The Westerdoll / Anderson branch of the tree has been traced back to  Sweden - due to the diligence and patient persistence of Otis Anderson of  Holtville, CA.  The Andersons (including the Westerdolls) come from a  relatively small area in Kronoberg Lan (county) in southern Sweden  Records for  the different branches come from five parishes:  Dorarp, Berga, Ljungby,  Ryssby, and Vittaryd.  Family records in America show references to Smoland,  but that is a judicial destrict, much like our district courts in America.   Records show that most of the family in Sweden were farmers.  A couple are  known to have been soldiers.  Life must have been hard for these people, as we  see the deaths of many young children in the various families.  Once past early  childhood, most seemed to live relatively long lives.  We can only guess why  the family left Sweden.  However, there was a large migration of people from  Sweden in the mid to late 1800`s, and these settlers were welcomed.  Josephine,  the first to leave and settle in Colorado, probably sent good reports back to  Sweden, and the rest of the family followed. 
      The Smith branch of the tree was traced most notably by Evelyn Smith of  Shelburne, Nova Scotia.  Brian Smith now has her work, and reveals that Linda  Mae Smith, along with her sisters and cousins are direct descendants of  passengers on the Mayflower, having landed at Plymouth, MA in 1621.  That puts  them among probably several million other direct descendants of the Mayflower.   There appears to be good documentation for the genealogical information  included here.  A picture of the Mayflower is inserted by the name of each  person who was on the Mayflower.