#52 Ancestors Challenge Week 2 Favorite Photo

Picking a favorite photo was a difficult choice to make. There are so many photos that I like. This photo was my mom’s favorite so since she has passed away feel a connection. That’s me on the left, my mom, Millicent (Wiedrich) Moore with the shovel and my grandmother, Hazel (Bristol) Wiedrich with the crutches. They spent all day burying car batteries upside down to make a walkway to their home. Environmentalists are gasping today but this was about 1953 in DeSoto Park Trailer Park in Tampa, Florida. Hazel lost her leg as a teenager, but she never thought of herself as handicapped and could do just about everything.

This picture is my favorite. It’s my mom and me on the front steps of our house in Gloucester City, NJ.  The picture below is my grandfather, Edward Wiedrich, my mom and her sisters about 1931 in Genesee County, NY. They were so poor it reminds me to be thankful for the many blessing I have.  

Thanks Mr. McQuillan

Thanks Mr. Bob McQuillan

The first time I thought about starting my family tree was in 8^th grade history. My teacher, Bob McQuillan gave us the assignment to chart our family tree. My parents had always talked about family and ancestors, but nothing was written down. So, with my mom we worked on the assignment. It’s not that we knew a lot, just a few generations. Better than names were family stories. Both my parents knew their grandparents and some great-grandparents, where they lived and if they were born in the US. So, the chart was done.

Years later mom and I started to be more serious and do some research on her line instead of relying on word of mouth. Not that we discovered a lot of new things but now we had some documentation. My dad’s side was a different story. My dad was orphaned at 6 and his dad at about the same age. Although they still had family connections all the stories didn’t passed down. My dad would have been delighted with the information I discovered about his paternal line after he died. But his maternal line was a mess. Both of his maternal grandparents passed down fictionalized accounts of their ancestors.

So, Mr. McQuillan, thank you for starting me on the path to genealogy. My family tree differs a great deal from that assignment you gave in 8^th grade. Since that time, I’ve been able to spend many hours with ancestors I’ve never met but have come to cherish. And I’ve come to feel that the most important history is my own personal family history

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