George Wesley Sifford has been collecting family memorabilia and doing genealogy research about the Sifford heritage for many years. Many hours have been spent at the Missouri Historical Society in Columbia, the Mid-Continent Library in Kansas City, and county archives in North Carolina, Indiana, Missouri, and numerous other locations. Perusing rolls of microfiche records, original documents in dusty library stacks, and countless family ephemera has been a lifelong interest. Taking bits and pieces from papers in the family trunk, county records, and stories passed down through generations has enabled him to put together this comprehensive history of the Sifford family. Family members were encouraged to submit current information about individual members to update the details. George's daughter, Sandra Sifford Denbow, has helped with the research, organization, and writing of this book. We believe that establishing our family tree is important for understanding a larger sense of ourselves, our relationship with American democracy, and the history of development of our state and country.