Hello, my name is Deborah Copeland Coley, and my passion is genealogy. The study of family history has become my life’s work. Over the last 45 years I have become an apt student of history. I have developed a strong understanding of genealogical research methods, DNA analysis, and investigative techniques, that bring positive answers to our tough genealogical questions. I am always trying to find a family connection or searching for important documents pertaining to our many generations of ancestors.

​

Recently I have had the desire to bring the stories of our ancestors to a larger audience and what better way than the internet. Through my blog, “Copeland Connections”, genealogy and history becomes a winning combination to help other Copeland descendants enhance their knowledge of past generations; of those that came before them. I believe that bringing together one’s knowledge of their ancestry and the history of the time in which they lived can paint a more rounded picture of who they are today. I hope I can bring that family knowledge to you.

​

I am a descendant of Nicholas Copeland and Judith West. Nicholas was born about 1638-1645 but his place of birth is unknown. The first we hear of him is when he and William West purchased 1,589 acres of land in Old Rappahannock County, for transporting 15 people to the colony of Virginia. From his will we learn he died in St. Anne's Parish, Essex County, Virginia in 1720.

​

For over 400 years, Nicholas Copeland’s progeny has spread far and wide throughout America and beyond. There are an untold number of descendants out there and I hope to reach as many of these individuals as possible to share the stories of our ancestors that have made us who and what we are today.