Two weeks ago, this was the extent of my knowledge about my great-grandparents, John and Freda Childers:
*they lived on a farm in the middle-of-nowhere- Illinois.
* we visited them when I was about 7- I remember Grandma Freda making an amazing farm breakfast...and their house being really hot.
*that's pretty much it.
What I didn't know...
*My Great-Grandma Freda's parents- Harry and Minnie Leadill, took a ship from their home in York, England with their one year old son- and came to Ellis Island in 1909.
(Yes, that's the actual ship)
From there they moved to said 'farm in the middle of nowhere IL' and raised their family. My dad remembers meeting Harry and Minnie and hearing their strong British accents (suddenly 1909 doesn't seem like that long ago, does it?)
Minnie Leadill in 1934
Harry LeadillApparently, Illinois agreed with the Leadills, because they stayed and raised children who became Illinois farmers...
John and Freda (Leadill) Childers with their son -my grandpa- Lawrence* "Ellis Island", Lyrics by Marc Cohn
6 comments:
Great post, Jenny. I loved that beautiful farm.
I am so proud of you! I'm going to be working on the Miller/Kamien family this summer. I'll need lots of help. I can't believe you found a picture of the actual ship WAY TO GO!
Did you see Who do you think you are?
Sarah Jessica Parker's story was really cool although I was kind of sad that it wasn't her Jewish side. You're shocked by that, I know.
I miss you so much but being able to read your blog while drinking good coffee helps a lot! Happy Weekend, dear heart!
SUCH a cool entry. Its fascinating to discover things like this! I <3 family history.
ahhh, this is so great.
I absolutely loved this!! What a treat to see the photos - and to see you learning about some of our family! Would love to sit and chat with you about our ancestors (and just everything!)
Hi nice readingg your blog
Post a Comment