US native Ray seeks relatives in Dromore

Ray Pfeiffer, who lives in Florida with his wife Cristy, with whom he shares a passion for history that drives his tour business, is no stranger to the island of Ireland.

The couple maintains an apartment in Dublin and about a year ago the two made the trip north to Dromore.

Sadly, however, they had no luck in establishing a family connection.

Ray explained he traced his family to Dromore using an ancestry website.

“About a year ago,” he added, “ we visited Dromore and really enjoyed the town but did not have any luck meeting any relatives.”

Ray and Cristy have long been operating a WWII Commemorative Tours business - this year marking its 30th anniversary.

Their devotion to history has not only provided a living but has also allowed Ray to trace another branch of his family.

“History is our passion,” he said.

“We have traced the German side of my family to a small town in southern Germany, where we were given a warm greeting and were able to meet distant relatives. We would like to do so in Dromore also.”

Ray explained that his great-grear-grandfather was born in Dromore but packed his bags and set off for America in the mid-19th century.

“My great-great grandfather was Samuel Robinson, who was born in Dromore in 1823,” he said.

“He emigrated to the New York area in about 1850 and died in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1872.

“His wife was Elizabeth but I don’t know her maiden name.

“Samuel Robinson’s parents were James Robinson ,who was born in County Down in 1801 and his mother was Alice Kilpatrick, who was born somewhere in the Antrim area. James’ parents were John Robinson and Jane Johnston.”

Planning another visit to Dromore, likely towards the end of this year, Ray is hoping something of his research might ring a bell with Leader readers and ultimately put him in touch with any remaining family members in the Dromore area or elsewhere in Northern Ireland.

“I would very much like to meet some Robinson family relatives,” he said.“I would welcome any communication and will visit Dromore again, most likely in December.”

If you can help Ray with his search he can be contacted via email on [email protected].