Hi Mary,
I was so excited to hear from you, second cousin -- we're 2nd cousins, I think. I'm sorry I'm just now getting back to you -- I was real busy last week plus I wasn't feeling very well last week. So, I started an email to you yesterday, but I guess I took too long and the message popped up that my 'session' time had expired and it booted me out and deleted my email before I'd even finished it. I didn't redo it then because I was at a public computer and it was almost time for them to close.
I have so much to share with you. I've been trying to learn what I can about our mutual gt-grandparents since 1999 when I decided it was time for me to start researching my roots -- my Geekie gt-grandparents. At the time, I was -- if you can believe it -- totally afraid of the 'Net' and was totally intimidated by it. I soon found out that I needed to learn to work on the Web if I was ever going to learn anything about them.
I tried to find out what I could about your grandmother Mary from my mother. She's 91 and has never been able to give me much info. She told me that your grandmother had married George Smith, that they had a few children, had been living years ago in Brownsville (30-40 minutes drive from my home) for however long, and had moved to FL years ago. My mom somehow lost track of her after that! I think my mom tho't she moved down to FL as long ago as back in the 50's -- when I was growing up. Is that right? And, I'm guessing -- even tho it's none of my bzwax -- as of now, that FL is probably where you live. My mom said she loved her 'Aunt Mary' (your grandma Mary), which is why I couldn't understand how she could have managed to lose track of her yrs ago -- I mean, all she did was move to FL -- I don't think that was such a big deal -- even in the 50's! She, also, didn't know to what city in Fl your grandma had moved to, nor did she give me the reason why she lost track of her! She, also, for whatever reason, didn't seem to know the names of all of your grandma's children (your mom, included), let alone the name of your grandma's 2nd husband (or anything about him) -- if she did, in fact, marry a 2nd time, as my mother seemed to think.
Your mom & my mom are 1st cousins, but the late Marjorie Smith Whetzel and George Smith (son) are the only children of your grandma that my mom told me about. Is your mom still living? Do you & your family know/knew Marjorie Whetzel and that part of the family? Even though they only live a half-hour's drive or so from where I live/grew up, I don't know any of them! My mother never ever took me to meet any of them during the years I grew up here in PA. I didn't even know I had those relatives until a couple of years ago when I kept pressing my mom for more info about that part of our family (after I came back home to PA from CA, where I lived for yrs). The only one I've ever talked to (on the phone) is our cousin, Tom, Marjorie's one son. A couple of years ago I wanted to go over to Brownsville and meet Marjorie Smith, as well as any other family member/s who might be at the home when I would arrive. I was hoping that she would tell me about her parents (your grandmother Mary & grandfather George), what she knew of our gt-grandparents, and anything else that she could tell me about their part of my (& yours) family. Tom refused -- said she wasn't well enough, couldn't hear or see very well, was having a lot of trouble maintaining her balance, and thought it would cause her stress trying to remember whatever she could. To make a long story short, I never got to meet her or any of them. Then, I again tried to make some contact with them when Marjorie died around Eastertime of last year, but my calls weren't returned. I just wanted to express my sympathy to them, but they, apparently, could have cared less! Marjorie was one month to the day older than my mother and my mom said that, in the past, they used to call each other at times, and drop each other a note at other times -- and yet, she never took us (my sister and me) over to Brownsville to meet any of them.
Have you ever been to our part of PA? If you have, do you know where our gt-grandparents are buried? If not, I do -- I've been to visit them many times. Although there is still a ton of stuff I don't know about them/other family members, I may know more than you do and would love to tell you what I know.
My name is Darci Wilson. I live in Charleroi, PA (Washington County). My mother's name is Ella Loraine Wilson Colvin -- she's 91. Her mother was Isabella (Bella) Geekie Wilson and she died in 1921 when my mom was just 4 yrs old. My grandmother was the 4th oldest of our gt-grandparents' (living) children. If you want to email me directly, my email address is:
isageekie@yahoo.com. Or, if you would like to/can afford to call me, my phn# is
724/483-7146.
Hope to hear back from you soon!
Darci