This book follows the direct ancestry of Leonard Harold Walker DeBernardi and Judith Elaine Ontko. These families made their way from Europe to the eastern coast of America and eventually to Minnesota and beyond. Many of Leonard’s English ancestors—connected to the Claflin and Fenton families—migrated to New England and New Jersey during the 1600s, while others—connected to the Walker and Branson families—chose to settle in Maryland and Virginia during the 1700s. As for his German ancestors, the Rehard family migrated to Pennsylvania, while the Kruger family went directly to the Midwest. Leonard’s Irish ancestors—the Wallace, Glass, and Kirkpatrick families—had immigrated to Pennsylvania and what became West Virginia by the mid-1800s. Meanwhile, Judith’s Ontko and Bakalar ancestors emigrated from what became the northeastern corner of Slovakia to America during the 1870s and 1880s. The hub for these families was Minnesota, and along the way they were sustained by their Protestant faith and strong connections to their community. 

By Kyle Hurst

Published by American Ancestors in August 2025 

8.25 x 10.25 hardcover, 488 pages, illustrated