Gafnea Family

I had a wonderful conversation this evening with a long lost cousin from Georgia. He also is interested in the Gafneas, which connects to me through my Stokes roots on my mom's side of the family. It seems that our earliest known ancestor came to the USA from Ireland, possibly by way of Canada, back in the mid 1800's. One thing is for sure: his last name changed at some point between Ireland and here, as there is NO ONE with that same spelling of that last name outside of his descendants. Of course, that makes life a little more interesting, but that is part of the fun. Maybe a DNA test would be beneficial in this regard...at least that's my current thought. Jimmie apparently never really talked about his past, so theories abound, but no proof has surfaced yet. He may have been the only one in his family to survive the potato famine, and subsequently moved here to start anew. He may have struck in rich in the California Gold Rush, and lost it all shortly afterwards. He may have done any number of things, but we may never really know. I am excited about the potential of sharing resources and learning more, though!