It all started with a Prince

I thought long and hard about this topic. There are many of my ancestors who survived catastrophic events or hardships and yet overcame so much. But here's a more recent event and a person I appreciate and respect. Doris Daly and Ken Conner met in High School in Lapeer, Michigan. At the age of 17, Doris quit school and she and Kenny married on October 27, 1951, in Imlay City, Michigan. Ken worked for his father-in-law building bridges and overpasses in Michigan. He would do anything to pay the bills and to save to fly. His goal was to be a pilot. Their first son was born in 1952 and their second son in 1953. In the meantime, Doris went back to school and got her GED.  Ken always loved the lure of the sky.  Ben Scott taught him how to fly.  He flew a Taylor Craft L2 in those early years. He worked on airplanes like others worked on cars.  There were a bunch of men that flew together:  Norm Burley, 'Doc' Wilcox, George Conner (brother), Dick Quick, John Miller and...

They say that every story has a shred of truth to it and you should never completely dismiss it. I have a Thomas Henry Sheridan born Oct 15, 1843, in Wheatland, Monroe County, New York.  He would have been my half 3x great Uncle. His mother, Mary, died in August 1849 and then his father Michael Sheridan died sixteen months later in December 1850. Suddenly, this small six-year-old boy lost everything dear to him. I next find Thomas in the 1855 Wheatland, Monroe County, New York census living in the Harris Rogers household. He is 11 years old and is listed as a laborer. The enumeration date is June 5, 1855.   A hand-written missive by a contributor on FamilySearch states "that young Thomas was placed in a Catholic home/orphanage and attended school there. At 14 years, he ran away from the home and started to walk to New Orleans to see his uncle (no name) who ran a lighthouse there. When Thomas was 17, he was drafted into the Rebel Army. When camped near the Union Army he sl...