Total Half-Match segments (HIR) 32cM (0.893 Pct). 51.617 Pct of 210598 SNPs used for this comparison are fully identical.

Another person with a close connection via a One-to-Many DNA comparison is Scott Luther Byrd, showing 4 shared segments, including largest segment =22.8 cM. Total Half-Match segments (HIR) 64.4cM (1.795 Pct). Estimated number of generations to MRCA = 3.9. 51.239 Pct of 200997 SNPs are fully identical.

Fellow Uelzen project memberDieter Lewerenz does not immediately appear to be a cousin, but who knows given future connections.

After a connection was made into a different part of the World Tree during the January 2023 Connect-a-Thon, where Greenwood finally made the connection of his paternal line to the Lanes, which led to the Yales, and then the Ives... well let's just say he has a bunch of new notable cousins like Winston Churchill, Burl Ives (5th 2R), and Taylor Swift (10th 2R). Now comes the verification of these lines through genetics. The Armstrong line is still unverified.

DNA confirmation

• Relationship isconfirmed by FamilyTreeDNA test match between Greenwood-3667 and his father Greenwood-3668. Largest segment (longest block): 284.04 cM. Sharing 3567 cM.
• Relationship isconfirmed by a GEDmatch test match between Greenwood-3667 XX4022213 and his grandmother Ribbke-1 AM2970285. Largest segment: 132.6 cM. Estimated number of generations to MRCA = 1.4, based on sharing 1925.3 cM (53.682 Pct) across 35 half-match segments.
• GEDmatch test match between Greenwood-3667 XX4022213 and Lyon-6103 AG7740033. Largest segment = 38.3 cM. Estimated number of generations to MRCA = 3.9, based on sharing 64.3cM (1.794 Pct) across 3 half-match segments.
• GEDmatch test match between Greenwood-3667 XX4022213 and Stegen-15 JR2069839X when reducing cM threshold to 3 cM. Largest segment: 5.3 cM and 67.859% of the 474239 SNPs are fully identical. It determined that we have 12 shared segments and 47.6cM (1.326 Pct) of Total Half-Match segments (HIR). I would estimate the generations to MRCA to be around 10-12.
• GEDmatch test match between Greenwood-3667 XX4022213 andMike Gates A397094 when reducing cM threshold to 3 cM. Largest segment: 6.1 cM and 51.422% of the 197842 SNPs are fully identical. Klitzke is a common ancestral surname and I surmise that his 3GGCarl Ferdinand Klitzke (2 Feb 1802 Borntin, Pommern? - 12 Sep 1869 Stewardson, Shelby County, Illinois) and my 4GGAugust Ferdinand Klitzke (Apr 1813 Prussia (Borntin, Pommern?) - 1881 Sauk County, Wisconsin), both brick walls, are brothers.

Notable cousins

In leadership:Of the Presidents of the United States, currently,five of them have been identified as cousins:

• 17° #13:Millard Fillmore - 5C 7R (viaAndrew Messenger (bef. 1618-bef. 1681) andRachelunknown (bef. 1621-1688))
• 17° #4James Madison - 7C 8R (via 14GGThomas Myles (b. c. 1536) andElizabeth Eacre (b. 1540))
• 21° #22 and #24Stephen Grover Cleveland - 10C 6R (viaWilliam Payne Jr. (abt.1532-1587) andJoanna (Unknown) Payne (abt.1535-1594))
• 21° #41George Herbert Walker Bush - 11C 2R (viaEllis Barron (abt. 1600-1676) andGrace (Unknown) Barron (abt. 1604-bef. 1653))
• 22° #43George W. Bush - 10C 3R (viaRichard Miles, Jr. (1598-1667) andCatherine Elithorpe (1605-1688))

Their first ladies:

• 13°Lucy Ware Hayes (Webb) - 5C 6R (viaSamuel Cook (1641-1703) and others)
• 18°Mary Todd Lincoln - 5C 7R (via 11GGNathaniel Merriman (abt.1613-abt.1694) andJoanunknown (abt. 1628-1709))
• 18°Nancy Reagan (Robbins) - 7C 3R (viaJoseph (1674-1755) andEsther Benedict (1679-1752))
• 21°Florence Mabel Harding (Kling) - 8C 4R (viaThomas Benedict, Sr. (bef. 1617 - aft. 1690) andMary Bridgham (abt. 1618-abt. 1719))
• 21°Frances Clara Cleveland (Folsom) - 8C 5R (viaRychard (Winchester) Wynchester (1573-1628) andEllen Martin (abt. 1575-aft. 1628))
• 21°Barbara Bush (Pierce) - 9C 4R (viaRichard Miles, Jr. (1598-1667) andCatherine Elithorpe (1605-1688))

Their children:

• 19°Ronald Reagan Jr. andPatricia Reagan (both b. 1950s) - 8C 2R (viaJoseph (1674-1755) andEsther Benedict (1679-1752))
• 22°Jenna Bush Hager andBarbara Bush (born b. 1980s) - 11C 2R (viaRichard Miles, Jr. (1598-1667) andCatherine Elithorpe (1605-1688))

Wisconsin Governors:

• 19°Lucius Fairchild, 10th Governor - 6C 6R (viaPeter Mallory Sr (abt. 1630-bef. 1701) andMary Preston Mallory (1629-1690))
• 19°Cadwallader Colden Washburn, 11th Governor - 6C 7R (viaEllis Barron (abt. 1605-1676) andGraceUnknown Barron (abt. 1604-bef. 1643))
• 20°Leonard James Farwell, 2nd Governor - 8C 7R (viaJohn Hayward (abt. 1550-?) andMargeryUnknown Hayward (bef. 1653-?))
• 19°Harrison Ludington, 13th Governor - 8C 8R (via 15GGJohn Thayer (b. c. 1535-1584) andMaryunknown Cooke (1535-1611))
• 21°Philip Fox La Follette, 27th and 29th Governor - 9C 3R (via 11GGUnknown Bassett (b. abt. 1620))
• 18°William Henry Upham, 18th Governor - 9C 7R (viaNicholas (Ruggles) Ruggle (1522-1617) andCatherine Hewitt Stone (1484-1544))

Other leaders:

• 19°General Russell Alexander Alger - 6C 6R (viaHenry Cook (abt. 1615-1661) andJudith Birdsall (bef. 1611-1689))
• 20°James Monroe Bingham - 6C 7R (viaRobert Abbott (1604-1658))
• 19°Winston Churchill - 7C 5R (via 11GGNathaniel Merriman (abt.1613-abt.1694) andJoanunknown (abt. 1628-1709))
• 22°Major Jewett William Adams, 4th Governor of Nevada and Superindendent of Carson City Mint - 8C 5R (via 12GGWilliam Preston (bef. 1591-bef. 1647) andElizabeth Sale (1590-1634))
• 20°General George Patton - 11C 4R via (via 14GGThomas Myles (b. abt. 1536) andElizabeth Eacre (b. 1540))

In music:

• 17°Burl Ives - 6C 5R (viaJohn Ives (1644-abt. 1681) andHannah (Merriman) Benham (1651-abt. 1702))
• 22°Chester Bennington of Linkin Park, Dead By Sunrise, Grey Daze - 10C 3R (viaRichard Miles, Jr. (1598-1667) andCatherine Elithorpe (1605-1688))
• 23°Taylor Swift - 10C 2R (viaThomas Benedict Sr. (bef. 1617-abt. 1690) andMary Bridgham (bef. 1618-abt. 1719))
• 21°Jim Morrison of the Doors - 10C 3R (viaRichard Miles, Jr. (1598-1667))
• 22°Linda Ronstadt - 11C 2R (viaRobert Abbott (1604-1658))
• 19°June Carter Cash - 13C 2R (via 14GGThomas Myles (b. abt. 1536) andElizabeth Eyre (formerly documented asEacre) (b. 1540))
• 21°Naomi Judd - 14C 1R (via 11GGThomas Merriman (1510-1559) andJoanunknown (b. 1505))
• 18°Loretta Webb Lynn - 14C 1R (via 14GGThomas Myles (b. c. 1536) andElizabeth Eyre (b. 1540)) who herself is a 4th cousin to June Carter Cash.
• 23°Kayleigh Rose Amstutz (best known asChappell Roan) - 15C 2R (via 14GGThomas Myles (b. c. 1536) andElizabeth Eyre (b. 1540))

In acting:

• 18°Humphrey Bogart - 7C 3R (viaJoseph Ives (1674-1755) andEsther Benedict (1679-1752))
• 19°LeRoy Melvin Radabaugh aka "Richard Cromwell" - 7C 5R (via 11GGNathaniel Merriman (abt.1613-abt.1694) andJoanunknown (abt. 1628-1709))
• 22°Marjorie Armstrong Post "Markie Ross" of Night Court - 9C 3R (viaHenry Cook (abt.1615-1661) andJudith Birdsall (bef. 1611-1689))
• 22°Lucille Desiree Ball - 9C 3R (via 11GGNathaniel Merriman (abt.1613-abt.1694) andJoanunknown (abt. 1628-1709))
• 22°Christopher Lloyd and 22°Anthony Perkins (Norman Bates) - both 9C 3R (via my 11GGHenry Cook (abt. 1615-1661) andJudith Birdsall (bef. 1611-1689) and viaWilliam Ives (abt. 1607-1648) andUnknown Bassett (b. abt. 1620)) (for Perkins)
• 22°John Frederick Cygan (voice of Dash Rendar and Solidus Snake) - 9C 3R (via 11GGJohn Miles (1644-1704) andElizabeth Harriman (1648-1675))
• 19°Robert Charles Bentley (American humorist with theNew Yorker) - 9C 4R (via 12GGEllis Barron (abt. 1605-1676) andGraceunknown (abt. 1604 - bef. 14 Dec 1653) of the Great Puritan Migration)
• 21°Dick Van Dyke andElisabeth Shue - both 10C 3R (via my 12GG/9GGRoger Billings (abt. 1620-1683) of the Great Puritan Migration)
• 24°Ted Danson - 10C 3R (viaRobert Abbott (1604-1658))
• 23°Donald Sutherland - 11C 2R (via 12GGWilliam Preston (bef. 1591-bef. 1647) andElizabeth Sale (1590-1634)
• 26°Janet Vivian Hooks (SNL) - 11C 3R (via Puritans and 13GGWilliam Hammond (bef. 1575- 1662) andElizabeth Paine (bef. 1586-1670))
• 25°Gary Sinise (Lieutenant Dan) - 12C 1R (via 12GGWilliam Preston (bef. 1591-bef. 1647) andElizabeth Sale (1590-1634))
  • And his ancestor 20°Francis "Frank" Alsip (1827-1907) who may have been the eponym of Alsip, Illinois - 7C 6R (via same ancestors)
• 22°Dallas Frederick Burrows (Orson Bean) - 12C 1R (via 12GGRichard Winchester (abt. 1570- bef. 1628) andEllen Martin (abt. 1575- aft. 1628))
• 21°Clarence Nash (voice of Donald Duck) 12C 3R (via 14GGThomas Myles (b. c 1536) andElizabeth Eacre (b. 1540))
• 19°Johnny Depp - 14C 1R (via 11GGThomas Merriman (1510-1559) andJoanunknown (b. 1505))
• 23°Woody Harrelson (Tobias Beckett inSolo) - 15C 2R (via 14GGThomas Myles (b. c. 1536) andElizabeth Eyre (b. 1540))
• 24°John Malkovich - 22C 3R (via 24GGRoger Swynnerton (1286-bef. 1338) andMatilda Houghton (1284-1357))

In sports:

• 19°Mickey Mantle - 10C 3R (via 12GGRobert Abbott (1604-1658))
• 22°Miles Gilbert "Tim" Horton - 9C 3R (via 11GGWilliam Taylor (abt. 1620-1696) andMary Merriam (abt. 1630-abt. 1699))
• 23°Michael Phelps - 15C (via 14GGThomas Myles (b. c 1536) andElizabeth Eacre (b. 1540))

In science and technology:

• 17°Thomas Alva Edison - 6C 6R (via 11GGThomas Merriman (1510-1559) andJoanunknown (b. 1505))
• 18°Douglass Houghton, the first state geologist of Michigan - 7C 8R (via 14GGJohn Hayward (abt. 1550-?) andMargeryUnknown Hayward (bef. 1653-?))
• 20°Fisk Holbrook Day, Amateur geologist and physician that discovered Schoonmaker Reef in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin - 11C 6R (via 16GG/10GGDavid Stone (c. 1483-1543))
• 20°William Sanford "Bill" Nye the Science Guy - 12C5R (via 16GG/11GGDavid Stone (c. 1480-1543))
• 23°Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia and Week 1 2022 WikiTree Challenge focus - 15C (viaThomas Merriman (1510-1559) andJoanunknown (b. 1505))
• 27°Richard Erskine Frere Leakey, Kenyan paleoanthropologist, conservationist and politician, and son ofLouis B Leakey andMary Nicol Leakey (via 24GGSir John de Brewes (1306-aft. 1374) andEve Ufford (abt. 1310-aft. 1370))

In authorship:

• 23°Margaret Atwood - 14C 2R (via 15GGJohn Thayer (b. abt. 1535-1584) andMaryunknown Cooke (1535-1611))

Other notables:

• 14°John (Jean) Cooke, son of Francis Cooke, and passenger on board theMayflower - 12GG
• 15°Richard Warren and 15°Francis Cooke, two of the 41 male compact signatories and two of 102 passengers not counting crew onboard theMayflower - both 13GG
• 17°Emma Hall Bidamon, the first wife (of many) ofJoseph Smith, Jr., the founder of Mormonism - 5C 7R (viaPeter Mallory Sr (abt. 1630-bef. 1701) andMary Preston Mallory (1629-1690))
• 17°Henry Eugene Abbey (1846-1896), American theatre manager and producer that brought a group of Spanish performers, known as the Spanish Students, to the United States - 5C 7R (via 11GGNathaniel Merriman (abt. 1613-abt. 1694) andJoanunknown (abt. 1628-1709))
• 19°Helen Adams Keller (1880-1968), American disabled activist, author, and lecturer - 9C 5R (via my 13GGMayflower PassengersRichard Warren (1583-1628) andElizabeth Walker (bef. 1583-1673))
• 21°Robert Pershing Wadlow (1918-1940), The World's Tallest Man at 8 ft 11.1 inches tall - 8C 4R (viaSamuel Belcher (1637-1679) andMary Billings (Niles) (bef. 1645-1683))
• 17°Susan Brownell Anthony (1820-1906), American suffragette/women's rights advocate - 8C 8R (via 15GGJohn Thayer (abt. 1535-1584) andMaryunknown Cooke (1535-1611))

Friends, family, and colleagues

He has convinced a few people he knows to join WikiTree. Most tend to have German and Polish roots and a majority are the first representing their surnames: Some entries have the number of degrees of separation or the relationship noted. Data as of 26 Jul 2025.

• Anger-489 (Now24°, with 93 connections!)
• Bauer-7633Unconnected with 5 connections and isolated profile
• Braun-5621Unconnected, no parents or spouse created, no connections
• Carpenter-24003Unconnected, 34 connections, related to McFadden-3885 by marriage
• Ellis-28009 (Now24°, with 48 connections!)
• Fields-8266Unconnected, no parents created, no connections
• Garber-Pearson-1Unconnected, 31 connections
• Gavisk-4Unconnected as of 29 Nov 2025
• Gazinski-1 (25°, 535 connections)
• Grant-22336Unconnected, only one parent for 1 connection
• Johnson-136184 (17°, 13C 2R, 569 connections)
• Innis-225 (27°, 226 connections)
• Kelsner-1 ('34° --> '24°, 82 connections)
• Klitzke-129 (no contributions and no parents created, no connections)
• Lucas-10809Still Unconnected, and even after branching out to 2GGs in almost all directions for 104 connections
• Marszalkowski-4 (Now24°, with 51 connections!)
• McFadden-3885Unconnected, invited but never accepted, talk to them, has pedigree built
• Mildebrandt-1 (9°, 3C 2R, 230 connections)
• Parisi-355Unconnected, only one parent for 1 connection (since passed, I feel this is my best written profile)
• Piehl-134 (2°, 1356 connections!)
• Pietz-139Unconnected, only parents for 2 connections
• Raymond-6197Unconnected, invited but never accepted, talk to them
• Reep-216Unconnected, only parents for 2 connections
• Ribbke-1 (2°, G)
• Ribbke-16 (4°, 1C 1R, 1465 connections!)
• Ribbke-17 (5°, 2C, 829 connections)
• Roepsch-2Unconnected, no parents created, no connections
• Ross-27421Still Unconnected, 50 connections
• Ruechel-1 (26° and GEDCOM uploaded)
• Seifried-113Unconnected, only parents for 2 connections
• Skrobis-1 (Now20° with 68 connections!)
• Stueland-6Unconnected, 8 connections
• Thalhamer-1Unconnected, only one parent for 1 connection
• Upp-259 (25°, 136 connections)
• Wilson-100707 (26°, 140 connections)

His friendWalker-17311 (Connected as of 15 Jul 2023, 27°, later25° and 226 connections as of 28 Dec 2025) had joined in 2015 before Greenwood had any knowledge of their sign-up.

His friendBeard-5746 (36°, later26° and 511 connections as of 28 Dec 2025) had also joined in December 2020 but it is unclear if it was inspired by Greenwood.

Less successful recruitment for individuals Brockman (North Carolina), Hurtado (California, Columbia), Fields (Tennessee), Kuecker (Wisconsin), and Greatens (Wisconsin).

Research

Important links and spaces

• Dieter's German-English Glossary
• German territorial structure in the course of history
• Germany Project Location Field Guidelines
• List of members with Familienbücher
• The Zero Date Loophole, awareness of a problem created by GEDcoms and being tackled by Friday Date Nights.
• Help:Challenge Hangouts
• Help:15 For 15, and the15 for 15 Tracker, a handy mission-based checklist to perform certain tasks on WikiTree over the course of 2023, WikiTree's 15th Anniversary.

Sometimes there are overlooked Living Notables profiles that need to have Notables Project invited to them for oversight. One should use wt-notables-project-2 at googlegroups dot com in the Trusted List and set to Profile Manager.

Current Projects

Greenwood has a project forSauk County, Wisconsin, the location where many of his ancestors lived. In June-July 2021, he visited the county to obtain research materials and photographed headstones across five cemeteries:

• Oak Hill Cemetery, North Freedom
• St. John's Cemetery, Rock Springs
• Walnut Hill Cemetery, Baraboo
• St. Peter's Cemetery, Reedsburg
• Green Wood Cemetery, Reedsburg

He is in the process of splitting up the Sauk County page into different villages and townships as he acquires more information.

He also started one forLandkreis Uelzen, Niedersachsen, where many of his ancestors originated, now that a majority of the place name categories for that Landkreis have been created. The concern on WikiTree, however, is that there may be some misunderstanding about the naming of the categories, as categories representing collective municipalities have been shifted to those of either towns or villages, Bevensen in particular.

"Historically, the collective municipalities were larger than the individual municipalities and within those individual municipalities were the villages themselves. This nesting should really be represented within the category structure, from Kreis to collective to individual municipality to village, for example: Niedersachsen [German state] --> Kreis Uelzen [county equivalent] --> Bevensen (or now Bevensen-Ebstorf) [collective municipality] --> Bad Bevensen [municipality] --> Gollern [village]. Those profiles that are unclear on the exact village should go in the higher tier of category. The project hopes to clear up this confusion and/or inconsistency. In the near future, we hope to address the historical changes of this area and create the appropriate categorical structure for that."

Because of his work on this Landkreis, he was chosen to lead the Lower Saxony Team.

A third project isGerman inventors and discoverers, a space to corral famous German scientists and discoverers with Wikipedia articles into the WikiTree.

Other projects and peoples

2020

Greenwood created the page for Wisconsin scrap sculptor legendDr. Evermor (25 deg) on 12 Aug 2020 and wrote its biography.

On 17 Sep 2020, Greenwood came across the mysterious German performance artist "Thea Alba", who supposedly could write with all ten fingers at once, with not much background information on her. Yet he figured out whoThea Alba (unconnected) was thanks to a book published in July 2020 on the descendants ofMartin Luther.

In December 2020, Greenwood focused on building and formatting profiles of geologists and collectors, such asThomas A. Greene (21 deg) andFisk Holbrook Day (21 deg), and profiles of those involved with theStar Wars franchise, to the extent of creatingcategorization for it. At that time he hoped to have bothgeologists andStar Wars actors as upcoming weekly themes and connections, the latter did occur (see below).

2021

January and February 2021, he took on additional tasks of assisting personal friends and colleagues with their trees and history (see Friends, family, and colleagues).

He took overNamesakes of United States Counties on 20 Feb 2021 in the hopes to reactivate and complete that project.

ForMay the Fourth 2021 Connections, Greenwood helped recommend and expand some of theStar Wars profiles he had worked on, includingGrant Imahara (27 deg),Peter Mayhew (25 deg) andChristopher Lee (25 deg).

Later May 2021, Greenwood was tasked with helping buildTeam Prussia on WikiTree, and created the page forPosen, Prussia Team.

From July-August 2021, he transcribed names fromA County Named Sauk to assist with Sauk County research.

In October 2021, he participated in his first Source-a-Thon where he sourced30 profiles. In January 2022, he participated in his first Connect-a-Thon where he tied for366th place out of 660 participants with 36 pointsand his firstWikiTree Challenge (forJimmy D. Wales, founder of Wikipedia, 24 deg 15C). In Jimmy's Challenge, he contributed over 80 edits, created profiles forfour direct ancestors (Prander-1 which becameNorrmann-2,Levenicht-3,Both-225 andBoth-226), one first relative (Levenicht-20), and four additional relatives (Hargrove-1337,Pralow-15,Thielman-38,Lorenzen-412), and claimedtenbounty points for a total of28 points! Additionally some other non-connected profiles were made in affiliation with the project (Penny-2634,Normann-73,Kimpel-177,Kimpel-178, andKimpel-179, andNerdenholtz-1 andNerdenholtz-2).

2022

January 2022 was also the month when he was (finally!) approved for aOne Name Study of the Klitzke family.

From 31 Jan to 7 Feb 2022, Greenwood was featured as theWikiTree Member of the Week.

He participated in aCemetery Connectors Challenge, having created11 profiles (22nd out of 55 contributors), though unfortunately was not able to connect them to the tree during the challenge.

The death ofGhostbusters andGhostbusters II directorIvan Reitman OC (29 deg) on 12 Feb 2022 led to a push to have his profilefeatured on the Main Page, in addition to either other directors and/or producers, or people associated with theGhostbusters franchise (maybe for Ghostbusters Day on June 8?).

His secondWikiTree Challenge to participate in was forAdrienne Wilkinson (Challenge 4: 17 Feb-24 Feb 2022) (22 deg) where hescored12 points for creating that many nuclear relative profiles, includingKreyling-14,Kreyling-15 and the wife (Bitner-449) and children ofRhodes-4766.

On 4 Mar 2022, the 17th birthday of Wookieepedia, Greenwood started .. somethingnot Star Wars-related: a sequel to the Namesakes Project,Namesakes of Municipalities.

On 16 Mar 2022, he built a biography for wrestlerScott Hall (21 deg) after the profile was opened up. On 24 Mar 2022, he created the profile forcomputer scientistStephen Wilhite (unconnected), the creator of the GIF, and on 26 Mar 2022, he created the profile forFoo Fighters drummerOliver Hawkins (23 deg) and connected him to the world tree.

1 Apr 2022 was the day that the 1950 United States Census was released to the public both for research and for transcribing, to which Greenwood performed both tasks as part of theThe WikiTree 1950 Census Indexers Group. You can help transcribe the censushere once you search for a county and district.

By 27 Apr 2022, theRipke Name Study was first available and edited.

On 18 May 2022, he created a profile for living science communicatorBill Nye (20 deg) in preparation for WikiTree's science week. Profile privacy needs to be overridden by Notables Project to be viewable.

ForGhostbusters Week (week of 8 Jun 2022), Greenwood provided the majority of the list of featured connections, with Ivan Reitman being the main focus.

On 30 Jun 2022, Azure set up theRöbbel, Niedersachsen One Place Study for Greenwood.

In early August 2022, he helped set up a document for the WikiTree Day Scavenger Hunt (to be continued in 2023).

On 15 Aug 2022, he created the profile for Wisconsin business ownerRalph Charles Ehlenbach (30 deg) and added to his local German branches.

In early Sept 2022, he placed 10th in contributions to the WikiTree Challenge forOlivia Newton-John (26 deg), having focused heavily on the Ehrenberg family.

On 30 Sept, he contributed to the 7th Annual Source-A-Thon, riding with Team Germany Genies once again! He was only able to contribute8 sources this year though.

Greenwood also looked to assist with theMark Hamill (16 deg) Challenge of early Oct 2022. However, many of the profiles were outside of his area of expertise and real-world issues prevented full participation.

On 15 Oct 2022, Greenwood was able to finish up documentation of Sections 6, 7, and 8 (as well as 10) of Saint John's Cemetery.

2023

In January 2023, Greenwood contributed36 connections during Connect-A-Thon, and made the connection between him and theGreat American Bottleneck population, allowing him to finally see the relationships to American cousins (see above).

In early February 2023, he helped contribute to theWikiTree Challenge working in tandem with One Place Studies, particularly in the Monksfield and Vick lines, and recommended the creation of the Shoreditch, Middlesex, England OPS.

In April 2023, for the second Connect-A-Thon of the year, Greenwood contributed79 profiles alongside Germany Genies, helping his team remain in3rd place overall and 1st place normalized! This also allowed him to expand the genealogy of hisLEGO Master counterpartDawn.

For May 2023, Greenwood created a weekend-longStar Wars pop-up challenge featuringChristopher Sean (Friel), the voice of Kazuda Xiono inStar Wars: Resistance.

In July 2023, Greenwood contributed ever so slightly to Connect-A-Thon in terms of profile creation (13), however, he was able to attendEIGHT Connect-A-Thon hangouts via Streamyard for the first time, cheering on Team Germany Genies!

In August 2023, he created the profile forPaul Reubens, best known to the world asPee-wee Herman, in the wake of his death, followed in September 2023 bySteve Harwell, vocalist of Smash Mouth. In October 2023, he created the profile for the lateShawna Leavell Trpcic, Hollywood costumer that worked heavily with Lucasfilm projects in recent years.

2024

In January 2024, Greenwood sought to gather all theGerman One Name Studies into one place, since categorization was for all One Name Studies, and it could assist Germany Project. Also in January, he once again joined Germany Genies for Connect-A-Thon.

On 24 Sep 2024, he created the profile for the lateDan Jezek, founder of BrickLink, on what would have been the 14th anniversary of his death.

On 27 Sep 2024, the day thatDame Maggie Smith passed away, he mildly restructured the categorization within Films to create theWizarding World category and nest Harry Potter films within that to account for additional products since released (namelyFantastic Beasts).

On 1 Oct 2024, he created the profile for recently deceased notableFrank Fritz.Ron Lamoreaux connected him to the World Tree through his mother.

On 2 Oct 2024, he created the profile for recently deceased notableKen Page.

He created the Living Notable profile for Canadian actorMichael Cera on 12 Oct 2024.

On 17 Oct 2024, he created the profile for recently deceased notableLiam James Payne.

On 5 Dec 2024, he created the Living Notable profile for Canadian singer and songwriterCarly Rae Jepsen.

On 30 Dec 2024, cousin bait was successful in getting the attention of aKlitzke cousin (possibly 4th or 5th) who contacted him, and allowed him to find the relationship based on existing profiles here.

2025

On 16 Jan 2025, he created the profile for Milwaukee baseball legendBob Uecker after his passing, and visited the memorial at Miller Park (aka American Family Field) that night.

He signed up to participate in Connect-A-Thon XIII, held from 17 Jan 2025 to 20 Jan 2025, contributing once again with Team Germany Genies.

On 15 Feb 2025, he received permission to create the profile of his late geoscience department colleagueAndrew Parisi who passed away in March 2024.

He was inspired to create a Space Page for a Wisconsin historical event on 22 Feb 2025,The Great Frog Invasion of 1952, which inundated the then town of Oconto, Wisconsin with 175 million leopard frogs.

On 23 Feb 2025, he created the profile for recently deceased NotableLynne Marie Stewart, who was Miss Yvonne in the Pee-wee television and film universe.

The next two weeks after were very busy for notable deaths, in which he created the profiles forRoberto Orci,Angie Stone (Brown),George Edward Lowe (Space Ghost),Joan Dye Gussow, andSimon Fisher-Becker.

On Monday, 10 Mar 2025, WikiTree upgraded to its new format.

In June 2025, Greenwood wasRAWKed by the WikiTree community (see Space Page for details).

During RAWKing and into July 2025, Greenwood avoided anything to do with his profile or watchlist to avoid reveal spoilers, but was still able to add profiles for recently deceased notables, such asPeter Kwong,Jonathan Joss Gonzalez,Edmund Valentine White III,Maurice Edward Bush (Star Wars),Richard Dean Zehringer (Derringer),Harris Yulin (Ghostbusters II),Marjorie Damico Grande,Kenneth Colley (Star Wars),Martin Fulterman (Snow),James Carter Cathcart (Pokémon),Walter Hamilton Seward,John "Kid Millions" Kuester, andFelix Baumgartner. Both Colley and Bush were in the same scene together inStar Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. He also worked on the family of a man who placedAurebesh on his motherPearl Sekora Harrison's gravestone, and of the profile and family ofDan Jezek (made in 2024).

On 2 Aug 2025, Greenwood created the space page for theWisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame, after walking by the night before and photographing several plaques, including that of Bob Uecker's, which is promptly uploaded. The same night, he also created the profile forDan Pelzer, an Ohio man who documented every book he had read since 1962, which was 3,599 of them.

On 9 Aug 2025, he created the profile of anotherlate colleague, as well as extended a line of Germans known as the Stoppers to a village in Württemberg (Kiebingen), and then proceeded to connect another Stopper line to a adjacent village (Baisingen) in the sameLandkreis. Maybe they are related!

On 10 Aug 2025, Greenwood created the profile for his 6C7R Milwaukee Register of DeedsCyrus Hawley, of whom Hawley Road in Milwaukee is likely named.

On 18 Aug 2025, he created the profile for recently deceased notableRonald Reid Rondell Jr., a stuntman and stunt coordinator.

On 19 Aug 2025, he created the profile for Wisconsin lime kiln operatorGarwin Mace whom has a road named for him.

On 24 Aug 2025, he created the long missing category forleft-handed individuals. Examples of notable left-handers include Barack Obama, John McEnroe, Babe Ruth, Leonardo de Vinci, Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Napoleon Bonaparte, Prince William, Hugh Jackman, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, David Bowie, Charlie Chaplin, Steve Jobs, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Michelangelo, Nikola Tesla, Matt Groening, Jimi Hendrix, Keanu Reeves, Kurt Cobain, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Paul McCartney, and Lady Gaga.

On 28 Aug 2025, he created the profile for Milwaukee lawyerLawrence J Timmerman of which Timmerman Airport is named.

On 2 Sep 2025, he made what he believed was the only profile forGraham Greene, however Notables LeaderDavid Randall had created it immediately beforehand and WikITree did not notify him. The two back to back profiles were subsequently merged later that day.

On 10 Sep 2025, he created the profile for recently deceased notable actressPolly Dean Holliday ("Kiss my grits!").

On 21 Sep 2025, Greenwood created the profile forRon Cobb, a film concept artist and creator of the Ecology Flag.

On 23 Sep 2025, he created the profile for Menomonee Falls Village PresidentHenry Stark.

On 25 Sep 2025, he created the profile for Milwaukee Public Schools superintendentClarence Emigh, of which Emigh Playfield is named.

On 26 Sep 2025, he created the profile for Titanic survivorWing Sun Fong.

On 27 Sep 2025, after taking an architectural tour through Wisconsin Memorial Park, he created the profile forRae Roy Reuss, the architect of its largeStar Trek-like open air mausoleum (needs parents).

On 30 Sep 2025, he created the profile for Milwaukee-based architectErhard Brielmaier and took over the space page for the place of his burial,Calvary Cemetery and Mausoleum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

On 1 Oct 2025, he created a profile for alady with a guava recipe on her gravestone.

On 2 Oct 2025, Greenwood created the profile for the founder of Wolski's Tavern off Brady Street in Milwaukee,Bernard Wolski, and his great-grandson.

On 14 Oct 2025, he created the profile for recently deceased notableDrew Struzan, artist behind over 150 iconic film posters, includingBack to the Future,E.T., and films in theStar Wars andIndiana Jones series.

On 15 Oct 2025, after being inspired by a historic tour of Calvary Cemetery and Mausoleum in Milwaukee, he created the profile for Milwaukee tavern founderCatherine Foley.

On 20 Oct 2025, Greenwood created the profile for Limp Bizkit bassist and co-founding memberSam RIvers.

On 4 Nov 2025, he created the profile for Milwaukee merchantDavid Adler (1821-1905), who might have West Adler Street named for him.

On 7 Nov 2025, he created the space page titledEponyms and Namesakes: Streets to gather individuals (eponyms) with roadways named for them (namesakes).

On 8 Nov 2025, as part of a larger plan byKat to add more individuals from the tabletop role-playing game world onto WikiTree, Greenwood created the profile forDon Kaye, the other co-founder of Tactical Studies Rules (TSR), Inc, in addition to working on the profiles ofDave Arneson and of courseErnest Gary Gygax.

On 11 Nov 2025, he created the profile for recently deceased notableKasuki Motoyama, the creator of Super Mario.

On 15 Nov 2025, he created the profiles for noted geologistsHelen Dick Megaw andAlfred Church Lane, and recently deceased notableCleto Escobedo III. In addiition to Megaw's profile, he created the category foreponyms with minerals named for them, of which Megaw is one.

Interesting Finds, TM

Here is a list of profiles with strange or notable circumstances about people in my branches. They should havebold text in their biographies, indicating something Interesting^TM about them:

• Anna Louise Kroll (later Schiefelbein)

Wisconsin name studies

These are not mine but others in the state that I reside in.

• Category:Wisconsin, Babcock Name Study
• Category:Wisconsin, Klapperich Name Study
• Category:Wisconsin, Langenfeld Name Study
• Category:Wisconsin, Pulvermacher Name Study
• Category:Wisconsin, Viles Name Study
• Category:Wisconsin, Zanzig Name Study

The following Name Studies don't have a Wisconsin category yet, but have profiles in Wisconsin:

• Category:Zalewski Name Study (Milwaukee)

Contributions

• 2000 - 17 Dec 2020
• 2500 - 10 Apr 2021
• 3000 - 23 Jul 2021
• 3500 - 8 Jan 2022
• 4000 - 10 Feb 2022
• 4500 - 3 Apr 2022
• 5000 - 16 Sep 2022
• 6000 - 9 Feb 2023
• 6666 - 7 May 2023
• 7000 - 10 Aug 2023
• 7500 - 17 Dec 2023
• 7777 - 11 Feb 2024
• 8000 - 15 Apr 2024 (with large update to Klitzke Name Study page)
• 8500 - 20 Dec 2024
• 8888 - 17 Mar 2025
• 9000 - 13 Apr 2025
• 9999 and 10000! - 26 Nov 2025

Thank Yous

• My third cousin once removedJori Lyon gave me my 1000th Thank You on 23 Jan 2024. It was for specifying the burial place for a Mr. "Dutch" Pfaff.
• I reached 1200 Thank Yous on 27 Apr 2025 with appreciation from my 9th cousin Oliver regarding a merge of German profiles.

Musings

I agree with the sentiment that how to describe the end of a person's life varies, depending on the circumstances.

• If they lived a long life without issue but their body no longer was capable of life, they passed away.
• If their life was cut short or shorter by a disease, they died.
• If their life was ended by an accident, severe weather event, or an act of war, they were killed.
• If they ended their own life, they killed themselves, or died by suicide.
• If their life was ended by another private person, they were murdered.
• If their life was ended by the state in a formal process, they were executed.
• If their life was ended by a genocidal act, they were summarily executed.

To-Do

Advance Directive/Wiki-Will

"The COVID-19 pandemic had made me very aware of my mortality. I feel it responsible to state what should occur in the event of my demise. If I pass, my Landkreis Uelzen profiles should be handed over to my tenth cousinOliver Stegen, my Sauk County, Wisconsin profiles toRibbke-16, the profiles within three degrees ofKelsner-1 to them, any notable profiles to Notables Project, and all other profiles toGazinski-1 andRuechel-1 depending on CC7 proximity." Do NOT destroy the content of this profile. A privateautobiography shall be unlocked by a sysop and entered into the biography of my profile, written in the third person. If one must blank the genealogical data in the wake of my death, then please save this data to a separate space page for archival purposes and to potentially assist anyone in the future working in my areas of research. --Greenwood-3667 21:35, 3 April 2022-16:23, 9 August 2025 (UTC)

Sources

1. ↑Kelsner on Forebears
2. ↑^2.02.12.22.3 Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press

• First-hand information. Entered by Steven Greenwood at registration.
• Cousins derived using WikiTree Connection Finder and My Cousins.

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Profile manager: Steven Greenwood