I had my DNA tested through Ancestry.com in 2014. As I think most genealogist would agree, the possibility of finding family connections based on shared DNA is an exciting prospect. On the other hand, staring at a list of almost 3,000 DNA matches ranging from my paternal uncle to a…
Sarah Ann Healy (1851 – 1919_ Sarah Anne Healy was my second great grandmother. She was born around 1851 in Ireland. Sarah immigrated to the US from Ireland when she was in her late teens in order to avoid being sent to a convent. This story was told to me by Edna Jean (Burt)…
Margaret “Maggie” McKenzie was born on April 23, 1849, in Ontario Canada the eldest daughter of Donald S. McKenzie and Sarah Maria (Biggar) McKenzie. On December 18, 1873, she married David Clark in Blenheim, Kent, Ontario, Canada. Between 1874 and 1889, Maggie and David had seven children: Garnet Wolsley Clark born August 20,…
I am introducing a new blog series today! Family Story Friday. This is where I will share your stories, so keep them coming. Today’s blog post is a story told by my mother Linda (Royer) Szymanski about her father Alfred Joseph Royer. I don’t ever remember my parents living in…
Wedding photo of my 3rd Great Grandparents Richard Watchorn and Elizabeth (Howley) Watchorn. Wedding photo of Richard Watchorn and Elizabeth (Howley) Watchorn. Richard and Elizabeth were both born in Ireland in the 1820s and immigrated to Canada in the 1840s, where they raised their nine children. I haven’t had the…
Sharing a story about my grandfather Alfred Joseph Royer in my last blog prompted my “aunt” Robbie, who is technically my maternal first cousin 1x removed, to share a story of her own. I love hearing the family stories please everyone keep them coming….. Please contact me if you have…
If you had an opportunity to read my last blog post “Thriller Thursday: Brother Shoots Brother” you will remember that I shared a story about two brothers that weren’t really “feeling the love” to say the least. Today, I would like to take the opportunity to share a different type…
This article found in the August 21, 1936 edition of The News-Palladium (Benton Harbor, Michigan) describes an incident between my great grandfather Orlie Charles McKenzie and his brother Lawrence C. McKenzie. The article states that Lawrence McKenzie, age 34, was being held in the Montmorency County jail in Atlanta, Montmorency,…
I received several photos of the Hawley family from my grandmother Edna Jean (Burt) McKenzie. The photo below is one of these photos. The only description I have is “Unknown Hawley Man by Cabin” Unknown Hawley Man by Cabin Unknown Hawley Man by Cabin – Close up There are a…
There is one cemetery that I have visited more times than I can count. The cemetery is the Briley Township Cemetery in the village of Briley in Atlanta, Montmorency, Michigan. Briley Township Cemetery I had visited this cemetery many times as a child, but once I really found my passion…
In honor of siblings’ day being yesterday Friday, April 10, 2015, this blog celebrates two sisters Christina Ann Kay and her younger sister Mary Ann Kay who were married on the same day in Algoma, Ontario, Canada. Christina and Mary were born to parents Alexander Kay and Armina (Waybrant) Kay….
In the 1880 census, Mary “Ann” Hawley is list as the daughter of William Hawley, age 5, born approximately 1875. The family is living in Wilson, Alpena, Michigan. My assumption has always been that Mary Ann Hawley was the third child, second daughter, of William Hawley and Sarah Anne Healy….
Lillian Elnora Burt was born on November 23, 1911, in Comins, Oscoda, Michigan to Ernest Nile Burt and Lavina May (Hawley) Burt. Lillian was blessed by Elder E.D. Fultz on December 14, 1911, in Comins, Oscoda, Michigan. I believe that shortly after Lillian’s birth and blessing, Ernest, Lavina and their…
My McKenzie family has experienced two significant losses over the past year and seven months. My paternal grandmother Edna Jean (Burt) McKenzie passed away on August 26, 2013, and my father Tom Orlando McKenzie passed away on November 6, 2014. Both my father and his mother were amazing people that…
My grandpa Alex always joked about having an uncle that was also his grandfather… Before you stop reading and think that there is something a little strange happening in my DNA, let me fill in the details behind this story… My grandfather was Alexander Orlando McKenzie born in 1924 to Orlie C. McKenzie and Mae Arla…
