My parents were Woodrow "Woody" Risser and Arlene Miller, married in 1935 and I came along in 1948 after older brothers Jerry and Dennis. I was supposed to be "Cynthia Sue" but instead came out as J. Douglas, probably named after my Dad's older brother J.D. When I was born, Dad sent a telegram to his best friend, Harold Oyer, simply stating "Mother's features; Father's fixtures."
Below are two charts, compiled by my friend Loren Johns, which trace both sides of my family. Since the same name shows up a couple of times you can tell that I am related to myself. The Risser genealogy can be traced back to Hans Risser, my great-great-great-great-great grandfather born around 1685 in Friedelsheim, Germany, according to Ellen Risser Farrell.
My great-great grandfather Heinrich, later Henry, Risser was born in Germany in 1804 and together with his wife, Elisabetha Schaumburger,, and six children (including my great-grandfather Henry (married Barbara Nusbaum)), and brothers (Jacob and Christian) emigrated from Germany to Ohio in 1845 on the packet ship "Pontiac". Their route took them from Le Havre by ship 32 days to New York, then by Erie Canal to Buffalo, by ship to Cleveland, and them by team to Ashland, Ohio. One child was born during the trip while at sea. Henry moved to Elkhart County, Indiana, sometime after 1880. My grandfather, Elmer Risser, born in 1878, married Clara Mehl. My Dad was born December 4, 1913; Mom (Eva Arlene Miller) was born August 31, 1914.
This shows my father's, Woodrow Theron Risser's, family tree going back to Abraham Risser. Abraham was the son of Hans Risser born around 1685 in Friedelsheim, Germany, the ancestral Risser home. Risser is a Swiss name probably originating in Zurich, expelled in the late 1500s or early 1600s because of their Anabaptist-Mennonite religion, moving to the Ementhal Valley (Canton of Berne). It is not know when Rissers moved to Germany but in 1711 Hans Risser moved from Ibersheimer Hof, Germany, to Friedelsheim.
This chart shows the family tree of my Mother, Eva Arlene Miller, going back to my great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, Christian Miller.