Ancestry/Genealogy

Last edited Mon Sep 2, 2013, 12:38 PM - Edit history (1)

She wrote it in the 1990s I believe (the research began in the late 1970s). She is now in her 80's and bears the same rather unusual middle name as my late mother changed hers too which is "Nel". There was also an aunt that had the same first name as my mother too.

The surname was a common one and it was given to my mother at birth as her middle name which was changed to "Nel" later as my mother thought it to be a boy's name and didn't like that; hence Nel. It was that middle name being shown on mother's semi-bogus birth certificate I have that sealed the deal with my cousin in Indiana being that name was the surname of my mother's mother and also her own mother's surname.

My mother was part Cherokee and that is why she was given her mother's surname. The Cherokee follow the matrilineal line, hence the reason my mother was given that middle name; the surname of her real mother. That cinched it for me and as for my cousin, she had some idea about Indian blood but has yet to face it sadly.

I asked my cousin if she was surprised and she said, "No not really". She went on to tell me of the aunt I mention above and how they never knew she existed until she was quite old (like 70+ years). The aunt had all of these pictures and gave them to her, complete with rather extensive notes, all of which are now part of the book she wrote. I've encouraged her to have it published but she won't respond on that idea. It is over 100 pgs. long and needs some editing (like adding my mother to it!).

Said old aunt found lived to be 96; my cousin's mother (my other aunt I never knew) lived to be 94. My grandmother only lived to be 63 however. Too bad she didn't live in to her 90s like the other two as maybe we'd have found her. Seems she was living in New Orleans the entire time married to a man she'd known for years (according to my cousin in Indiana) and bore no children via him. He likely knew of the adoption of her sole child that no one ever spoke of. My findings indicate that the people that adopted her knew my mother's real parents as the brother of her foster father in found in the 1900 census living up the street from them in a small town in Missouri where they used to go every year to "pick cotton" I was told by my cousin.

That is why my cousin knew I was for real and she sent me a copy of her book, complete with pictures. It was indeed a genealogist's dream come true -- the whole thing!

I'll never forget it, she called me on Christmas Eve in 2008 and said, "Hello, this is your cousin in Indiana calling." I almost fell over. She sends me a Christmas card every year and she has email too!

and now as for that liar of a cousin I have ...

Either she herself or one of her nieces/nephews took the picture of my oh so hated grandfather's grave. I'll never get over my still brewing anger that I have against that decrepit woman after what she has said and done. My father told me many years ago when I asked about her that she was, "Just plain no good." He tended not to say things like that about people, esp. relatives. He was right, she is "Plain no good" indeed.

She is very well off owning property a plenty in the San Francisco bay area. However, she also owes me close to $100K and owes my brother $100K too the way I figure it, being she perjured herself to assure we'd never receive what grandma wanted us to have; money to go to college with.

I have a picture of grandma's parents that were born in Germany. It appears to be a wedding photo, one of those old tin pictures taken in the 1880s or so I'd guess. I'm sure she does not have a copy of that!

I kind of hate ancestry.com these days needless to say. I'd have found my mother without them really being I've been searching for her identity (as had my late mother) for many many years and was very close to finding out the truth at the time mother passed away (2001). Her real mother appears in the 1930 census in the city my mother was born in, so yes, I'd have found her soon enough. It is too bad that the 1930 census wasn't released quite yet when she passed away.

I swore on mother's death bed that I'd find out who she is. She wanted to know how I'd go about doing this. I told her, I did not know but I would never stop searching until I found out!

Mission accomplished I'd say eh?