Board of Directors 2025–2030

I was born into a remarkable family who loved to camp and explore the parks of all 50 states. My parents and three siblings enjoyed the excitement of nature and the culture of all of America.

A graduate of Parkland College and the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana in Parks and Recreation. My first job was a recreation director at a NATO training base in Germany. I started my National Park Service career as a Student Conservation Association volunteer at the Grand Canyon; assigned to the Carl Sandburg NHS in North Carolina; Lincoln Home NHS in Illinois; permanent interpretive position at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; worked President Ronald Reagan's first inaugural ball at Kennedy Center; National Mall, worked at Lincoln, Jefferson Memorials and Washington Monument; worked Yorktown celebration; special event of the opening of the Vietnam War Memorial; interpretive ranger at President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Home and the only Vanderbilt Mansion in the Park Service; law enforcement ranger at Minute Man National Historic Site in Concord, MA; Tuskegee NHS in Tuskegee, AL; George Washington Carver Museum; first park ranger at the Jimmy Carter NHS.

I retired in 2011 after 8 years with the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, West Branch, Iowa. I live in Tipton, Iowa.

I was born in Michigan, eldest surviving son of Alvin M. C. Sweetman (a WWII veteran) and Beatrice Blasdell. My wife Lillie Starling and I have been married since June 1981.

I graduated high school at seventeen and shortly thereafter enlisted in the U.S. Air Force as an Air Traffic Controller, serving in both England and Germany during the Vietnam Era. After the Air Force, I attended Jones College in Jacksonville, Florida, where I was appointed program director of the college radio station. After college I was employed as a Radio Announcer.

I eventually taught myself computer technology and programming, after which I was hired by Science Applications International Corp (SAIC) as an implementation specialist and database developer. After eight years with SAIC, I spent the next 15 years as a self-employed independent contractor doing programming, system integration, and database development with Fortune 500 companies such as Microsoft and Cisco, the US Military, and foreign governmental entities. I retired in 2015.

I'm an avid photographer and have been since the age of 8. My favorite subjects are wildlife and nature photography. My other avocation is genealogy research — I've amassed over 50,000 profiles researching my wife's and my own genealogies over the last 30 years. Researching my mother's Blasdell genealogy is what led me to the BFNA.

I was born and raised south of Boston, Massachusetts, to Robert and Joanna Blaisdell, and today I live in Abington, Massachusetts, with my wife, Erin, and our son, Cole.

From an early age, I was fascinated by heritage and family stories. My parents named me after Jonathan Hatch, a distant relative on my paternal grandmother's side — a young drummer boy in the American Revolution, an example of resilience and spirit that has always stayed with me.

I hold a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's degree in clinical mental health counseling. Today, I specialize in men's mental health and practice a solutions- and resilience-focused form of cognitive behavioral therapy.

Outside of my profession, I am an active member of the Freemasons, serving as an officer in my lodge. I am also a lifelong martial artist, having attained several black belts in Uechi-Ryū Karate-Dō. On the lighter side, I enjoy golf. Above all, I am a proud and loving father to a precocious and witty young Blaisdell.

David Nelson Cox brings a lifelong passion for family history and community service. Born in 1959 in Richmond, Virginia, David is the second son of Vaughan LaFayette Cox and Dorothy Louise Nelson Cox. Vaughan, a Korean War medic and pioneer in Information Systems, and Dorothy, a Registered Nurse, instilled in their children a strong sense of civic duty and connection to community.

David's early years were marked by energetic curiosity and a strong will, traits that led him through Indian Guides, YMCA camps, Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Police Explorers. After high school, David joined the United States Air Force as a Security Specialist. Following his military service, he worked in security and later pursued higher education through High Point University and Appalachian State University.

David's professional journey included roles in healthcare security, computer consulting, and municipal transportation. His final career position was with the City of High Point, NC, where he served as a traffic safety analyst and later as a signal systems programmer.

Genealogy became a central interest for David, inspired by family stories shared by his father. Discovering FamilySearch.org sparked deeper research into his lineage, uncovering connections to historical figures, including a French Huguenot ancestor who collaborated with Benjamin Franklin and published the first Methodist hymnal in America. David is currently authoring a book exploring the legacy of his notable ancestors.

David and his wife, Janet Leigh (Poplin) Cox, married in 1988 and raised four children — Hannah, Maggie, Andrew, and Thomas.

9th Great Grandson of Ralph Blaisdell and Elizabeth Parker who arrived in the new world on August 14, 1635. I was born on the 310th birthday (March 7, 1942) of Ralph and Elizabeth's son Henry who arrived with them. I descend through Lt. Jacob Blaisdell, his 5th Great Grandfather.

I have been married to Barbara for fifty-six years. We have three adult children and six grandchildren, and have lived in California, Hawaii, and Oregon — now in Hillsboro, Oregon for thirty-one years.

I am an ordained minister with American Baptist Churches USA, Financial Planner, and have served on several non-profit organization boards. I earned a bachelor's degree in history from California State University, Northridge; a master's degree from American Baptist Seminary of the West; and a doctorate from San Francisco Theological Seminary. I was ordained in 1967 and served six American Baptist congregations as pastor.

I was licensed in July 1956 as an Amateur Radio Operator (W6ABM) and have been active in amateur radio for 64 years. I have been the Master of Ceremonies for the SEA-PAC/ARRL Northwestern Division Banquet for the past fifteen years.

I have been actively involved with genealogy for nearly fifty years, and more recently have added DNA searches to significantly expand my research horizon.

I am honored to serve BFNA as your Vital Statistics Editor. I arrived in this world in Salem, Oregon as the third son of Oscar JB and Dorothy (Longsdorff) Nowlin. After my father returned from serving in World War II (Pacific Theater), my family moved to Holton, Kansas.

I graduated from Holton (Kansas) High School, from the University of Kansas (BA), and from the University of Kansas School of Law (JD). In late 1967 I married Sharon Coffman. After our wedding, we moved to Denver, Colorado, where I began a 30-year career in mortgage banking. In 1998 I joined a major title insurance company in Denver to manage commercial real estate clients acquiring and developing projects all over the country.

My interest in genealogy began quite by accident over 35 years ago. Having attended many of my wife's bi-annual family reunions, Sharon and one of her cousins volunteered to plan the next reunion. I discovered a six-week beginning genealogy class at the Denver Public Library, became an active member of the Colorado Genealogy Society, and did a great deal of research by "old school" methods — letter writing, trips to the library, visits to cemeteries, courthouses.

I am currently a member of the Johnson County (Kansas) Genealogy Society where I serve on the Board as Secretary. My hobbies include reading American history and hiking; I have climbed 15 of Colorado's 14,000-foot peaks.

I am a Hoosier Blasdel who grew up in Lawrenceburg, IN. I studied German and Latin at Indiana University.

We moved to Miami, FL in 1973 where I met my husband, Dexter Higgins, who was a general aviation pilot. We were married in 1976, and our son Paul was born in 1977.

Later we lived in Charlotte, NC, Atlanta, and now Memphis, TN. I taught preschool and elementary school for 31 years. I am now retired and a Master Gardener and member of DAR. Happy to be the new secretary for the Blaisdell National Family Association.

I was born and raised in Trumbull County, Ohio. I graduated in 1971 from Bristol High School and began working in a nursing home. I met Robert Lee Harper at the Bowling Alley in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. We were married 19 July 1980, and we had a daughter Kathryn and a son Scott.

I became interested in genealogy at 16 when my best girlfriend Connie showed me what she was doing. While my children were small, we took rides to many cemeteries.

I became involved in the Dearborn County Historical Society when Scott went to school in 1990 and I've been a member to this day. I served as treasurer from 2005 to 2019. I was also on the Dearborn County Cemetery Commission for a number of years.

I became interested in information from funeral records and began typing information from Moon Funeral Home, Fitch Denney Funeral Home, Brater Funeral Home, and Jackman-Hensley Funeral Home. I was asked to be a liaison for the Blaisdell Family National Association coordinating all the information sent to the Lawrenceburg Public Library. I have been collecting obituaries and checking to see if they are in the database. We have two books: one is Blaisdell (Alternate spellings) and one is Lt. Jacob Blasdel's descendants.

A Georgia College graduate and born into a pioneer South Georgia family, I was married to Earl R. Guss, Jr., a Florida native who has an impressive ancestry! We have three adult children and two grandchildren. Earl and I have lived in eight states and made many lifelong friends throughout our marriage journey of 57 years.

I am a member of the Amelia Island Chapter of the DAR, Huxford Genealogical Society Board of Directors, and a member of First Presbyterian Church, Fernandina Beach, FL.

My career has taken many twists and turns as a teacher, social worker, and advocate for the mentally challenged, mentally ill, and homeless population in North Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Illinois. I was Volunteer of the Year for the State of Alabama in Mental Retardation in 1989, and was instrumental in the development and funding of a Sheltered Workshop for adults with mental retardation.

After retiring, I became fascinated with Earl's rich family heritage. We spend much of our travel time researching Earl's family history via courthouses, cemeteries, libraries, and interviewing people who can share a family history lesson.

I was elected in 2009 to serve as Vital Statistics Editor for the BFNA, and in 2013 was elected BFNA national Genealogist, overseeing a database of over 90,000 entries. In 2025 I stepped down as Genealogist after serving on the Board of Directors for 17 years. The Board reinstated me as a member in the role of Special Projects Coordinator, working under the direction of Board President Bonnie Blaford.