Biography

Kie (Entrikin) Zelms has completed Level 2 of the Trans-Canada Orphan Trail.

Kie (Entrikin) Zelms participated in the October 2024 Palatine Migration Project Rowand Challenge.

Kie caught the genealogy "bug" early, while putting flowers on the graves at Green Lawn and Prairiedale Cemeteries in Dickinson County, Kansas with her grandmothers, paternal aunt and mother. Grandma Snyder said at one point, "If the truth were told, everyone in Dickinson County is related to everyone else." At that young age (6 or 7) the fascination was the graves of babies (Mary Joan Entrikin and little Marlene Gump) and one stone in particular at Prariedale with a lamb laying on the top...

At her grandparents' house on the farm in Garfield Twp., Kie discovered a large old red book full of pictures of ancient mob-capped women and stiff collared men. Fascinated, she pored over it every time she went to the Entrikin farmhouse. Grandpa Entrikin told Kie, "It is about my mother's family." That information was filed in an 8 year old's memory.

Grandpa Entrikin collaborated with his cousin, Mary Entrikin Porter, who was working on a genealogy of George Entrikin b 1710, the immigrant, to Chester County. His Quaker records made tracing his family fairly easy. That was a topic of discussion during Kie's yearly visits with Frank as a young military spouse. Frank would bring out the "picture box" and Kie began listening to stories of his childhood in Missouri and Oklahoma, his adventures as a young man and life on the Entrikin farm during the Depression. There are advantages to longer visits when one lives far away from family.

Much later, the "Gump Gang" decided to collaborate on a Family Tree Cookbook that included family recipes along with the descendants of R.J. and Mary Florence Garten Gump. As an adult, Kie asked her Aunt Nadine... "Why does this stop with Grandpa Gump? Who were his parents? The answer. " Because the "aunties" did not want that story told. No one knows who his father was." This occurred about 1998, in the early days of computer genealogy. One "allnighter" later, Kie was armed with the name of her GGGrandmother, Mary Tabitha Gump, and the search for her history was on...

At the same time, Kie's Great Aunt Sylvia Bowyer Altmann was researching her father's Bowyer-Aitchison family in Canada, Scotland and England. Grandma May Bowyer Snyder helped out, sketching the family stories and lineage in a small notebook, which was later kept by her daughter, Elaine. When Kie was married in northern Ohio, May and her cousin, Jim Bowyer, came to the wedding, then traveled to Gorrie, Ontario to visit the home of their Grandparents, Mary Brown Aitchison and Thomas Bannister Bowyer. Sylvia and May were raised by the Bowyers, who told the stories of their time in Canada. Sylvia paid a researcher to do the research in Scotland and England, self publishing a Bowyer Family History in 1986.

Also in progress during the 80's, was a history of the Heikes family. Marilyn Heikes Martin was a "double cousin" of Elaine Snyder Entrikin and self published the story of that family, tracing their migration from the "Palatinate" to Adams Co., Pennsylvania and to Kansas. Elaine passed along any information she located to Kie as she delved further into her family story. Little was known of Thomas Snyder's family, but Grace Snyder and Grandma May worked together to outline the Snyder family. Letters flew between Grace and her cousins in Pennsylvania, despite her never meeting most of them. The letters filled in many of the gaps and provided facts to delve further into that line of Elaine's family.

Little did Kie know that being living with her young family in Wiesbaden, W. Germany, singing in a German Madrigal Choir and traveling in Europe would be such a benefit to her plunge into the rabbit holes of genealogy. Learning to speak and read the language and understanding the culture, from those friendships and conversations with local residents, was invaluable.

Finally, a couple of serendipities occurred after Kie left the world of public school teaching. She remembered the big old book about her great grandmother's family. She called her Aunt Nadine to see if it had possibly survived when the contents of the Entrikin farmhouse were sold and the farmhouse moved. Nadine located it in her basement. It was The Hufford Family History published by Franklin Pierce Hufford in 1915. What a treasure of early German Brethren history!

The other serendipity was a photo of a Baumgardner man found in the home of Grace Snyder after her death. Searching "the web" one night, Kie came upon the same photo of Benjamin Bieber Baumgardner posted on a genealogy message board. Contacting that researcher opened up the Snyder-Baumgardner-Morrison story in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. She helped to arrange a Snyder-Baumgardner descendants' reunion that fall.

For Elaine's 70th birthday, her daughters planned the trip to Pennsylvania. Sadly, September 11, 2001 postponed those plans, but our cousin managed to gather the family again on short notice. The research and meeting with distant family members was a priceless gift and a tribute to the wonders of internet genealogy connections. There is nothing quite like understanding the place where families begin. Visiting the Beitzel, Bentz and Heikes family homesteads in Adams county during that trip brought those people and their stories to life as well.

There are mysteries still to be solved and more stories to discover.

Who were the fathers of my great grand parents? Each side of the family has a hole where a GGgrandparent should be. DNA testing revealed the partial truth in family stories and identified the mother of Mira MacVicar, all thanks to another generous genealogist. Who knows what may eventually turn up as technology advances?

Most of all, thanks to my cousin, Lisa Blackburn Roller, who introduced me to WikiTree, where we can collaborate to show that we truly are all related.

Education and Career

• Port Clinton High School, Port Clinton, Ottawa County, Ohio
• B.S. Kent State University, Ohio. Family Studies
• MSEd. Early Childhood Education, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville
• Vocalist, Wiesbaden German-American Choir; Mainz Madrigal Chor
• Substitute Teacher, DODDS Schools, Aukamm-Wiesbaden
• Choral Director, Langley AFB Skylarks
• Organist-Choir Director, Leavenworth, Kansas O'Fallon, Illinois
• Teacher- Enrichment, Preschool, PreKindergarten At Risk, Kindergarten
• Preschool Director- Faith Lutheran Programs for Young Children, O'Fallon Illinois.

DNA

Maternal relationship confirmed by an AncestryDNA test match between Kie Entrikin Zelms and Iris Elaine Snyder Predicted relationship from 1AncestryDNA: Parent-Child, based on sharing 3,463 cM across 74 segments; Confidence: 100%

Sources

• First-hand information. Entered by Alison Kie Entrikin at registration.

My Surnames

Click on Surname to view EKA - Earliest Known Ancestor

Paternal vs Maternal ancestors

Achelly, Aitchison , Albert , Alexander , Angell , Anspach , Anspach , Aschauer , Ashmead

Bacon, Bagley , Bailey , Baldridge , Bannister , Bar , Barbara , Bardsley , Barfield , Barley , Barrat , Barrou , Bates , Baumgardner , Becker , Beer , Beitzel , Benger , Bennett , Bentz , Bern , Bick , Biddle , Biedermann , Bird , Blank , Blunden , Boleyn , Bowater , Bowyer , Brackhen , Brems , Brennan , Brinton , Broughton , Brown , Brubaker , Bryson , Buffington , Buffington , Bushnell , Bushy , Butler

Calvert, Campbell , Candleby , Capen , Carey , Carlice , Carter , Chamberlain , Chandler , Chandler , Cheyney , Christopher , Clark , Clarke , Clas , Clator , Clerke , Clouser , Cochran , Collett , Cooke , Cooke , Coombs , Corbett , Crail , Cressal , Crockett , Cruikshank , Cunningham , Currier

Davenport, Davis , De Hericourt , De Tossberry , DeTurck , Dean , Dearborn , Delwood , Dentone , Deturk , Dickenson , Dickinson , Dorthie , Downham , Drummond , DuFour Royers , Duberrie , Duck , Dues , Dunn , Duxford

Eastwood, Edwards , Eibacher , Elliott , Elmy , Entrikin

Feaverstone, Fellow , Fischer , Fischer , Fordyce , Franklin , Frantz , Freame , Frey , Frothington , Fugate

Gale, Gallagher , Garland , Garten , Gaul , Gearing , Gedge , Gibbons , Goessgerin , Goettschi , Good , Graves , Gray , Grazebrook , Grazehook , Green , Greenway , Greenwood , Groff , Gump

H, Haan , Haas , Hallam , Hannum , Harbend , Hardekopf , Harkarson , Harlan , Harlan , Harris , Harrison , Harrison , Hauser , Hay , Hefflin , Heikes , Heller , Henricks , Herr , Herr , Hess , Hewit , Hickman , Hickman , Hidseman , Hildreth , Hoarth , Hoehn , Hoffert , Hoffman , Holmes , Hoopes , Hope , Hopkinson , Horn , Horn , Hoskins , Howard , Huber , Hughes , Humbarger , Humbert , Hyandson , Höll

Ireland, Ireland , Isherwood

Jackman, James , Jarrett , Jefferies , Jefferis , Jessop , Jessop , Jeston , Jones , Journey

Katharina, Kauffler , Keim , Kendig , Kerbie , Kime , King , Kip , Kirke , Kitchen , Klock , Kneer , Knisley , Knowles , Kust

Lamprecht, Leathe , Leis , Leitch , Lennard , Levis , Levis , Lewis , Lewis

Maddock, Mann , Maris , Marsh , Martin , Marvel , Mason , Matthew , McBeath , McEachern , McFarland , McVicar , Meadows , Meili , Melford , Mendenhall , Mendenhall , Mercer , Meredith , Mersthell , Meutschelin , Meyer , Meyer , Meyer , Meyers , Michell , Miller , Milne , Milton , Minshall , Montgomery , Morgan , Morgan , Morley , Morris , Morris , Morrison , Most , Mueller , Myers , Mylin , Mylin

Naeff, Nayle , Need , Neukomm , Neukomm , Neukomm , Newsam , Nye , Nyle

Owen

Page, Pagett , Patrick , Peniston , Pennell , Pennock , Perkes , Petchie , Petty , Pindell , Poynton , Prichett , Purchase

Rathgeb, Rau , Rau , Reed , Reinwein , Reith , Richardson , Rickenbosche , Riehm , Rieth , Ring , Roberts , Robinson , Robinson , Roten , Rouer , Rufford , Rylance , Ryle

Sailer (Saller) , Schentzler , Schneider , Schneider , Schuepp , Schweikhardt , Scothorn , Seffer , Shaffer , Shelby , Shively , Shofferin , Simmons , Sims , Smedley , Smith , Smith , Smith , Smith , Smith , Snider , Snow , Snyder , Snyder , Sodaye , Southery , Spitteler , Sporri , Spratt , Spuhler , St John , Stainhouse , Stanfield , Stedelmann , Stevens , Stewart , Stihli , Stone , Straumann , Strode , Stroud , Studebaker , Suss , Swope , Sydler

Taylor, Taylor , Thackwray , Thake , Thewles , Thompson , Tipper , Tod , Tomlinson , Trautman , Tuckey

Vaubin, Vernon , Vigne

Waeber, Wagner , Walker , Wallace , Wallace , Wanemans , Ward , Warren , Watkins , Way , Weller , Weller , White , White , White , Whitlatch , Wickliffe , Wilcox , Williamson , Williamson , Wilson , Wilson , Wilson , Wine , Witmer , Wolfensberger , Wolffertz , Wood , Wood , Wood , Woodward , Worrilow , Wright , Wyman

Zartman, Zartman , Zinn , Zolliker