The Contents of this Site: Copyright 1956-2008 John Browne Ayes
        Under National and International Conventions and Laws

The people whose names you are going to encounter herein are flesh of my wife's and 
mine. Their genetic material and blood comprise our own. We are the sum total of all 
that they wished, fought and hoped for. Their weaknesses and strengths have been 
bequeathed to me and mine. They were and still are just like you and I. We are 
breathing the same ancient air that they did and partaking of those very same ancient 
waters that gives us life and strength. The gods and the god they worshipped haven't 
changed-only the way that Great Mystery is being perceived has changed. Its names are 
many because they reflect to us its wonderous multi-dimensionality. 
Over a hundred years ago thirteen names had been written upon a humble piece of 
butcher's paper within the town of Salinas, Puerto Rico. The names had been associated 
with, "tres cuerdas," three acres of land within that place that belonged to them. 
Little did they realize it at the time that the humble piece of butcher's paper was, 
in essence, a rough mapping out of a family tree. That paper had been passed down to 
my blessed mother who kept it safe for all of her life. My sister has it now keeping 
it safe in her turn. That cuenta was an areyto that had also been passed to me to 
cherish and build upon it. It was in that way I became the story teller of the family 
history. I have worked upon this tree since 1956 and along the way others have added 
minute parts of the data that comprise the whole work. I thank those of you who have 
contributed on behalf of myself and my ancestors. (You know who you are.) It is said 
that when a story teller speaks, writes or thinks the name of an acestor with good 
intent and charge it vivifies and animates their spirits giving them renewed energy 
and life. This is the great responsibility I am carrying today. Hopefully one of mine 
will take my place when I finally also shed this old rainment to become an ancestor 
myself. 
Enter this sacred place and learn the lessons and history herein. Gaze well into the 
faces of my ancestors and know that they are yours too because we all are part of the 
intricate web of life that nourishes and connects us all.