CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Margaret Titterington has traced her ancestry for the past 15 years, leading her to an unlikely place for a Scot -- West Virginia.

She and her husband, John, found themselves among 950 people Sunday afternoon at the opening of the renovated West Virginia State History Museum.

"We usually see ads in the paper from Americans who are looking for their families in Scotland or Ireland," she said. "It's a little strange doing it in reverse."

Titterington's great-grandmother is from West Virginia, around Martinsburg to be exact.

In the 1870s, her great-grandfather immigrated to the United States, working his way west. On his way, he met and married the girl living on the farm next door to him.

They then went west, stopping in West Liberty and eventually ending up in Illinois. From there, Titterington's great-grandfather brought his wife back with him to Northern Ireland.

The Titteringtons traveled to West Virginia to try and retrace Margaret's ancestors' steps, going all the way to West Liberty, where her great-grandmother spent some time.

"It's been amazing," John Titterington said. "It's like a jigsaw puzzle, and all the pieces fell in the correct spot."

They spent some of their time in and around Wheeling, exploring Revolutionary War-era graveyards and taking in the local sights. After hearing Gov. Joe Manchin speak about the museum, they were intrigued.

"We thought, 'This is what we need to do,'" John Titterington said.

So they drove down from Wheeling on Sunday to check out the museum. It was just a stroke of luck that it happened to be its opening day.

While they walked through the museum, the Titteringtons moved slowly, to be sure they took in all of the history, adding a little bit of context to their journey before they return to Scotland.

Others who visited the museum weren't from as far away.

Steve Cunningham of Charleston visited the museum with his two children. While they were there, he was able to pass on his own family's history.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Margaret Titterington has traced her ancestry for the past 15 years, leading her to an unlikely place for a Scot -- West Virginia.

She and her husband, John, found themselves among 950 people Sunday afternoon at the opening of the renovated West Virginia State History Museum.

"We usually see ads in the paper from Americans who are looking for their families in Scotland or Ireland," she said. "It's a little strange doing it in reverse."

Titterington's great-grandmother is from West Virginia, around Martinsburg to be exact.

In the 1870s, her great-grandfather immigrated to the United States, working his way west. On his way, he met and married the girl living on the farm next door to him.

They then went west, stopping in West Liberty and eventually ending up in Illinois. From there, Titterington's great-grandfather brought his wife back with him to Northern Ireland.

The Titteringtons traveled to West Virginia to try and retrace Margaret's ancestors' steps, going all the way to West Liberty, where her great-grandmother spent some time.

"It's been amazing," John Titterington said. "It's like a jigsaw puzzle, and all the pieces fell in the correct spot."

They spent some of their time in and around Wheeling, exploring Revolutionary War-era graveyards and taking in the local sights. After hearing Gov. Joe Manchin speak about the museum, they were intrigued.

"We thought, 'This is what we need to do,'" John Titterington said.

So they drove down from Wheeling on Sunday to check out the museum. It was just a stroke of luck that it happened to be its opening day.

While they walked through the museum, the Titteringtons moved slowly, to be sure they took in all of the history, adding a little bit of context to their journey before they return to Scotland.

Others who visited the museum weren't from as far away.

Steve Cunningham of Charleston visited the museum with his two children. While they were there, he was able to pass on his own family's history.

Cunningham briefly shared a story of his family while he kneeled in front of a display about the Kelly Axe factory in Charleston.

"It's so nice to give them a personal connection to the past of West Virginia," he said.

For his daughter, Abigail, 6, it was the first time she had ever been to a museum.

As she clung to her dad, she looked wonderingly at the cases filled with historic artifacts. Her favorite part of the sprawling museum in the Cultural Center was not the relics encased in glass, though, but the sound effects that echoed and overlapped in the hallways.

"They're funny," she said.

She said she knew nothing about history before she came to the museum with her dad and brother and that after she leaves, she'll know a little bit more.

The opportunity to spread that knowledge might not have come to fruition after the museum sat dormant for several years while the project's cost nearly tripled, from $6 million to $17.6 million.

One visitor, Carter Giltinan of Charleston, said the wait was worth it, although she had some doubts.

"I was beginning to believe it was never going to happen," she said. "A lot of people felt that way."

On Sunday, though, she couldn't help but be impressed with the size and scope of the museum, taking in everything from the state's prehistoric era to the coal era. She added that the portion of the museum dedicated to coal stood up in comparison to one she saw in Germany.

As each day goes by, the exhibits and what they stand for are further in the past, but that won't make them irrelevant, Giltinan said.

"This museum is tuned to the very present," she said. "It will hold up for a long time."

Reach Jon Offredo at jonoffr...@wvgazette.com">jonoffr...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5189.