What's at the Heart of this Web Site?

Hello! I am glad you found my site. I know many of you, but let me introduce myself. I am Gary P. Burkart. I teach at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. I have been doing family history for many decades now and I want to make a place to deposit the results of all of the research I have done. I am a social scientist by trade and always try to see what individuals are up to in their social/cultural/community contexts. Therefore, I use as my unit of analysis the community of Luxembourger immigrants that came to make their homes in the Mt. Pleasant/St. Patrick community in southeast Atchison County, basically in Mt. Pleasant and Walnut townships.

This project began with a reguest from my mother (Mary Helen LUCIUS-BURKART) to research the Luxembourg origins of her father, Perry Nicolas LUCIUS. I never knew my grandfather as he died (1940)  before I was born. However, I have always had a flair for exploring the unknown. And just where is Luxembourg? I am not sure that I knew when I started this research. Nor did I know where Mt. Pleasant was. I did, however, know of the St. Patrick's Catholic community, but I thought of it as an Irish and German settlement as most people do. Little did I know that that is where my grandfather grew up and that most of these folks were not Germans at all, but Luxembourgers. If you still aren't sure where these places are, hop aboard and we will, indeed, make sure you know by the time you finish this site.