1982 Thanksgiving Mom tending the Turkey.

Renée

Seventeen Years Later A Picture is Found of the Grandfather who Complicated our Family History

This is just one thing that can happen when you take a DNA test.  I ordered a test from Ancestry.com several years ago.  The results are posted on Ancestry.com and just this year a match appeared with Brenda from Utah. This person is on my father's paternal side. (Very rare connection)  I was so excited about contacting her and she was thrilled when she got my message of our connection.  To make a long story short this was the out come.  She was able to find a picture of my second Great Grandfather Edward Aaron WHERRETT Jr..  I have been looking for a picture of him since the year 1999; the year when I finally unraveled the surname conundrum.  

This second Great Grandfather married Mary Ellen Burns who is Brenda's Great Aunt so we are second cousins once removed. 

I'm only going to give a brief explanation of Edward Aaron Jr. at this writing and will be doing many posts on the  'soap opera' life of the WHERRETT'S at other times. 

At age seventeen Edward Arron WHERRETT Jr. migrated with his mother Matilda GAY WHERRETT from Bath, England to America in 1864 on the ship Hudson and crossed the plains with the William Hyde Co and arrive in the Salt Lake Territory in the fall of 1864.  In 1866 his mother, Matilda married George TOMLINSON.  (More to this story later)

On 18 December 1871 Edward Aaron WHERRETT Jr. married Mary Ellen BURNS in the Salt Lake City Endowment House UNDER the NAME of TOMLINSON his step-father's name. 

So Mary Ellen BURNS became Mary Ellen TOMLINSON. 

My father did not know this.  Even though his middle name is WHERRETT  (Vern WHERRETT TOMLINSON) he thought WHERRETT was a grandmother's maiden name when the truth is WHERRETT was her first married name our biological name.  Matilda (mother of Edward Aaron Jr.) maiden name is GAY.   I plan on taking this life history slow so my family can keep it all straight.  (Our grandfathers name is George WHERRETT TOMLINSON.)

I would like to encourage everyone to take a DNA test.  Last Christmas I gave my daughter and her children and their spouses DNA kits for Christmas.  It's so fun to see the results. 

Here is a link that's a simple explanation of three types of dna tests a person can take.  

  5 surprising things you could learn from a dna test.

Important message in this poster

At this very moment I was prompted to post this.  I believe it more today than ever!

Summers highlight. Peaceful and serenity among chaos.

Highlight of the summer is capturing this picture.  In all the chaos of the day Capri found the best place to lay her pretty little head and take a much needed nap and great-grandfather Earl was more than happy to oblige.

It's been a busy joyful summer with grand-daughters and grandson-in laws and four little ones here for most of the summer.

Summer was not without challenges for Earl and me.  On our 54 wedding anniversary Earl went in for emergency surgery to shore up his femur in his right leg to get ready for radiation treatments of his bones.   I won't go into the details but an hour surgery and maybe two days in the hospital turned out to be a four hour surgery and three weeks in the hospital.  He just came home today.
 (24 Aug 2016)

I will close with this quote by Madame Curie:

"Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood."

 

The Seniors as we Juniors see them by Butch Tomlinson Jr. Class President

It's 1930 and graduation time at Albion High School in Albion, Idaho and Dad (Vern aka Butch) is President of the Jr. Class.  Mother (Verona aka Monie) is President of the Sophomore Class. 

I have the 'yearbook' known as 'Albion Hi -Lights 1930' that belonged to my mother.  On each page a classmate or teacher has written a message of friendship and wishes for a fun summer.  The book has only twenty four pages including the town Ads. 

Dad's picture appears on four of the pages and on every one he has written Butch across his FACE.  You can see an example of this in the picture on the left.  Dad! What were you thinking!   

Being the Junior Class President Dad wrote a tribute to the graduating Seniors to be read at the ceremony. You can see it in the background of the above picture.  It was titled:

A Senior as we Juniors see them

Any person can tell a senior, why?

Because they are different from the rest of the high school.

They act more dignified and  sophisticated, they have passed their childish years that we 

juniors have experienced.  

They are on the brink of accomplishing the feat that every boy and girl look

forward to --------graduation.

They have studied and successfully won the battle of education 

We juniors think of the seniors as a our big brothers and sisters. 

They have had much more experience than we and are well versed on the affairs of life.

They held three fourths of the student body offices.  Did they do it successfully?

I'll say they did, the student body has accomplished a great deal this year. 

In athletics they were the best of the bunch.

And in Glee Club and Drama they responded like stars. 

It would be very easy to fix an algebraic equation for the seniors such as the best in everything

+ 4 years in high school = Seniors.

As spokesman  for the junior class we with the 1930 seniors the best of luck in life, we would like to see them in higher fields and if we could fill their shoes as successfully as they have filled them we will be satisfied.

WHAT A HOOT!

Love you Dad.  

Memorial Day/ I wish to honor a member of the WASP - Women Airforce Service Pilots.

This person was a part of making U.S. history.  She was one of 1,830 women accepted as a pilot as part of the Army Air Force from September 1942 to December 1944.  Because of the demand for male combat pilots and warplanes left the Air Transport Command with a shortage of experienced pilots to ferry planes from factories to points of embarkation a program was approved that would train a large group of women to serve as ferry pilots. 

(Taken from the Woman's Collection, Blagg -Huey Library)

I don’t know what ‘Tommy’s personal experiences were while serving in the Women’s Army Airforce but I did find out that she was a Squadron Commander.  And that she “graduated with class 43-6 and was one of the only a few WASP selected to attend officers training in Orlando, Florida.  She was also stationed at Love Field, Dallas Texas with the Ferry Command.”  (Taken from a personal letter to me by an employer of The Woman’s Collection TWU Blagg-Huey Library)

Just a few facts I found very interesting.  Of the 1,074 that graduated 38 died while in the WASP program.  60,000,000 miles flown.

WASP earned $150 per month while in training, and $250 per month after graduation.  They paid for their own uniforms, lodging, and personal travel to and from home.  

Important quote:

You and more than 900 of your sisters have shown that you can fly wingtip to wingtip with your brothers. If ever there was a doubt in anyone’s mind that women can become skillful pilots, the WASPs have dispelled that doubt.”

- Gen. Hap Arnold, AAF, in a speech to the last class of WASPs, before the program was disbanded in December 1944.

Evelyn's maiden name is Burdette.  She was the second wife of my grandfather George Wherrett Tomlinson.  I do not have the exact marriage date/about 1936/37.  She didn't live with Grandfather long and never divorced him.  He died in 1959. Tommy died in 1973.  More will be told about their lives at a later date. 

She did a service for our country contributing to our freedoms we have today. She should be remembered for her good deeds.   Thank You Tommy. 

ALICE/ The last of the Hepworths

 This picture of was found on Ancestry.com posted from someone identified as 'gigistill'.  I am very grateful that this person is so willing to share pictures by having an  'open tree' on Ancestry opposed to a Private Tree.  However, I have found some information errors.  It was posted as 1937; Alice died in 1935.  I did some research on the car and what I came up with is it's a 1925 Model T Ford.  Am I right?  The driver was identified as Harry their oldest son and the passenger Clifford but, Robert would have been 25 years old.  I think the driver is the second son Clifford Frank, he would be about eighteen and the passenger next to him is the youngest son Robert Malcom who would be about seven years old.  In the back is Frank and Alice. Really a cool picture.  I wonder if the house in the background is their own home? I would guess 'Yes.'  Frank was a Construction Engineer and did very well to provide for his family.

In the Salt Lake Telegram,1935-05-01 Deaths 

Alice Hepworth Bletzacker

Mrs. Alice Hepworth Bletzacker, 63 died at the family home, 1409 Thirteenth East Street.  Tuesday at 8:12 p.m., following a lingering illness. 

She was born April 9, 1872, in Salt Lake City, and. with the exception of a five-year residence in Mexico and another five years in Los Angeles, had resided here all her life.  Her parents were Thomas and Mary Hepworth. 

Besides her husband she is survived by three sons, Harry, Clifford F. and Robert M. Bletzacker, all of Salt Lake City and one grandchild. Funeral arrangements have not been completed. 

________________________

This has been a long time in between continued posts and it's not going to get any better with summer coming and a long list of 'TO DO' things to get done at home.  I do appreciate everyone who LOOKS in for the latest news on an Ancestor.  I will do my best to post something at least every two weeks.
I've taken on painting the stucco of our townhouse and believe me  it's something I can't do in a couple of days and I blame my advancing age for that realizing I have to pace myself and it's a SLOW pace.   Also, I'm trying to learn a new digital scrapbooking program another thing that doesn't come easy for me to learn quickly and do a good job.   The first 'book' project is about the life of Earl's parents.  Earl and I will be doing a bit of traveling and I am looking forward to get away for a time or two.   Thanks to everyone for stopping by.

Renee