10. September 2008 by Tim.

After Auntie Mary’s last letter, I realized that it would be far easier for me to ask my questions if we were sitting face to face.  I had hesitated to do this because I know she has many, many cats - and in addition to hating cats I am also quite allergic to them.

However, Auntie has several photos and who knows what kind of documentation that I would love to get copied.  Even if that means bringing a camera down and taking pictures of them.

I just sent the letter yesterday, so I will update the blog when she replies.

Posted in Progress, Lamont Side | No Comments »

6. September 2008 by Tim.

Another letter received from Auntie Mary, and another intriguing lead.

It seems her father, Paul Alfred Lamont, used to refer to an “Uncle Al.”  The only name she knew for uncle Al were his initials: A. F. Lamont.  The only thing Aunty knew about uncle Al was that he had a son who was killed during WW2 near Iwo Jima.  Aunty said, “His mother was listed, not his father.  Perhaps his father was dead.”

OK, so I did some research on casualties of WW2 from Rhode Island and found one Joseph T. Lamont.  He was a second lieutenant in the 549th Night Fighter Squadron.  He is listed as having received an Air Medal and a Purple Heart but as being Killed in Action July 17, 1945.  This date is about 4 months after the battle of Iwo Jima, but the 549th Squadron was active in the region before and after the actual battle.  I need to find a source to get a copy of the incident report of his death.

I can find no birth record of a Joseph T Lamont in Rhode Island.  However, on Alphonse’s draft registration card for WW2, he lists a Jane Lamont as his wife.  It is entirely possible that after Annie’s death, Alphonse got married to this Jane and had a son.  Even if this took place after 1923, the son would have been old enough to fight in WW2.

This bears much closer investigation and is yet another line I need to follow.

I think I am going to try to make an arrangement to go visit Auntie Mary and bring a recorder and digital camera.  It seems every time we communicate, I find new leads worth following!

Posted in Progress, Lamont Side | No Comments »

16. August 2008 by Tim.

The info Auntie Mary gave me has enabled me to make leaps and bounds of progress on the Orcutt branch of the Tree.  The reason for this is that the Orcutts have lived in Abington and Weymouth, MA for over 200 years!  Tracing them back through the US Censuses was a fairly simple matter.

Of course, the farther back one goes, two things become clear.  First, that the Census was, at first, just a mechanism to enumerate just (male) heads of households - everyone else was just counted (not named).  Second, the further back one traces their roots, the more likely one is to find some other Tree which overlaps.  This is what happened to me.  I found 8 or 9 Trees which overlapped the Orcutt branch.

Now, this has some perils of its own.  For example, if someone else made a mistake, just adding their info to my Tree means I have done nothing more than duplicating that mistake.  So, while finding overlapping Trees is good, it does not mean just “click and go” on to the next.  It means click and check, confirm then go.

Either way, it is pretty neat to think that in one fell swoop, my collective ancestors went from “late 19th century immigrants” to “late 19th century immigrants except for one branch who fought in the American Revolution!”  If I was a female, I would be a Daughter of the American Revolution!  Nice!

Posted in Progress, Lamont Side | No Comments »

16. August 2008 by Tim.

Auntie Mary provided either clues or actual information enough for me to answer several of the original questions my early research had raised.  For example, the question about who Ralph Mousdell was, the question of Frank H Orcutt’s biological father, the question of who (and where) exactly Dinah Currier was, and what the realstory was behind Frank and Elsie Orcutt and their seeming two lives.  Well, all of those have been resolved now - thanks to Auntie.  However, there are a few of the old ones still remaining, and now there are a couple of new ones.

Auntie gave me the birth and death dates for Napoleon Lamothe.  However, only the birth date of Alphonse.  Why?  Was Napoleon still in contact with his children after Annie passed away?  She died in 1923, but Napoleon did not die until 1947.

Why did Alphonse change his name to Lamont when Annie did?  And, how did they decide on LAMONT anyway?  Why not Lamond, Lamotte, or Jones?  Did she change the names of the three kids legally, or just practically?  If not legally, is the marriage of her son, Paul, to my grandmother legal?  Wow, what a thought.

And then there is the question of who Annie Grenier’s father was.  I know her mother was Mary, born in August of 1836, but that is all.  Who were Annie’s ancestors?

Each question answered raises a new unanswered one.  But, at least the questions are changing and the process is continuing.

Posted in Progress, Lamont Side | No Comments »

11. August 2008 by Tim.

Another bit of information that came from Aunty Mary - Thomas Currier married Laura Gagnon.  Laura was born in Maine in 1865 - this part I knew from my own research.  I could never find a document that showed me her last name.  If Aunty Mary is correct, then this should open up a whole new branch of research for me and a whole new set of potential sources.

Right now I have so much info that has yet to be entered, I think I may have to hold back on new data until my Family Tree is caught up.

Posted in Progress, Lamont Side | No Comments »