Wisteria

I recently read a story about a mystery solved after nearly fifty years for a woman buried in a potter's field in New York City. Original police records were consulted that provided clues to the woman's identity and origin. The story reminded me again that it is often just a small tidbit of information, one tiny clue, that can help illuminate a story of those in the past. Recently, a trip to Ontario, Canada opened up another tidbit of information that, used with a tiny clue from an old letter, adding depth to the sad story first told here : This past July, my sister and I took a weekend trip together meeting up in Ontario, Canada and staying at a friend's condo there. Ever the history buff, I checked around to see what museums, etc. I might find. There are two museums in the city of Burlington, but only one was open that weekend. I implored my sister to go, promising that we would go shopping at the local mall later. The Ireland House museum introduces you to the life...

Photos scanned from Granny's old albums Lawrence L. Westfall (Sr.) carving turkey for his family. Shown from his left and around the table: Gerald, Kenneth, Marie, Mabel (his wife), Donald, Richard, Thomas, David Michael. The boys who are still around that were at this gathering tell me that this was at the house on Middle Road where they lived until Lawrence's death in April of 1958. Another shot of the turkey carving. Below you can see that while Don (who is seated in a different spot in this photo) helps himself to the mashed potatoes, Ken seems to be giving his baby brother Tom the evil eye. Maybe because Tom looks like he's trying to leave. On the other side of Ken, Gerry seems to be eager for Don to pass the potatoes. Whoever Harry is, he was definitely invited to partake. He is sitting where Marie and Mabel were in the first photo. Maybe he was the cameraman for that shot.  Taken either before or after the great turkey carving, Dad Westfall looks...

You know how as a youngster, you might hear of or see people in your family that you assume are somehow related in one way or the other, but you never ask for specific information on the connection. You just take for granted they are part of the family and leave it at that. It can be even worse when it's your in-laws and you can't keep track of all the ins and outs of a large family. Following is a story of names and people who I have had heard about over the years in my (ex) husband's family but never took the time to question until now. It is more recent history then I usually research.  Uncle Mike (David) Westfall sent me the notice of Aunt Marie's husband Robert Rebbeor's funeral via email the other day. I asked about the identity of Clint named as Robert's grandson in the obituary. I was curious as it did not name any child surviving, only a grandson. Mike said that Bob and Marie adopted Kim Kamuda and Clint was her son, although she had other children as...

It would seem Thanksgiving is when I explore my former mother-in-law's family. I am not sure what made me look the family up again recently, but I did. So I share my finds and add to what I had explored last November. Completing blog posts about my research as I go offers a very handy way to easily see where I left off. It was back in November 2016 when I provided an update on Jennie Hayes, the wife of Rollie Backus which can be found here . I had found quite a bit on Rollie's ancestry and added a series of posts on that. There was certainly still more to explore on the Hayes line, but I left it alone until now. Initially, I had discovered a George B. Hayes listed in the 1900 census in the town of Yorkshire, Cattaraugus County, NY with his parents, Erwin and Mandana Hayes, and two sisters, Nancy and Jennie. This was perfect as I thought I found the Jennie Hayes I was looking for. The only problem was this Jennie at age 9 appeared too young to be the right one. And where was...