2007-10-05 Genealogy

Something that’s fallen by the wayside during these years of being a working mother is hobbies for myself. Even with the crazy busy schedule of kids in school plus their extra-curricular activities and me working all hours of the day and night for Tellabs, somehow I'm starting to find a little time to do whatever it is I like to do.

What is it that I like to do? I honestly don't remember! There has to be time for more than just trying not to fall behind with everything going on and reading a few minutes before falling asleep at night.

One thing that interests me that I'd like to spend more time on is family history. My children have a very rich family history to be pursued here and in Europe. Their immigrant relatives who arrived in North America between 1879 and 1915 include the Fuchs and Griesmanns from Germany, the Tatars and Antuls from Romania, the Olobris and Nannis from Italy, and the Clemensons, Petersons and Larsons from Norway.

Other branches of the family, including the Hards, Haytons, and Frasers, have been in the United States and Canada much longer. These families came from Norway, Scotland, England, Ireland, and France. One arrived in Plymouth in 1621 on The Fortune shortly before the first Thanksgiving and another on The Arabella in 1630.

Among our relatives who served in the Revolutionary War is Solomon Slayback who served under General George Washington. Another interesting person in our family tree is John Winthrop, the first governor of Massachusetts. We have many family members who proudly served in World War II, some of whom did not make it back home safely.

My second cousin Davette in Wisconsin has done a great job of putting together the Hayton family tree (my mom’s family) and my Aunt Carol in Florida has given me incredible gifts of information about our shared family history (my dad’s family).

Even if I weren’t related to any of these people the stories and photos would still be fascinating to me. I love learning about how life has changed over the years.

I have transcriptions of some very interesting journals. These include my grandmother Marjorie Rose MacGibbon Hard’s from 1940-1944 which includes the time that my dad was born and her mother Bertha Fraser MacGibbon’s diary from 1911-1913 which includes the time when my grandma was born. What has always been remarkable to me about this story is that my great-grandmother did not find out she was pregnant with my grandma until she was eight months along, and had been corseted the whole time!

Another is the journal of Alexander Lambdin Slayback from 1844-1848. He was a lawyer, a husband and father, and a very religious man who lived in Missouri in times much different than today and died young. He was the great-grandfather of my grandmother. Yet another journal is that of my great-great-great-grandfather Charles Slayback, who took his wife and young daughter on a trip from New Orleans to Europe from June through October of 1874.

My great-great aunt and uncle, Margaret and Sam Stoner, lived on the near East side of Aurora. Their three sons, daughter, and son-in-law (husband of their deceased daughter) were all members of the armed forces during World War II. They published “The Stoner Weekly News” from 1942 until 1945 to share news among family and friends. Their circulation grew to include 58 people in 30 cities in 5 different countries. It is absolutely incredible to read about the war first-hand as it unfolded. These years include many historic events of world-wide interest as well as local events of personal interest including marriages, births, and deaths. This is something I would love to have published and seen by a wider audience.

I read over these papers and looked at the pictures years ago but want to read through them again and learn more about these people and others that came before us. Now the internet offers an easy way to find more information. There are so many different directions I could head with the various starting points available to me. I expect this will be a fun and rewarding journey.