History, it's what paved our way to becoming who we are.

Tracing our ancestry is easier to do than ever before. We have the internet to help guide our research, as well as mail in DNA sampling. And now, Plains and Thompson Falls libraries possess the works of former Thompson Falls resident Ann (Sloan) Miller to help trace lineages created in Sanders County.

Miller was passionate about research. She spent many, many years researching and compiling information to complete "Pioneers & Early Settlers of Thompson Falls, MT."

The 15-volume, 5,162-page series covers county settlers back to the 1800's, highlighting their time spent here.

Carrie Terrell, Plains Public Library librarian, was awestruck when informed of the works. She commented that the library gets a lot of inquires from people trying to educate themselves about their ancestor's past. With this new research at her finger tips, she can quickly access the guide and answer "yes or no" to many of the ancestral questions people phone in with.

"The reason I am so excited about this is we have a tremendous amount of visitors in the summer who are searching for relative's genealogy and where they lived or graveside locations," said Terrell. "This is a big find for people."

Miller dedicated much of her life to investigating the movement of people through Sanders County. Sadly, Miller has passed on, but she left behind a plethora of information which her husband decided belonged to Sanders County. His generosity is sure to touch many lives as people search for answers revealing how they became who they are.

In addition to the Miller's, other entities have come forward providing funding and man-power making this historical project possible.

"A big thank you goes to Jean Morrison and the Clark Fork Endowment Corporation," said Sherry Hagerman-Benton, Sanders County Historical Society President. "With their assistance the Sanders County Historical Society was able to print and bind these volumes and make them available to both Plains and Thompson Falls libraries."