This is our family history.  There is quite a lot of information here so I'll 
try to give you some history.

In about 1604 Thomas Leighton came to America and settled in Dover, NH.  It is 
believed that Thomas came from England or I've seen some references to 
Glasgow, Scotland.  In any event all the Leightons listed here are descendants 
of Thomas.  As you will see Thomas Leighton is an extremely common name in 
this family history.  Every generation has at least one and in many cases more 
that one.  Another interesting tidbit in the Leighton Tree is that Jesse 
Leighton married his distant cousin Nancy Leighton.  Nancy was a descendant of 
Thomas' Grandson Thomas and Jesse was a descendant of Thomas' Grandson John.  
You will see Leighton also spelled Layton.  In many cases the names were 
spelled phonetically by third parties.

Benjamin Ellingwood was probably born around 1668 in Salem, Massachusetts. The 
connection from Benjamin to Samuel Ellingwood is tenuous at best.  I was able 
to find this connection as listed as part of another family tree but there is 
no source information to back it up.  Herbert Vincent Ellingwood, my 
grandfather, was a descendant of Samuel.  Ellingwood was actually Herbie's 
mother's maiden name.  She was not married at the time of his birth and no 
record exist of who is actual father was.  Herbie's mother Maud also had a 
twin named Mabel. Most of the Ellingwoods were born in and around Grand Manan 
Island, Nova Scotia Canada.  Many of the Ellingwoods were loyalist and 
consequently returned to Canada in times of turmoil in the United States.  
With the Ellingwood name you will also see it spelled Ellenwood.

The Kiersteads first came to the new world from Magdeburg Prussia around 
1638.  Hans Kierstead was a doctor and settled in New Amsterdam which is now 
New York City.  His brother was supposedly killed on a return trip to the 
fatherland.  Lost at sea.  Dr. Hans Kierstead had 4 sons that were also 
doctors. One of the sons Jacobus is the son that I am descended from.  There 
was a long court battle over some land in New York believed to belong to the 
Kiersteads.  That court battle ended in 1705 when Queen Anne gave the land to 
the Trinity Church. The Kiersteads often spelled their name Keirstead and 
pronounced it many different ways with the most common being Kay-sted.  Many 
of the Kierstead were born or lived in New Brunswick, Canada.

The Earliest record of the Barretts I was able to find is for Hannah Barrett 
born in New Brunswick, Canada around 1806.  The Barretts were generally 
loyalist as well.  Many of them migrated back and forth across the border 
between Maine and Canada.

The common thread in all these families is their ties to Downeast Maine.  It 
the early years families were not as mobile as they are today.  This is 
actually a good thing for the researcher because often time relatives lived 
next door to each other.  Eastport, Maine is a small seaport town located at 
the most eastern point in the United States.  Eastport is the center point of 
much of our family history.

The Kruegers immigrated from Macklenburg Germany in the 1880's.  Ludwig 
Krueger was a cabinet maker immigrating through the Port of Philadelphia and 
settling in the Sturgis area of Michigan.  The "e" in Krueger was allegedly 
dropped due to a family dispute.  Albert Kruger chose not to add the "e" back 
in at a later date.

The Froh's were also German immigrants. Christian Johan Ludwig Froh immigrated 
from Mecklenburg, Germany sometime before the 1880 census.  The Froh's also 
settled in the Sturgis, Michigan area.  Both the Frohs and the Krugers have a 
history of longevity with many living into there late 80's to earler 90's.

The early records for the Perry's show they moved to Michigan from Rhode 
Island. George Perry married Judith Smith in Genesee County, Michigan in 
1840. Oliver was a common name in the Perry family which makes genealogy 
interesting at times.

The Gerber Family were Swiss immigrated to the Wisconsin area sometime prior 
to 1919 when Rudolph married Helena Butteriss. I have very little information 
on the immigration of the Gerbers and the Butteriss Family but I do know that 
they were married in Wisconsin in 1919.