Month: March 2021

The 1920 census records show my paternal Grandma, Louise Kathryn Juhrend McDearmid, living with her mother, Amelia,  and two brothers, August and Herman, in Highwood, Illinois. Amelia who was twice widowed, owned the house. August owned a jewelry story and Herman was a laborer. Amelia and daughter Louise took in laundry.  The orphanage But here's… Continue reading Loss

This week's topic from the Generations Cafe challenge is FORTUNE. I've decided to search each of my ancestry lines and find more information on when and where my ancestors came to America to seek their FORTUNEs. I'll start by going backward in time and finding the first person in each line who was born outside… Continue reading Fortune

Where did it begin?  My paternal Great-grandfather was James Gardner McDearmid, born in Woodstock, NH in 1839. His son was Gardner Clark McDearmid, and his son, my father, was another James Gardner McDearmid. Everyone loved my Dad, Jim. He passed away in 1954 when I was 15. It was very traumatic for my family, especially… Continue reading The Name’s The Same

1+1=12 Back in the day families were generally large or I'd say huge by today's standards. My Mom, Anne, was third in a family of 12 siblings. I'd call this MULTIPLES. Between 1920 and 1935 Iva Mae Quist gave birth to this amazing line up of 7 girls and 5 boys. This picture looks like… Continue reading Multiples