Retired Sheriff Bob Winter’s interest in history and family tradition began at an early age when his father related the sad story of his own father’s death at the hands of a neighbor. It started over the fact that the neighbor’s brother was implicated in the theft of some cattle, and ‘Johnny’ Winter had sent for the sheriff. Newspaper accounts and court documents provided abundant and often conflicting information on the incident, and Bob set out to learn the true story.
His interest in history was further inspired by high school and college courses, and though his college degree is in Public Administration, his fascination with family history never wavered. Bob’s family tree, and that of his wife Carolyne, number in the thousands, dating back to European royalty and ultimately to William the Conqueror, Robert the Bruce, and Charlamagne. Their family lines intersect at the Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts in 1620 and other various points in history.