Donate here on GoFundMe. I have thank-you souvenirs ready! See further information below.

The Great Grand Genealogy Tour of the Great Lakes States, aka the “Great Lakes Greats”, will be a driving tour through Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin. We will be visiting the graves, churches, and farms of about 18 ancestral couples: ancestors of my grandmother Loretta Meyer and my great-grandfather Peter Korb. Descendants of Norman Wirth have some ancestors on this route too. Anyone who’s interested is invited to join some or all of the tour. You will be responsible for your own travel and lodging.

Places and planned dates are pinned below. Colored pins in IL, IN, MI, OH, and WI show the points of interest: Red for graves, green for churches or farms, purple for libraries, historical societies, hotels, etc. Most of the highlight pins indicate (K) for Korb ancestors or (M) for Meyer ancestors. Note that all of the Korb / Wirth ancestors are near Lake Winnebago, WI, where we will wrap up our tour. There are Meyers at all stops, including Wisconsin. Mom, Dad, and I will be at the Cobblestone Inn, Little Chute, WI (not Appleton) July 31 – Aug. 3. We have found that hotels to the east and south of the lake are more expensive.

The full dates will be July 21 – Aug. 4, 2025. Keep your eye on the calendar below:

The Great Lakes Greats are below, listed by ancestral numbers relative to me. Those marked (K) are ancestors of Peter Korb, while those marked (M) are ancestors of Loretta Meyer. Some are also marked (W) as ancestors of Norman Wirth.

• 40 – 41: 3rd Great Grandparents Meyer (M)
• 42 – 43: 3GGP Ackerman (M)
  • 86 – 87: 4GGP Brust
• 44 – 45: 3GGP Wiltse (M)
  • 88 – 89: 4GGP Wiltse
• 56 – 57: 3GGP Korb (K)
  • 114 – 115: 4GGP Miesen
    • 228 – 229: 5GGP Miesen
• 58 – 59: 3GGP Gerhartz (K)
  • 116 – 117: 4GGP Gerhartz
  • 118 – 119: 4GGP Stephany (W)
    • 238 – 239: 5GGP Schmitz
• 92 – 93: 4GGP Bartlett (M)
  • 186 – 187: 5GGP Wells
• 94 – 95: 4GGP Hulick (M)
  • 188 – 189: 5GGP Hulick
  • 190 – 191: 5GGP Foster
    • 380 – 381: 6GGP Foster

Donations and Thank You Gifts

A Great Grand Genealogy Tour involves many expenses, especially travel, hotels, and missed work. The best way to say “thank you” is to make a donation. In fact, there could be a souvenir in it for you as well. I am planning multiple future GGGT’s. The last one was eight years ago. With support, I can take them more regularly and finish as many as possible in my parents’ lifetime!

• All donors will be added to my email updates list. I will keep you posted to show you what I’ve found about our common ancestors each day. I plan to chronicle this trip well with videos to be posted on YouTube, and you’ll be the first to be notified.
• Each $100 donor will receive a souvenir grave rubbing from a common ancestor. See the campaign below for pictures of grave rubbings from past trips (click “Fundraiser” at upper left).
• Each $200 donor will also receive a free photo book. The 2017 photo book is shown in the campaign below (click “Fundraiser” at upper left).

Be sure to check this page regularly for updates!