DGS Newsletter, Volume 38, Number 2, April-June 2012 Page: 15
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DG NWSETE VLUE38.PGE1
A Box Full of Family
Tony Hanson
Several years ago while cleaning out my
attic I found a small box left by a previous
resident that contained pictures,
eyeglasses, letters written in the 1940's,
and a few other tidbits. As a genealogist I
knew how much any living descendant
would appreciate these artifacts, and I set
out to find someone from this family.
There was just enough information in the
letters to allow me to begin a family tree.
Whenever I hit a brick wall on my own family
back to this little mystery.and lived in Texas around the time
you mention.
My husband is Richard's son. You
have Elton, John and Kathryn listed
on your tree, but there were also
Richard and Robert born to John
Newton McClanahan and Maude
Miles (5 children total). Maude was
Sarah Slutts and Phineas Miles
daughter.
y I came
Richard, my father-in-law, now
deceased, did a lot of genealogy and I am nowThe two main people of interest were: SARAH E MIILES (born
Sarah Elizabeth Slutts on 11 Oct 1862 in Lee, Iowa, d. 01 Jan
1956 in Polk County, Iowa, married to Phineas Young Miles b.
15 Jan 1850 in Lee, Iowa, d. 24 Oct 1929, buried in the Corydon
Cemetery, Wayne County, Iowa), and her sister MARY BELL
HUNT (born Mary Bell Slutts abt. 1867 in Van Buren County,
Iowa, d. aft. 1943 in Keosauqua, Van Buren county, Iowa,
married to John C Hunt b. abt. 1861).
Over time I made a lot of progress, but I never was able to make
the leap to somebody in the family who was still alive.
I subscribe to the RootsWeb NORWAY mailing list and am
impressed by the level of knowledge exhibited there, so one day I
posted what I knew and hoped for the best.
Just four hours and twenty seven minutes later I
received a reply from Ron. He had already traced the
ownership of my house using on-line records and
started comparing names to the family tree I had
assembled. He had also found some possible
connections in the Social Security Death Index,
which led him to an on-line family tree with names that matched
those I had, and had contacted the owner of that tree to let her
know that I was looking for a contact.I received more updates
over the next few hours
from others. Meanwhile
Ron happily went about
filling in more blanks in
my adopted family's
history. My post back to
the list the next day says
it all:
Best of all was this email
a few weeks later:roots
.Inc ,.n
D e "He Joan Hank, Dennis but especi allRon .
wtchthe POst r n
a)nd so I shoulder n this list on a eula
but s that demons the talent and
much for alVterwhelme takeeyday
alte esuions and the heall so very
he help)Hi, Igot an e-mailfrom a Ron about the box youfound
in your attic. I think it may have been left there by my
husband's uncle Elton McClanahan, listed on your
tree, and I would dearly like to have it. Elton was my
father-in-law Richard's brother (both now deceased),working on it extensively. Elton was called Mick by
thefamily... .Thank you so much for posting about the box. My
father-in-law cared deeply about his family heritage
and Iam trying to finish what he so arduously
began, before sites like ancestry.com were around.
More email messages confirmed that I had the correct family. I
heard from her again while she was waiting for the package I
had shipped.
I can hardly wait to read the letters and see the
'tidbits', and to read what you have found out. I am
really grateful to you for your efforts to get the box
to our family. I am sharing what Ifind with all our
family members.. .
My father-in-laws middle name was Phineas, after
Phineas Miles. I wish he (dad) were still around to
see all this. He'd be so thrilled....somewhere he is
smiling!
I heard from her again after the package was delivered:
Thank you SO MUCH! The package arrived today
and my husband and I are so excited, as are our
sons. It is in fact photos, letters and items from my
husband's family on his father's mother's side....
and we are ECSTATIC.. .
Nobody in the family has ever seen any of these
pictures or knew about the items.... and so this
little box which means SO MUCH to
us [was] found and cared for by you.There are currently more than 32,000 RootsWeb mailing lists. They cover specific sumames
as well as locations so chances are there is one that will be helpful to you and your
research. For general information see http://lists.rootsweb.ancestry.com/index/index.html.
For the full story, visit AND FURTHERMORE under
Resources at www.dallasjienealogy'.or;z-k-
DGS NEWSLETTER
VOLUME 38, PAGE 15
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Dallas Genealogical Society. DGS Newsletter, Volume 38, Number 2, April-June 2012, periodical, June 2012; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1261664/m1/7/: accessed July 2, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dallas Genealogical Society.