This quote is from the book "How Green was My Valley" by Richard Dafydd Vivian Llewellyn  who wrote:
"Courage came to me from the height of the mountain, and with it came the dignity of manhood, and knowledge of the Tree of Life, for now I was a branch, running with the vital blood....and had brought forth sons to magnify the Lord our God. I saw behind me those who had gone, and before me, those who are to come. I looked back and saw my father, and his father, and all our fathers, and in front, to see my son, and his son, and the sons upon sons beyond.  And their eyes were my eyes. As I felt, so they had felt, and were to feel, as then, so now, as tomorrow and forever. Then I was not afraid, for I was in a long line that had no beginning, and no end, and the hand of his father grasped my father's hand, and his hand was in mine, and my son took my right hand, and all, up and down the line that stretched from Time That Was, to Time That Is, and is not yet, raised their hands to show the link, and we found that we were one, born of Woman, Son of Man, made in the Image, fashioned in the Womb by the Will of God, the Eternal Father.  I was of them, they were of me, and in me, and I in all of them."  

Surnames:

          There are three main resources to try:   ROOTSWEB.COM   FAMILY TREE MAKER.COM  &                              ANCESTRY.COM   Also the US GENWEB archives is a great resource and free!!                                       

A Wonderful Poem, source unknown

MOM AND THE FAMILY TREE:
>
> There's been a change in MOM; we've noticed her of late,
>
> She's always reading history or jotting down some date.
>
> She's tracking back the family; we'll all have pedigrees.
>
> Oh, MOM'S got a hobby; she's climbing Family Trees.
>
> Poor DAD does the cooking now, or so he states,
>
> That worst of all, he has to wash the cups and dinner plates.
>
> MOM can't be bothered; she's busy as a bee
>
> Compiling genealogy -- for the Family Tree.
>
> She has no time to baby-sit; the curtains are a fright,
>
> No buttons left on Dad's shirt, the flowerbed's a sight.
>
> She's given up her club work, the serials on TV,
>
> The only thing she does nowadays is climb the Family Tree.
>
> She goes down to the court house and studies ancient lore,
>
> We know more about our forebears than we ever knew before.
>
> The books are old and dusty; they make poor DAD sneeze,
>
> A minor irritation when you're climbing Family Trees.
>
> The mail is all for MOM, it comes from near and far,
>
> Last week she got the proof she needs to join the DAR.
>
> A worth while avocation, to that we all agree,
>
> A monumental project, to climb the Family Tree.
>
> Now some folks came from Scotland and some from Galway Bay,
>
> Some were French as pastry, some German, all the way.
>
> Some went on west to stake their claim, some stayed near by the sea,
>
> MOM hopes to find them all as she climbs the Family Tree.
>
> She wanders through the graveyard in search of date or name,
>
> The rich, the poor, the in-between, all sleeping there the same.
>
> She pauses now and then to rest, fanned by a gentle breeze
>
> That blows above the Father of all our Family Trees.
>
> There were pioneers and patriots mixed in our kith and kin
>
> Who blazed the paths of wilderness and fought through thick and thin.
>
> But none more staunch than MOM, whose eyes light up with glee
>
> Each time she finds a missing branch for the Family Tree.
>
> Their skills were wide and varied, from carpenter to cook
>
> And one (Alas!) the record shows was hopelessly a crook.
>
> Blacksmith, weaver, farmer, judge, some tutored for a fee,
>
> Long lost in time, now all recorded on the Family Tree.
>
> To some it's just a hobby; to MOM it's much more,
>
> She knows the joys and heartaches of those who went before.
>
> They loved, they lost, they laughed, and they wept, and now lay forever
> still,
>
> But they will not, be forgotten as long, as MOM climbs the family
tree.
>
> Author; Unknown.