It all started with a Prince

After years of researching my family history, it wasn't totally unexpected when two separate branches of my family finally intersected. Imagine my surprise when, while diving into my husband’s family tree, the name Kipp popped up—and I thought, “Wait a minute, is this a long-lost cousin or just another family plot twist?”  The Kipp name was also in my family tree. H iram Kipp was born 31 May 1802 in Poughkeepsie, New York, the son of John and Ruth (Carpenter) Kipp. The Kipp family were early settlers of New York and were of Quaker persuasion. Hiram married Sarah Harvey (born Bucks co, Pennsylvania 11 Dec 1804) on 21 December 1825 in Ontario, Canada. They were the parents of nine children - all born in Canada. By 1871, Hiram, Sarah, and several of their children had relocated from Canada to Goodland Township in Lapeer, Michigan. There, Hiram bought 160 acres in Section 30 of the township. Five of their children moved to Michigan, two stayed in Canada and two traveled into South Dako...

       Joseph Thomas Daly was my husband's maternal great grandfather and was born 31 Dec 1872 in Stratford, Perth, Ontario, Canada. He was the fourth of five children born to William and Mary (Harris) Daly. By 1876, the Daly family had moved to Columbiaville, Lapeer County, Michigan. Records indicate that the family entered the United States in 1874, and by 1910, Joseph had been naturalized as an American citizen. On 2 December 1903, Joseph married Francis Sweet, a local schoolteacher. 'Frankie' was born 16 Dec 1871 in Elba, Lapeer County, Michigan the daughter of Joseph Carpenter and Adelia (O'Brien) Sweet.  Joseph Thomas was listed as a farm laborer in 1900 and in 1910 he is listed as a farmer on his 'own account'. He and Francis purchased a farm in Marathon twp., Lapeer County, Michigan and they had two children, Ralph (b1905) and Joseph Kenneth (b1909 - my husband's grandfather). A daughter Mary Adelia had been born and died in 1907 at age six months, f...

       My favorite pastime is to wander through cemeteries. I don't have to have any 'family' in the said cemetery - everyone who is buried has a family so in that way, we are all related. Every year, once in May and again in December we have visited my husband's family that are buried in the Thumb of Michigan. We travel to Metamora, Columbiaville and on to North Branch, relating stories about those that went before us. But, what about those that didn't 'live', get married, have an occupation or leave behind stories for us to reminisce about? Those that have been forgotten for years, decades, and centuries. John Dillingham, my dad's great uncle, was born 17 Aug 1841 in Troy, New York. John was the fourth of 12 children of Sidney & Katharine (Sweet) Dillingham. He died 12 Dec 1844 in New York just a few months from his third birthday. There are no official records to be found at this point for him. Only an entry in a family bible. There was a Typhoid...

E very ethnicity seems to utilize nicknames. German, English, Irish... aka an informal substitute for a proper name.  I call our oldest daughter 'Sis' and our younger daughter 'baby girl'. But I have been 'told' that my maternal grandpa, John Owen Sheridan, had a nickname for just about everyone he came into contact with. Whether family or friend or foe. He died when I was just a baby, so I only remember him from pictures.       Here are some examples of nicknames in the family:      Thomas John (b 1861) was called John - never Thomas. Wonder why?      Margaret (b 1855) went by Maggie - very normal      Mary Agnes (1883) - went by Mame      Mary Alice (b 1863) - went by Alice (different generation)      Agnes (b 1918) - went by Betty      Lorraine (b 1924) - went by Johnny (due to a boyfriend) My sister contracted polio when she was two years old. My grandpa Sheridan s...

I have to admit, there are way too many favorite photographs in my possession to pick just one. So instead, I will choose one that intrigues me. This picture is of my great - great grandmother Lois Yaw Harris. Lois was the youngest of the 17 children (15 living to adulthood) and was born 22 Oct 1839 in Clarksburg, Massachusetts, daughter of Pardon and Sylvia (Bliss) Yaw. She is pictured with her sisters and is in the back row, left. We know that standing next to her is her sister Lydia and in the front row, center is her sister Lucina. The others were Lucinda, Silvia and Bethia. Her brothers Pardon, Freeman, Jacob, Brayton, Theodore, Henry, Noah, Johnathon, Benjamin, Joseph rounded out the family - although there were two boys who died as infants. All six sisters spent time in Galien, Berrien County, Michigan although two traveled on to Wisconsin and Nebraska. What would have put them all together for a picture? Because someone was moving on? A death? I will probably never know the ans...

Welcome! It all started with a Prince is a take on the fact that back in about 1970 sitting around the dining table with my mom and her sisters, it was stated that my grandmother's maiden name was Prince. I had never heard that before. My grandmother was a person. No one had ever mentioned that we were noble!  NOT. But instantly, that is the picture that came into my mind. Kings and Queens and diamonds and tiaras. As I continued to make notes on a small piece of paper, my destiny was set. The woman I only knew as Grandma was suddenly Pauline B Prince Sheridan. She was once young, carefree, in love, wading in mud puddles, sewing a new dress, going to school, working in a garden, getting married, having a family. All the same things that I myself had experienced and would experience in the future.  Barbie