Discovering a 35 year old connection between 3 families

I’m easily amazed. And happily so. I love discovering connections as I do my genealogy research and am so often amazed by them. They surely have no significance to anyone else, but they expand my horizons and broaden my thinking. And they cause me to see the Lord’s hand in my life and my work.
As I’ve had vacation days through these 2017 end-of-year holidays, I’ve completed a scanning project of our family photos, to the tune of 2550 pictures. When I found this one of my son in the pits in front of a stock car, it brought back memories of the days when my son was small and our family attended Stock Car Races at 81 Speedway in Wichita, Kansas throughout the summers.

In this picture, my son Matt Klein is standing on the trailer that bears the stock car #7 driven by Clarence “Clay” Bontrager. His dad, Bill Klein, is behind the car in the cowboy hat.
Clarence was one of our favorite drivers on the stock car racing circuit. The picture below shows Clarence giving special attention to a blind man. allowing him to become acquainted with the car through touch.


At the time my family attended the races in the late 1970s and 1980s, the Bontrager name only referred, in my mind, to a favorite Stock Car driver in Kansas. But in the 1990s I learned of a new instance of the Bontrager name. I remarried in 1994 to Larry Jamison and learned that his former mother-in-law’s maiden name was Bontrager.  In the following years, I became interested in family history and have been able to prepare this brief chart to show that there is a close connection between Clarence Bontrager and Anna Mae Bontrager, Larry’s former mother-in-law. They are second cousins.

Another fact that amazed me as I continued to research this connection is that Clarence “Clay” Bontrager just passed away December 16, 2017. Just barely over two weeks ago. I hadn’t thought about him or the stock car races for 30 years, and as I’m scanning pictures on Dec 30, I see my son standing by his car and then learn of his recent passing. I’m simply amazed. And easily so.

I wish I could tell my Grandma Flanders

L to R: Nannie Becker Flanders,
Zella Page Hoover, Ellen Martin

Six years ago I wrote a story on my blog about discovering that I was a cousin of my Grandma Flanders' best friend, Zella Hoover. You can read it here.

"Hoover" as we called her, is pictured in the middle of the photo at left, with my grandmother on the far left. 

Hoover had a son Bennett who was killed in an auto accident in 1949. Bennett's wife, Marjorie Ellen Mowery Hoover, was also tragically killed in that accident, but their two-month-old son "Chris" survived unharmed. As I was growing up and visited my Grandma Flanders and her friend Hoover, Marjorie's mother Ellen Martin resided with Hoover and the two grandmas worked together to raise Chris.  

My research a decade ago showed that I was a cousin of Hoover. My research just two days ago revealed that I'm also a cousin of Matt, the son I adopted as an infant. Just as I prepared to close my computer and go to bed last night, I discovered that my son, through his birth parents' ancestry, and I, through my Flanders ancestry, are also cousins of Hoover. I prepared this chart above to show those relationships. I couldn't be happier to know that my son and I share direct ancestors, and now to learn that he and I are both cousins of this very kind friend of my extended family, Zella Hoover. I just wish I could share the news with my Grandma Flanders!

An insignificant connection, but it still amazes me

This Fall I was honored to be allowed to scan a photo collection that was retrieved from my cousin Pauleen Harris's house upon her passing. The photos had been passed down to her from her parents, so included both sides of her family. Pauleen's mother Pearl Flanders Harris was an older sister of my mother, Ruby Flanders Margheim Craine. I scanned the collection of 1,500 photos, saved them to a CD, filed them online in a Dropbox folder for sharing and am storing the originals in archival photos boxes. 

Among the treasured old photos was the one at the top of this post. My cousin Pauleen's brother Duane Harris has told us this photo always remained at the bedside of his father, my Uncle George Harris. So we believe it to be that of George's father Henry Harris (1857-1928 Virginia). As I prepared the family photos for the CD, I also did some research on the family so I could provide reports to my cousins as well. George Harris's mother was Mary Britt (b. 1890 Botetourt, VA). I discovered that Henry Harris had a first wife, namely Rebecca Damewood (b. 1848 Botetourt, VA). 

 
At the time that I found this record I remember thinking that I had never heard the name Damewood. I had a hard time remembering it the first few times I was entering the information into my database. It was just so unfamiliar to me. 

Today I finally had time to reply to a message that had come into my email through the Message link from Ancestry.com. It was in reference to a William Hiram Follette and the sender was notifying me that I had an incorrect County name on his profile at Ancestry.com. As I was "poking around" among the family members related to this William Follett and his wife Minnie Etta Cozad, I noticed the Damewood name! And fortunately I remembered how it was attached to my Harris research from 2 months ago. The reason I have the Follett name in my database and in my Tree at Ancestry.com is that they are connected to my son, whom I adopted in infancy. Interesting! I'm seeing the Damewood name connected to my mother's sister's husband as well as my adopted son's family line. 

I did a bit more research and found these connections that I've represented in this homemade chart.

Starting at the bottom left we can see my adopted son Matthew Klein, son of me and my first husband, Billy D. Klein. My mother is Ruby Flanders and her sister E. Pearl Flanders was married to George Harris. George's parents were Henry Harris and Mary Britt, but Henry was first married to Rebecca Damewood. We can see that Rebecca's grandparents were James Damewood and Catherine Huffman. James and Catherine also had a daughter Eleanor who married John Moomaw. Eleanor and John had a son Phil, who married Sarah Gilbert and they had a daughter Alice Moomaw, wife of Jonathan E Follett. 

On the chart you can see that Jonathan Follett's grandparents were Jonathan Follett III and Catherine VanDyke. If you follow the descendancy down the far right side of the chart, you can see their 5th great grandson is my (adopted) son Matthew C. Klein. 

You might say "So what?" It may be an insignificant connection, but I find it amazing. When we research family lines, our minds tend to stick to a particular line. If you've actively researched your ancestors, you'll know what I mean. We get narrowly focused on a certainly line and don't expect to see names that belong in other family lines, especially if those families aren't associated with each other in real life. My Harris cousins through my mother's family have never met and don't know my son. My son doesn't know anyone in my mother's Flanders family either. My son is not "related" directly to my mother's family, or the families of her in-laws. But I still find it amazing that I can establish this meandering connection between my Uncle George Harris and my son! This is what keeps the research fun for me. The slang expression comes to my mind: "Whoda thunk it?" 

Some Family Connections to the Early LDS Church

This chart shows that my son (blurred out at bottom right) is a first cousin 4 times removed of Almon Linus Fullmer, Jr.  (1844-1919). Almon was married to Jane Eleanor Griffiths (1848-1929). 

My son is not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as I am, but these cousins figure prominently in the history of the LDS church. I was fortunate to be able to purchase and download this book by Matthew A. Misbach:

Amazon offers this book description: 
The story of the John and Margaret Griffiths family. In 1856 John Griffiths set out in the Martin Handcart company along with his family: Margaret Ann (age 16), Jane Ellenor (age 8), John (age 11), Herbert (age 5). Along the way John Jr. froze to death 50 miles outside of Devils Gate. Margaret buried her brother Herbert at Independence Rock who had frozen to death. John Sr. died the day after arriving in the Salt Lake valley. Jane Ellenor "lost the first joint of her big toes". Margaret "was terribly frozen up", and "was laid up nine weeks" with her feet. All that survived the trek were two young sisters, Margaret and Jane Ellenor.

The Overland Travels site at lds.org offers this brief summary of Jane Griffith's account of her travels with the Martin Handcart Company: 
Birth: Mar. 6, 1848, England
Death: Sep. 16, 1929, Tetonia, Teton, Idaho

Jane Ellenor (or Eleanor) Griffiths after she arrived in SL Valley as she came in from Wyoming on the Martin Handcart company. It was shortly after her stay in SL that Eleanor went to live with Almon L. Fullmer. She eventually married him. 

Jane Ellenor [or Eleanor] Griffiths, born 6 March 1848, 8 years younger than Margaret Ann, and 8 years old when she arrived in SL Valley with the Martin Handcart Company. She married Almon Linus Fullmer on 31 July 1864 at the age of 16. They made their home in Idaho and were successful farmers. Almon Fullmer came from a strong LDS family who had converted to the church and moved to Nauvoo, he being born in Nauvoo, 26 Oct 1844. Almon Fullmer died 10 Jan 1919 in Cache Valley, Utah at the age of 74. The Fullmer family were close friends of the prophet Joseph Smith and other church leaders. The Fullmer family stayed faithful over the years and the entire family immigrated to Utah with the early Saints. Jane lived until 20 Sept 1929, being just a few weeks after her sister Margaret Ann passed away and at an age of 8 years younger, or 81 years of age. Eleanor and Almon Fullmer lived in Cache Valley, Providence, Utah in their later years where Almon died; he leaving this existence about 10 years before Jane. Jane died in Tetonia, Teton, Idaho when she was staying with one of her children. The funeral was held in Providence. 

Almun Linus Fullmer, Sr.  
Jane's father-in-law carries an interesting LDS history himself. At FamilySearch.org we find this account: 

Captain Almon Linus Fullmer - The Battle of Nauvoo

       After the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum, the majority of saints left Nauvoo in the late winter and spring of 1846 and headed west through Iowa. Several families of saints remained behind. Some being to poor to leave; others, such as John S, and his brother Almon Linus Fullmer, were left to protect the property and business rights of the Church. The persecution and violence continued through the summer, and in September, an organized mob attacked Nauvoo in earnest. Less than 150 men were left to bear arms and defend the city. The Nauvoo Legion Spartan Band (which these men were called) were greatly outnumbered, but fought a heroic battle, the famous Battle of Nauvoo, in which they repelled the advance of over 1,000 men.
Almon was numbered among the forty men with repeating rifles who found and was also at the side of Captain Anderson when he feel in battle. Upon Anderson’s death, the command of the men fell upon Almon and Alexander McKee. (Also Mrs. Sarah Ann Fullmer was with Anderson’s widow when her husband’s body was brought home.)
The men fought fiercely for three days with no reinforcements and would have continued to fight on if the men representing the Church had not chosen to sign the “Articles of Agreement” that were drawn up between the mob and the Saints.
In this treaty the remaining Saints agreed to leave the state and cross the river as soon as possible. The reason for signing was that they Saints had already made the commitment to remove themselves from the area as soon as possible to join the earlier vanguard of Saints as they moved westward. All they wanted was to be left in peace to accomplish this purpose.
In the spring of 1847, they moved to Winter Quarters and in 1848 Almon Linus, his wife and son, Almon Linus Jr., traveled to Utah with the Brigham Young company, with Almon serving as a Captain of Ten. Along the way, Sarah gave birth to a little girl, Sarah Ann, near Fort Laramie, Wyoming. Twin girls had died while in Nauvoo, and this was to be the only daughter to reach maturity. How happy they were to finally reach Zion October 5, 1848. Sarah and Almon had four sons after they arrived in Utah: Buckley Martin, Oscar Myron, Collins DeWitt and Halsey Dean. Almon had been sealed to his wife’s sister, Tryphena, after her death in Nauvoo. He took a second wife, Rachel Neyman, in 1852. Three sons (Thaddeus Edgar, Franklin Pierce and John Hyrum) were born to this marriage before the couple divorced in 1858.
Almon continued his involvement with the military and church after arrived in Utah. He had been elected adjutant to Colonel Markham of the Nauvoo Legion with the rand of Major while in Illinois, and served as a member of the Utah militia, involved in the action to meet and deter the Johnson Army as they marched into Utah. He was active in Indian skirmishes in Utah Valley and Sanpete County, was elected deputy marshall of the state by legislature of Deseret, helping pioneer Iron County with George A. Smith, and held the position of Colonel of the First Regiment for ten years when he tendered his resignation upon moving to Logan in 1870. He served in the Seventies Quorum in Nauvoo and Utah.
Almon Linus was the youngest child of the Peter Fullmer and Susannah Zerfass’ family. He did not join the church with the rest of his family, but converted himself in 1839 while disposing of his Father’s property in the East. Almon was not with his brother David and family, or sister Desdemona at Haun’s Mill or during other periods of persecution while in Missouri, but joined them as they moved to Nauvoo. He married Sarah Ann Follett* in 1843. Her parents were from New York and New Jersey, with her mother’s family, the Van Dyke’s, tracing their roots to early New York City (New Amsterdam) and before that to the Netherlands.
He died 2 October 1890 in Providence, Utah and is buried in the Providence Cemetery. 

*More of my son's Follett Connection: 

My son, whose name is blurred at bottom right in the chart above, is the 3rd cousin 5 times removed of King Follett. 

 Joseph Smith gave an address on 7 April 1844, in Nauvoo, Illinois, at a general conference of the church. Because a church elder named King Follett had died in an accident a few weeks before the conference, Joseph Smith took the opportunity to specifically comment on Follett’s death and to speak on what he called “the subject of the dead.” The address has often been referred to as the King Follett sermon or King Follett discourse.

Joanne Follett Mortenson has written: The Man Behind the Discourse, a Biography of King Follett. 

Book Synopsis:

Who was King Follett? When he was fatally injured digging a well in Nauvoo in March 1844, why did Joseph Smith use his death to deliver the monumental doctrinal sermon now known as the King Follett Discourse? Much has been written about the sermon, but little about King.

     Although King left no personal writings, Joann Follett Mortensen, King’s third great-granddaughter, draws on more than thirty years of research in civic and Church records and in the journals and letters of King’s peers to piece together King’s story from his birth in New Hampshire and moves westward where, in Ohio, he and his wife, Louisa, made the life-shifting decision to accept the new Mormon religion.

     From that point, this humble, hospitable, and hardworking family followed the Church into Missouri where their devotion to Joseph Smith was refined and burnished. King was the last Mormon prisoner in Missouri to be released from jail. According to family lore, King was one of the Prophet’s bodyguards. He was also a Danite, a Mason, and an officer in the Nauvoo Legion. After his death, Louisa and their children settled in Iowa where some associated with the Cutlerities and the RLDS Church; others moved on to California. One son joined the Mormon Battalion and helped found Mormon communities in Utah, Nevada, and Arizona.

     While King would have died virtually unknown had his name not been attached to the discourse, his life story reflects the reality of all those whose faith became the foundation for a new religion. His biography is more than one man’s life story. It is the history of the early Restoration itself.

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I Share DNA with my Adopted Son

This chart shows my ancestry to William Moulton (b. about 1615) and Margaret Page (b. about 1623). They are one set of my 9th great grandparents.  

A few days ago I was researching the Spalding ancestors of my son, whom I adopted as an infant. This is what I discovered.  

This chart starts with my son's birth mother, so if we add one generation to the bottom of the chart for my son, we find that William Moulton and Margaret Page are his 10th great grandparents. Even though I adopted my son, it's wonderful to see that we share some DNA through our common lineage to this couple.

Some Connections Just Blow Me Away

Last night I read that New Hampshire marriage records have been updated on FamilySearch so I reviewed some of my Phelps ancestors. My 3rd great grandparents are Arva Phelps (1797-1870) and his wife Betsy Bartlett (1811-1850). I knew that Arva’s sister Mary was married to Jackson Blood and, for some reason, I spent some time tracing the ancestry of Jackson—which I had in my database. I think I was simply drawn by his name. Jackson’s 3rd great grandparents were Richard Blood and Isabel Wilkinson, as you can see on the chart above. I often prepare descendant reports in my RootsMagic file just to see who all is connected to a family. I love looking at, and studying, NAMES. 

I noticed that Richard Blood had a great-granddaughter who married a Spaulding. When I saw that Spaulding name, I remembered that my (adopted) son Matt had Spauldings somewhere in his ancestry. I looked it up and found the connection, then prepared the chart above to illustrate it so I could show my husband. It shows Matt’s 5th great grandparents--Phoebe Spaulding and Martin Lamb. Phoebe’s father Josiah Spaulding is a 4th cousin of Jackson Blood, who was married to Mary Phelps, my great, great, great grandaunt!
Connections like these seem irrelevant to those who profess “We’re all related anyway”, but I don’t think along those same lines. I find relevance in these connections and it excites me to make discoveries like this. The enthusiasm that I feel is what keeps me doing the research. There’s a surprise around every corner!

Delivery of My Son’s Genealogy Book

Today as we joined my son’s family for dinner to celebrate my birthday, I was able to deliver the genealogy book and pedigree chart that I’ve prepared for Matt. In the photo above my granddaughter Alyssa looks on as my husband comments “If each of these people on this pedigree hadn’t come together, you wouldn’t be YOU.”

Our granddaughters Taylor (top) and Alyssa (bottom) serve as anchors to hold down the unrolled 12 foot pedigree. Their request upon seeing their dad’s ancestor chart was “Can you make us one, Grandma?” Since their dad’s pedigree is 12 feet long, each of their’s will probably be in excess of 20 feet. I’ll let you know when I get them printed.

My granddaughter Taylor is showing some early interest in family history (Hooray!) as she reads the reports I put in a book for Matt’s birth mother. 

Alyssa is anticipating the day when she can leaf through her own genealogy book. This Grandma better get busy!

I wish I had known when my daughter-in-law was going to snap this picture of me and Matt…I’d have smiled!

My Genealogy Books for my Son and his Birth Mother

Today’s my birthday so I’m giving a present to my son. Makes perfect sense to me!
I’ve written in the past about the research I’ve been doing for my son as a result of him “finding” his birth mother last year. I adopted my son as a newborn and at the age of 32 he was able to make contact with the wonderful woman who gave birth to him and allowed him to become my son by placing him for adoption. Upon his personal meeting with her on the occasion of his 33rd birthday, he asked her to provide him with names of her ancestors. Being the son of a woman who’s passionate about family history, he knew I’ve waited many years to have the opportunity to find out who his ancestors are.
Within two weeks of that request, Matt had received a complete four generation pedigree chart from his birth mother. Can you imagine how happy I was the day he called me with that information? I spent 4 months researching as much of the family as I could and just this Fall have put my findings into 3 ring binders for each of them. As you can see in the above photo collage, I also prepared a CD for each book that contains all the photographs I was able to find. In the white tubes are the pedigree charts I printed, each twelve feet long, covering about 18 generations.
I don’t know who’s more excited about this project, me, Matt or his birth mother. I know she’s anxiously waiting to read what I’ve found on her ancestors. And I know Matt’s anxious to see the book, but I think he’s mostly just proud that I’ve done this for him and that he’s able to present it to the wonderful woman who held the key to his ancestry!

My Second Blogiversary Dedicated to my Son

On this second anniversary of my blog, I’m dedicating my post to my son Matt for two reasons: (1) He’s the greatest blessing of my life and I adore him, and (2) I’m currently  researching his ancestry.
I adopted Matt as an infant. We were each blessed last year when Matt was able to locate and meet his birth mother, Karen. Upon their first personal meeting, Matt requested of Karen that she complete a 4 generation pedigree chart, as far as she was able. I think I’ve trained him well! As soon as he received the pedigree chart in his mail, he called me and gave me all the names she’d given him. I got right to work on the research and found that it gave me a totally different feeling than I’ve experienced while researching anyone else’s ancestry. As I learned names and saw faces in the photos I discovered in a tree on Ancestry.com, I felt so grateful to these wonderful people, for it’s their blood that runs through my son’s body. They are HIS people. There’s a very special place in my heart for every individual I’ve met in his ancestry.
At the time I met Karen, she loaned me several pictures of herself as a child, as well as pictures of her parents and siblings. My fellow genealogists will understand and appreciate what a treasure those are to me, and what a wonderful gesture that was for her to make. And in my online hunting I’ve discovered a cousin of hers who has uploaded over 7,000 photos to her Ancestry tree, many of which relate to Matt’s ancestors!
My research has rewarded us with enough pictures that I can share with you a line of 7 generations in my son’s family:
Matt’s great, great, great grandmother Martha Susan Tanner (1834-1905)

(His great, great grandmother Emeline Charlotte Crotchett (1863-1931)
Matt’s great grandfather was “Emma’s” son, Frank Jefferson Bell (1888-1951)
The son of Frank Bell was Robert Bell, Matt’s grandfather, pictured below at far left, with his family:

In this photo covering 2 generations, are Matt, with his birth mother Karen at right and me, his Mom (adoptive mother) at left:
And here’s our little jewel, Alyssa, Matt’s daughter, when she was 2 years old:

How blessed we all are to have pictures of SEVEN generations of family and even more blessed to know them and love them! I’m so happy to dedicate this anniversary post to my wonderful son, his family and his ancestors. They truly manifest God’s Grace and Glory in my life.

I Discovered Another Surprising Connection

I've said before that I'm easily impressed, amazed, and astounded. It seems, as I research my family and my husband's ancestry, that I make interesting and surprising discoveries weekly.

Pictured above is a young lady named Gwenda, who has posted quite an extensive tree at Ancestry.com, called the "Duff, Crotchett, Maupin Tree". Last year as I was researching the birth family of my adopted son Matt (pictured below), I found that Gwenda and my son are each Crotchett descendants. They are 5th cousins.

Tonight I was looking at Ancestry.com and as I read the words "Duff, Crotchett, Maupin Tree", the name MAUPIN caught my attention. Every time I've looked at Gwenda's work, I was researching the Crotchett family and focused on that name. I knew that my step-grandmother was Laura Casper Maupin Jones, wife of my step-mother's father, Henry James Jones. In reviewing her tree more thoroughly, I found that Gwenda and my step-grandmother Laura Maupin Jones are 5th cousins, 3 times removed.

My step-mother Phyllis Jones Margheim and her step-mother Laura Casper Maupin Jones

I know many people say "We're all related anyway". I don't like hearing that. I'm still wonderfully surprised when I make these discoveries of connections among my family members.

Wordless Wednesday: Koleber and Klein

Fred Koleber (1907-1979) and great-grandnephew Matthew C. Klein (1976- )

Valentines: Four Generations

Top photo: John and Mollie Margheim

Second Photo: Son of John & Mollie: Ernest and wife Phyllis Margheim

Third Photo: Daughter of Ernest Margheim: Becky (Margheim) and husband Larry Jamison

Bottom Photo: Son of Becky Jamison: Matt and wife Lucja Klein

Congratulations to my son and daughter-in-law!

Matt and Lucja Klein, married Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Congratulations to my Sweethearts!

Wedding Day

Honoring my son who is being married today:

Matt Klein and Lucja Thomas Klein.

Congratulations, Love and Best Wishes!

Making My Dietz Connections Personal

As I mentioned in my last post (Oct. 12), an email last week from a wonderful gentleman in the state of Washington spurred me to do more investigating into my paternal grandmother's maternal family, the family of George Daniel and Maria Elizabeth Meier Dietz, pictured seated at right. Follow that? My dad's mother's mother's family. My husband asks "Why don't you just say your great-great grandparents?" I think many of us who work on these genealogies know the answer to that. We have hundreds of great, great-grandparents. I like to track the connection or relationship through a particular parent and grandparent because it makes them more real to me. To refer to a man (in this case George Daniel Dietz) as my Grandma's Grandpa helps me consider what my Grandma might have felt for her Grandpa Dietz, just as I cherish the feelings and relationship I had with my Grandpa. If I just think of this man as my Great, Great, Grandfather George Daniel Dietz, it takes the human connection away and he just becomes another Ancestor.

At left is a photo of me and my son Matt and at right is a photo of my father Ernest. Here are generations four, five and six of the descendants of George Daniel and Maria Elizabeth Dietz.

This is my Dad's mother, my Grandma Amalia "Mollie" Koleber Margheim. And at right is a photo of her as a very small girl, with her two brothers and parents, John George and Katherine Elisabeth "Katie" Dietz Koleber.

In the photo at the stop of this story is Katie Dietz Koleber (top left) with her brother Johann Ludwig Dietz (top right) and their parents George Daniel Dietz and Katharine Elisabeth Meier Dietz.

And here's a photo of my Grandmother with her brothers and parents. Katherine Elisabeth "Katie" Dietz Koleber is seated front row right with seven of her children. Her son Daniel passed away at age 17, just 3 days before his eighteenth birthday. In the picture above with my Grandma Mollie as a very young girl, Daniel is standing right above my Grandmother. A handsome young man!

Our six-generation Dietz line: George Daniel, to his daughter Katharine Elisabeth (Katie) Dietz Koleber, to her daughter Amalia "Mollie" Koleber Margheim, to her son Ernest Ludwig Margheim, to me, Mary Rebecca "Becky" Margheim Jamison to my son Matt C. Klein.

From the year of the birth of my son's daughter in 2000 to the year of George Daniel's birth in 1852: 148 years. Seven generations in 148 years. I wish my great, great grandparents could know their sweet little 3rd great, granddaughter. I'll share these pictures with her one of these days so her 6th great grandparents will become more personal to her too.

Our "Matts" are getting married

It seems that events cycle in our life, but cluster together. With 7 kids and 16 grandkids, there are plenty of events going on in our family. This week (Sept 25th) we celebrated with two granddaughters who turned 5. Madalyn and Lilian were born 30 minutes apart, one in Pueblo and the other in Colorado Springs. Mattie's mom and Lily's dad are sister and brother. Talk about a clustering of births! Two new babies over a lunch hour.


No grandbabies are coming that we know of, but weddings are being planned again. What an exciting time. My son Matt will be getting married October 14th to Lucja Thomas in Jamaica! They reside in Pueblo West, CO. Today Matt emailed us their itinerary and Wedding Ceremony. We will only be there with them in love and thought and spirit, but we are excited nonetheless.




We just visited today with Jamie's son Matt who also announced a definite date for his wedding to Lisa Lamfers. They live in Colorado Springs and are making plans to get married in one year ...Sept. 26, 2009.


So more new beginnings! More weddings. And someday more Jamison grandkids!