Reclaiming our Native American Culture…

I have known my whole life that my maternal grandmother had Native American ancestry. When I was a teenager my US History teacher gave us some extra credit work of creating a family tree. So I went to my grandmother and asked her to share what she knew.

Ruth Ann, Edith and Sherry (unknown date)

Edith, Sherry and Ruth Ann (May 1978)

Her grandfather was Frederick Roy Webster. And he claimed to be the grandson of an Indian Chief in a newspaper article about their wedding anniversary as well as his obituary. He was the son of Solomon “Ol Sol” Webster and Mary Wilson (Though his death certificate states his mother was Sarah Charugn, which is completely wrong). As stated in a previous blog, Solomon was the son of Montgumery “Gum” Webster of Mehegan descent. Mary Wilson was the daughter of William P. Wilson Jr and Harriet Wilson. William was the grandson of James Chagum (of Narragansett descent) and Molly/Mary Barber, of the Lighthouse Village in Barkhamsted, Connecticut.

Fred Webster Family
(I got the photo from my grandmother Edith Webster Lash (daughter of Bert), she told me that this was her father’s family on the day of her mother’s funeral (July 1921) it was with other photos of Berts girls with their cousins, Nora’s daughters. Grandma had all the names right except for Almo & Bryon Judson Price, I sent this photo to Onalee Ordiway Potter (Byron’s granddaughter) & she named the people. Also the date on the photo says “OCT 56” this can’t be, since both Mary & Fred Webster died in 1942)

…Some in Michigan are Living…

Calling me back “home,” beckoning me is a little piece of land. Ironically it is called Barkhamsted Lighthouse. I ponder the inhabitants of the Lighthouse “Tribe” even thought what it’s name would mean to those coming after them. To me it is a beacon deep in my heart. A passion that was my mother’s and my grandmother’s to stand where the Websters & Chagum’s once stood. To see the old cemetery & foundations of the homes, that are barely noticed today. To somehow feel their presence from the past. To visit the town’s Historical Society and Records vault, to find my ancestors name in some forgotten record.

Photo from The Legend of Barkhamsted Light House, by Lewis Sprauge Mills, (Lewis Sprauge Mill, publisher. Barkhamsted, CT).

In Lewis S. Mills book, “The Legend of the Barkhamsted Light House” page 93 he writes…

“Molly Barber and James Chaugham
Dead and Buried-gone forever:
Scattered now are their descendants.
Some are in the Town of Woodbury
Busy digging graves and hunting;
Some in Riverton and Colebrook
Some in Harwinton and Winsted,
Some in Michigan are living.

… Generations speeding onward
In an ever widening circle,
Carry far the blood of Chaugham
And his spouse, brave Molly Barber…”

My family are part of that “…SOME IN MICHIGAN ARE LIVING….”

During my childhood my mom and my grandma always tried to find out more about our ancestors and our culture. We went to a couple of Pow-Wow’s here in Saginaw area of Michigan and I was mesmerized by the drums and dancers. When I was older some Native American singers called Rain Song came to the church we were attending and played. That is where I came up with the name to my blog “Echo’s of Lost Footprints.”

Fred’s Obit

Anniversary article

Fred’s Death Certificate

Fred & Mary’s marriage record below…

I found a quote somewhere on the web that I wrote down, “We will be known forever by the tracks we leave!” I believe this is a call to arms for me. I believe it’s the echo’s of my ancestors that are calling out for me to find them & learn about the “tracks” they left for me to find. Also, it’s a challenge for us, to leave a legacy for our children, grandchildren & beyond… a legacy of purity, wholesomeness of heart & bravery.

In March our local library was part of the One Book Shiawassee, is a Community Read effort with the goal to invite Shiawassee County residents to collectively read the same book at the same time. We read FIREKEEPERS DAUGHTER by Angeline Boulley, and I got to see/hear her at an authors event hosted by One Book Shiawassee.

Some other events were the Deer Hide bracelet craft with Reg Pettibone, a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation, he shared with those attending about deer and the cultural significance to village life and Native American culture. And later Reg, along with his wife Marca, from the Paiute Nation, & their daughters presented a unique and engaging cultural performance that amazes, entertains and educates. Reg, draws on his traditional upbringing to provide the audience with a better understanding of true native culture through dance, song, stories and audience participation. Here are some photos I took during these events.

Here is my daughter, Shelbi with Reg Pettibone after the Deer Hide Bracelet Craft event (I didn’t realize his eyes were shut). She was so proud to learn about the Native culture. My ancestors were Mohegan and Narragansett, so things would be different with some similarities.

Logos above are the Narragansett & Mohegan Tribes logos.

Much Love from Michigan, Sherry Lyn

Montgumery “Gum” Webster

Catching up on some genealogy, I found in my records some interesting facts. Solomon “Ol Sol” Webster’s father was Montgumery “Gum” Webster. Research states that he was Mohegan from Chief Quassuk tribe. According to the birth record for his son Stephen Webster born 15 June 1849 in Barkhamsted, Connecticut; Montgumery was Mohegan and his wife Sibel was Creole (Creole in the mid 1800s was a distinction of mixed ancestry not the Louisiana Creole). Their son Henry/Hinry’s birth record states that “Gum” was colored. On all Census records found his race is “white.”

1850 US Census; Barkhamsted, Litchefield, CT. 11 Nov 1850. Montgumery Webster family.

Upon researching in Kenneth Feder’s book “A Village of Outcasts” it was unconfirmed that both Solomon and his wife Mary Wilson Webster were descendants of James & Molly/Mary Chagum. But it is now confirmed that Montgomery’s wife Sybil/Sibel was the daughter of Joseph Elwell Sr and Mary/Polly Wilson granddaughter to James and Molly/Mary Chagum. That would make Solomon Webster and Mary Wilson 1st cousins, 1x removed. I have shared a Family Tree of what I’ve learned so far.

Since this is focused on Mongumery Webster, I wont go into the details of James Chagum and the Lighthouse tribe, you can search my blog for more about them.

Mohegan Tribe Logo

However, I did a little research on the Mohegan Tribe. The follow logo and vision was found on their website.

We are the Wolf People, children of Mundo, a part of the Tree of Life. Our ancestors form our roots, our living Tribe is the trunk, our grandchildren are the buds of our future.

We remember and teach the stories of our ancestors.

We watch. We listen. We learn.

We respect Mother Earth, our Elders, and all that comes from Mundo.

We are willing to break arrows of peace to heal old and new wounds.

We acknowledge and learn from our mistakes.

We walk as a single spirit on the Trail of Life.

We are guided by thirteen generations past and responsible to thirteen generations to come.

We survive as a nation guided by the wisdom of our past. Our circular trail returns us to wholeness as a people.

Life… and genealogy

_{Embracing my curls}

Guys, I really thought I was gonna do way better at keeping a genealogy blog going…. but as most of you know LIFE gets in the way. I can’t believe my last post was September 2022!! A lot has been going on in the last 2 years… both in my personal life and in my genealogy world. I am still homeschooling my youngest daughter, who will turn 10 in the summer. I had surgery April 2023 to repair a herniated belly button, that was a long summer because I had complications. My husband and I celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary in March.

I’m dealing with some health issues now, so I’ve been researching my friends genealogy & reading a lot while resting. I’ll finish up this post with my thoughts on the recent book I just finished.

Firekeepers Daughter by Angeline Boulley; my local library had an author event featuring her and my best friend and I got to go see her speak. It was amazing! She explained her process of writing, the research she did, the inspirations for characters and events in the book. So many emotions & so much fun! If you haven’t read this book I highly recommend it I’m so excited to read book 2 Warrior Girl Unearthed

Busting Down Brick Walls!!!

On December 5, 2008 I found an old obituary in an old Bible that my grandmother said was her grandma Hattie’s Bible. I wrote down what it said, but I no longer can find it. “Bert Garner, who has been sick for some time with consumption, passed to the spirit life last week Friday night at the home of his only sister, Mrs. James Neff, living south and east of Chesaning. Mr. Garner was 29 years old, and has been a resident here for several years. He made no profession of religion but led a good life” That was all I knew for a long time. I first found his death record when it came on to Ancestry.com; it gave his death date as 27 February 1894, two months before his 30th birthday. That record led me to him being “MARRIED” – I had never found any evidence that he was married. I went to the River Rapids District Library in Chesaning and looked in their vertical family files (this is where I got my start and I like to go back and see if anything new has been added.) and found a Family Group sheet for Albert B. Garner and Miss Phoebe Crofts quoting the source as a newspaper marriage announcement, but no article attached. Then I found Phoebe married to her second husband 19 May 1891 in Chesaning, Saginaw County, MI, USA. This led me to hunt for the marriage record and Bert’s obituary. I noticed on the library’s website they had newspapers, so I thought I’d check it out and they have a great search bar for Chesaning newspapers. And I found not only the marriage and obituary but also two others mentioning him being sick. I still have that marriage being “not proven” but I’m like 90% sure that it’s the same. Still looking for marriage records and any other records for Albert “Bert” Garner.

Timeline for Albert P. Garner

• 14 May 1864; birth -probably in Sterling, Cayuga County, NY, USA ^[1]
• 1865 Census with his parents Charles M. & Mary Garner and sisters Eleanor & Harriet (Eleanor is from his mother’s first marriage to Lester Gibbs); in Sterling, Cayuga County, NY, USA.
• 1870 Census with his Mother, Mary and step father Mortimer Hilliker and sisters Harriet & Lillian (Lillian was an infant and was his half sister from Mortimer); in Dryden, Lapeer County, MI, USA.
• 1 April 1872; mother Mary dies – left with Mortimer Hilliker for him to care for both Harriet and Albert.
• 31 July 1873; Guardianship granted to uncle Alfred Garner in Victory, Cayuga County, NY, USA. ^[2]
• 1880 Census with his uncle Alfred Garner and his family in Wolcott, Wayne County, NY, USA.
• 14 May 1885; Guardianship released Wayne County Clerk’s office; Wayne County, NY, USA. ^[2]
• 26 Jan 1887; Marriage Announcement – Chesaning, Saginaw County, MI, USA; “Married at Chesaning by Justice T. J. Miller, Mr. Albert B. Garner, to Miss Pheobe Crofts; both of Chesaning.”^[3]
• Between 1887 – 1890; Divorce? – Phoebe remarries on 19 May 1891 to Oscar Hunt; she has first child on 3 Sep 1891.
• 9 July 1892; Newspaper Article – Chesaning, Saginaw County, MI, USA; “Mr. Bert Garner is quite ill and seems to be having his share of trouble.” ^[4]
• 9 December 1893; Newspaper Article – Chesaning, Saginaw County, MI, USA; “Bert Garner is having some trouble with his lungs.” ^[5]
• 24 Feb 1894; Obituary – Chesaning, Saginaw County, MI, USA; “Bert Garner, who has been sick for some time with consumption, passed to the spirit life last week Friday night at the home of his only sister, Mrs. James Neff, living south and east of Chesaning. Mr. Garner was 29 years old, and has been a resident here for several years. He made no profession of religion but led a good life” ^[6]
• 27 Feb 1894; Death Record – Chesaning, Saginaw County, MI USA; “Albert P. Garner; Male, White, Married, Age 27, born 1867 in NY, died 27 Feb 1894 in Chesaning, Saginaw County, MI, cause of death Consumption.” ^[7]

SOURCES: [1] Claim for Minor’s survivors pension from Charles Garner’s pension paperwork; got off Ancestry.com [2] Personal Tree on Ancestry.com [3] The Chesaning Argus. Marriages; 26 Jan 1887, p 1. [4] The Chesaning Argus. Ditch Road Items; 9 July 1892. [5] The Chesaning Argus. Ditch Road; 9 Dec 1893. [6] The Chesaning Argus. Happenings; 24 Feb 1894, page 5. [7] Michigan Death Records, 1867-1950. Ancestry.com. File # 144.

Newspaper Articles

9 July 1892

9 Dec 1893

26 Jan 1887

24 Feb 1894

Alternatives for the 1890 Census

The Federal Census is taken every 10 years, but it also contains a number of inaccuracies and isn’t an infallible source. But it one of the “staples” of genealogy records and can come in very handy.

Photo of the fire damage found on the US Census website

The biggest dilemma from the Census records is the 1890 US Census. Most of the 1890 census’ population schedules were badly damaged by a fire in the Commerce Department Building in January 1921. (For more information about the fire, the National Archives published an article, “First in the Path of the Firemen: The Fate of the 1890 Population Census,” in its Spring 1996 Prologue)  The US Congress authorized destruction of that list of records on February 21, 1933, and the surviving original 1890 census records were destroyed by government order by 1934 or 1935. (Source: Wikipedia)

Some of the new questions that were on the 1890 US Census were about immigration/naturalization and US Civil War Service for Veterans and widows. There is 21 year gap between 1880 and 1900, that leaves a lot of empty years. A 16 year old in 1880 would be 36 years old in 1900. So I’ve collected alternatives or substitutions for the 1890 US Census.

• State Census; (The following states held a census in 1885: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan (1884), Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Michigan also conducted an 1888 Civil War Veteran’s census. The following states held a census in 1895: Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan (1894), Minnesota, New Jersey, New York (1892), and Wisconsin.)
• 1890 VETERANS Schedule.
• State Vital Records; Birth, Death, Marriage
• Old Newspaper Records.
• Military Records.
• Cemetery Records.
• Town & County Directories.
• School Records.
• Institutional Records; Hospitals, orphanages, prisons or asylums
• Church Records; Baptisms, burials, parish directories, etc.

With a combination of these records you can piece together where your ancestors were in 1890.

Genealogy Sleuthing

Aldrich/Aldridge Brick Wall

Today I spent the day cleaning up my Aldrich/Aldridge line. This is my ultimate brick wall. Here’s what I know….

Aaron Aldrige family in 1850 Washtenaw County, Michigan…. (George Aldrich is my 2nd great grandfather, his daughter Almyra married William Vincent. William and Almyra Vincent are my grandfather’s parents. George served in the Civil War and I’ve got lots of information on him.)

1850 Census Washtenaw County, Michigan

Aaron Aldrich and Almira E. Lockwood had 6 confirmed children from 1842 to 1855. (Links are for their Find a Grave Memorial)

George William Aldrich

• William H. Aldrich born  31 January1842 • Sharon, Washtenaw County, Michigan, USA; died 31 May1848 • Sharon, Washtenaw, Michigan, USA. Died in infancy.
• Susan C. Aldrich born between 1844-1846 (most census records say she was born in New York except the 1860 census says Michigan); married Addison J. Wood, on the 12 March 1862 in St. Charles, Saginaw, Michigan, USA; died 26 January1891 in Galena, Lawrence County, South Dakota, USA. Leaves no children.
• George William Aldrich born 8 March1847 in Sharon, Washtenaw, MI, USA; married Arabella Hammill on 18 February 1866 in St Charles, Saginaw, Michigan, USA; died 11 February 1908 in Brant, Saginaw County, MI (George served in the 29th Infantry Company F during the American Civil War). They had 12 children, my great grandmother Almyra being the 6th child).
• William T. Aldrich born September1849 in Sharon, Washtenaw County, Michigan, USA; married  Fanny L Mills on November 16, 1893 in Mecosta, Michigan; died on 5 March 1917, in Standish, Michigan. His death certificate says he was buried in Standish on 6 March 1917. Leaves no children.
• Mary Elizabeth Aldrich born on 18 October 1853, in Sharon, Washtenaw County, Michigan, USA; married [1] Joseph H Harper on July 4, 1870 in St Charles, Michigan, married [2] Amiel (Emanuel) Aulbach on November 20, 1889 in Lakeview, Montcalm County, Michigan, USA; died on 8 January 1913 in Millbrook, Mecosta County, Michigan, USA. She had 4 children with Harper and 2 with Aulbach.
• Angeline Maria “Anna” Aldrich born on 3 August 1855 in Sharon, Washtenaw, Michigan, USA; married George P. Cornell on August 31, 1876 in Cadillac, Wexford, Michigan, USA; died 06 Oct 1921 in Everett, Snohomish, Washington, USA. They had 2 children.

There are 3 unproven children of Aaron and Almira; Anna born 1835 died 1841; Charles born 1852 died 1854 and Charles born 1856 died 1858. I haven’t found any documents to prove that they even exists. I’m thinking Anna is not Almira’s child because Almira would have been 12 years old. I can not find any proofs for any of these.

Almira married William Craig on 29 Mar 1860 in St Charles, Saginaw County, Michigan, USA. They had three children together, one whom they adopted. Jimmie (1863-1865), Mary (1864-?) [according to the the 1880 census she was an adopted orphan] and Fred J. (1865-1928)

The brick wall is that I can’t find Aaron Aldrich/Aldridge after 1855 when his last child was born. There is a hint throughout all the children that they were Morman (LDS), which could mean multiple wives or maybe he passed away. I found A. Aldridge and Amasa Aldridge in Washtenaw County, Michigan in 1840; could they be brothers? There is no proof to any of these theories as of yet.

Mary Lockwood

If you look back up to the 1850 Census you will find Mary Lockwood 50 years old living with the Aldrich family. That is Almira E. Lockwood’s mother. I also found her with the Solomon & Charlotte Sears family in Sharon, Washtenaw County, MI (Still researching this family, hoping that Charlotte may be another daughter of Mary if not then why is she with them?).

She is in the 1860 Census in St Charles, Saginaw County, MI, USA at the age of 63 years old.

She is in a newspaper article Saginaw Weekly Enterprise 2 Nov. 1865 Pg. 3 Col. 4. St. Charles, Saginaw County, Michigan. There was a fire in the shop and dwelling from a stove-pipe and consumed the entire building.

Toward the bottom it says “Mrs. Craig’s mother, Mrs Lockwood, was badly burned while attempting to save some bedding in the second story, and it is thought sh will not recover.”

All Night Genealogy Research

I did that… Saturday morning I woke up and grabbed myself I big cup of coffee and I opened my laptop and I started researching. I wanted to know when my great grandaunt’s 1st husband died, because I had nothing on him except a few photographs and his name was W.D. “Woody” Cook

W,D, “Woody” Cook; photo was originally black & white, but thanks to ancestry.com I colorized it.

Let me introduce you to Woody Cook, or at least what I knew of him. My grandma before she passed away showed me this photograph of her uncle. She said she was a little girl when he passed away so she only has a few memories of him. She said he was funny, always made her aunt Rena laugh and everyone else around him. And he would talk about being in the circus as a young man, but she couldn’t remember what he did something to do with taking care of the horses. And she remembered the scare on his face, but could not remember what happened to him.

That was the extent of what I knew about Woody Cook. And it was so hard to find him! I found a William D. Cook years ago, and I accepted him as Woody. 3 wives and 4 children in the same area that my great aunt lived in for a time. But Saturday I got to looking at the information on him and with his birthdate of 1813 he would’ve been 75 years old when my great aunt was born… nope that wasn’t him. So I deleted everything I had about him and started over. Looking for W. D. Cook. and Rena Cook, I knew that Aunt Rena came over from Canada in 1905 and that she was born in 1888 with the full name Lurena M. Tyrrell.

I narrowed my search to 1920 Census in Michigan. I found a Rena Cook born about 1889 in Canada married to a Woodason Cook born about 1875 in Pennsylvania. They were living in Detroit, Michigan on Brush Street, he was working as a Street Car Conductor and she was a Waitress in a Restaurant. It seemed likely but I wasn’t going to assume anything again… so I saved it to my Shoebox on Ancestry and kept on searching. Next I found Rena Cook in the 1905 US City Directories living in Kalamazoo, Michigan and working as a Stripper. Still no real proof that this was my Rena…. Nothing else, no other documents popped up.

“United States Census, 1920”, database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZ75-SG1 : 2 February 2021), Rena Cook in entry for Woodason Cook, 1920.

I dug out my photos I had of Lurena “Rena” and tried to look for clues. The following photo I got from my grandma. This photo is in a little folder with handwriting that says “To Dear Papa From your loving son and daughter Woody and Rena Cook” I looked a little closer to the photo, took it out of the sleeve, nothing else written on the photo. As I put it back into the sleeve, I noticed the studio mark on the sleeve. Imrie Studio on Gratiot Avenue in Detroit. So maybe the 1920 Census was them….

Focusing on Woodason Cook, I found a marriage record of Woodason Duane Cook to a Mary Lorena Richard in London, Middlesex, Ontario, Canada, married on 24th of June 1918. At first I was going to ignore this, but FamilySearch.org had an image so I decided to look at the image. The image is kind of hard to read, but it was transcribed and it showed Mary Lorena Richard’s parents as James Tyrrell and Sarah Colbeck – my 2nd great grandparents!!! YAY!! (Also this rules out the 1905 US City Directory of Rena Cook in Kalamazoo working as a stripper, because she wasn’t a Cook until 1918)

“Canada, Ontario Marriages, 1869-1927,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:278Y-SQ4 : 8 March 2021), Woodason Duane Cook and Mary Lorena Richard, 24 Jun 1918; citing registration , London, Middlesex, Ontario, Canada, Archives of Ontario, Toronto; FHL microfilm 2,148,997.

According to this document, Lurena (known as MARY LORENA) was a widow and Woodason Duane Cook was a bachelor living in Detroit. They listed their religious denomination as Baptist for him and White Brothern of ? for her. Their witnesses were Ada A Williamson of Chelsey and Mable L. Bingham of London. J. Williamson of Chesley and a Methodist minister was the clergy that married them. It also states both their parents names, W. Alexander Cook and Millie Turnour for Woodason and James Tyrrell and Sarah Colbeck for Mary Lorena. His occupation was “Soldier”.

This answered one question of the 1920 Census, but left me with more questions.

• Was Mary her real first name? I had always saw her name as Lurena M. Tyrrell
• When did Lurena start going by Lurena? (Canadian Census of 1891 & 1901 have her listed as Lurena)
• Who was this other husband who was by the last name Richard? and when did he die?
• When did she come to America? 1930 US Census has her coming in 1905

I found a Detroit, Michigan, US, Border Crossing, Crew and Passenger List for 8th of Oct 1918 arriving in Detroit, Michigan for Lurena Cook. No other information found on the card.

Back to the photo of Woody and Rena from above, I can determine that the photography studio Imrie Studios did business out of their Gratiot Avenue location from 1916-1918, so this photo was most likely taken in 1918 the year they got married, probably after October when Rena came over.

I found the following articles on Ancestry.com about Wooda Cook Jr.

This was quite exciting to me and confirmed my grandmother’s story of him belonging to the Circus. But it looks like both his parents were well known Circus performers. But the name got me, Wooda, it just didn’t match anything I had. Then I dug out another photo I had of Rena & Woody….

This was the first photo I received of Rena & Woody… I flipped it over and what do I see… written in ink are the words….

Aunt Rena & Uncle Wooda

It made the connection I was looking for, these documents proved to me that this was the Woody I was looking for. This sent me down the rabbit hole of genealogy that kept going all night long. I found him with his mother and 3 silbings in 1880 in Fayette City, Pennsylvania he was 6 years old. I haven’t been able to find him in 1900 or 1910 yet. I found his death certificate and his FindAGrave memorial. I found his baptism record from the New York, U.S., Episcopal Diocese of New York Church Records that give his birth date as 11th of May 1874 in Fayette City, Pennsylvania and his baptism date as 3rd of Feb 1879 at Saint Peters Chapel in New York City. His parents are Alexander Woodason Cook and Carlotta Cook. Under the date of his baptism was the word Quinquagesima (I linked the Wikipedia page) but in short it’s the Sunday before Lent.

I found so much more on Lurena M. Tyrrell and Woodason D. Cook… but that will have to be for another day.

Thanks for reading, Sherry

Time Flies….

I can’t believe it’s been almost a year since I blogged. Things have been so busy. I am still homeschooling my youngest child, and it has been so much fun and so much work!

Last August we were camping at my in-laws cabin in the upper part of the lower peninsula of Michigan. We named our camper “PERRY” after the man who built it in 1969-70. We had a great time, talked about painting the outside of the camper in 2022, and finishing up the remodel inside (we have the bathroom, finish the bedroom and do the floor and ceiling). That all changed, while hauling it home…..

Built by my best friend from Kindergarten to now, by her grandfather in 1969-70. We purchased it in October 2009. This photo was taken in August 2021 our last time camping in Perry ❤

We were a block away from our house, on our street…. and we felt the whole truck tip to the drivers side. My husband and I looked at each other and then he looked out his side mirror and he saw a tire bouncing down the road. He immediately stopped, and it was one of the tires off of our camper. Now we knew we needed to replace the tires, (one of the reasons we were bringing it home), but the axle broke which caused the tire to bounce down the road. We had our fridge come out of the whole it was in, but that was all the damage inside.

My husband had a friend fix the axle, but we’ve been very nervous about taking it long haul anywhere. So we saved and looked…. we were thinking of downsizing since it’s just the 3 of us now.

…We did a thing…..

On June 1, 2022, the start of Camping month, we purchased a 2003 Forest River Sierra Travel Trailer…. It has only had one owner. It is in pristine condition. It has a slide out, that has had a leak and some water damage, so we got it for a GREAT deal! Hubby has been busy working on it and I’ve been cleaning and organizing inside. We don’t have as much cupboard space in this one as we did the 5th wheel, so I’m downsizing what we are packing in this one. We are all excited and sad at the same time. We are sad to see Perry go, we had so many GREAT memories it, but we are excited to make new memories in this new camper. We have not named her yet, but that will come. We are giving Perry to my friend whose grandpa built it, and she is very happy. We are going to deliver it this weekend.

The Day we brought her home… June 1, 2022

Here are some more photos of our new camper….

Summer is almost over…

And genealogy has stalled completely. I’m stuck. I’ve come to the preverbally dreaded BRICK WALL (Click to see my Brick Wall)! So I’ve done what any good genealogist has done… I’ve researched my friends genealogy, my husband’s genealogy, celebrities genealogy, strangers genealogy (yep I did that… I read an obit, and then researched their family).

Life in the Carsten home is never boring. We now have a child graduated from High School and a child now graduated from Kindergarten. Sky is working two jobs, and planning on going to SVSU in a year. Shelbi is enjoying summer and being a kid. Marty & I haven’t gone on many bike rides, but we plan to soon, but working takes a lot of his time.

Skyleigh & Shelbi – our graduates.

We had a great Carsten Family Campout in early July, got to visit with family from Texas and Florida that we haven’t seen in a long time. We also celebrated my sister n’ law who passed away April 2021.

The Carsten clan…. July 2021

Here’s to getting through the BRICK WALLS… and finding our ancestors….

Lurena M. Tyrrell “Rena” and William D. Cook “Woody”

Happy Autumn y’all! School has started, and I have a Senior and a Kindergartener. My senior is face to face in school, I can’t believe it’s her last year! My kindergartener we are homeschooling her. We are having a blast! But it does damper my researching genealogy!

I’m going through my photos that I got from my family reunion a few months back. Here is a great photo of my grandma Lash’s aunt, Lurena “Rena” Tyrrell and her husband William D. “Woody” Cook. I have no idea if this was her first husband or second. I’m trying to find information on William D. Cook “Woody.”

This is what I do know about “Rena” Tyrrell.

When Lurena M. “Rena” Tyrrell was born on September 30, 1888, in Middlesex, Ontario, Canada, her father, James, was 23, and her mother, Sarah, was 31. She had four brothers and five sisters.

She resided in Ontario in Middlesex East, Ontario, Canada in 1891 with both her parents, and Woodstock, Ontario, Canada in 1901 with her father and step-mother. According to the 1930 Census she arrived in the USA in 1905.

Her first marriage that I found on record was to Lyman A. Wilkinson, on June 12, 1929, in South Bend, St. Joseph, Indiana. She was 40 years old at the time of marriage. They live in Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo, Michigan from 1929-1931 (Source: US City Directories). They divorce on December 4, 1937 in Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo, Michigan. The divorce was granted to Lorena on grounds of “non-support and extreme cruelty,” they had no children and she was 49 years old.

She then married Fredric Lee Snook in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on April 19, 1940, when she was 51 years old. They resided in Kalamazoo from 1940 until 1956 (Source: 1940 Census and US City Directories) and maybe until her death in 1960.

She died on May 20, 1960, in Galesburg, Michigan, at the age of 71, and was buried in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She is laid to rest at Mount Ever-Rest Memorial Park South, Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Here are some photos of Lurena