52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #36 Rebecca Ann Maynard Alexander

Finding the parents of Rebecca Ann Maynard Alexander provided a gateway to the storied past of the Ragland family of the United States, England and Wales. Her mother, Judith Ragland, was the gateway ancestor.

Rebecca was born in Virginia to Judith and Evan Maynard of Halifax County. Her tombstone states her birth as February 13, 1840, while her death certificate says April 5, 1840. Her mother's birthday was April 5, so I believe the February 13 date is the accurate one.

Rebecca was the eighth of nine children born to the Maynard family. Sometime between 1848 and 1850, the family moved from Virginia to Weakley County, Tennessee. It was there that Rebecca married Thomas Jefferson Alexander on February 20, 1855, just a week after her 15th birthday.

The Alexander family had a legacy of twins. Rebecca bore two sets of twins, along with eight other children, for an even dozen.

Quick drop page from Memoirs by ClubScrap

Rebecca Ann Maynard Alexander was widowed in 1922. She died in Dresden, Tennessee, on August 9, 1931. She was buried with her husband in the Jolley Springs cemetery in Weakley County.

Rebecca and the entire Maynard family were mentioned in the Goodspeed's biography of her eldest brother, John Maynard, who founded the town of Maynard, Arkansas. That 1891 biography is an important piece of information for all descendants of Judith Ragland and Evan Maynard.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #35 Russell George Johnson

One of my favorite family photos is this lovely wedding photo from 1938. Russell George Johnson was united in marriage with Bernice Dorothy Nyquist at the First Swedish M.E. Church of Chicago, on April 20th.

Quick drop page from Our Wedding by Digital Scrapper, 2010

Cousin Bernice allowed me to scan this photo when I visited her in the Chicago area shortly before her death. She and her son also told me the story of Russell and how he came to be raised by his maternal grandmother.

Russell George Johnson was born in Chicago on November 23, 1913, to Esther Ekstrom Johnson and George Walter Johnson. Esther died a short ten years later, leaving George a single father.

As you think about Chicago in the 1920s, one name should immediately come to mind: Al Capone. George Johnson was a Chicago policeman. One day he took young Russell to his grandparents, Agnes Fors Ekstrom and Gustaf Ekstrom. That was the last Russell saw of his father for many years.

When the family reconnected, they learned that George had received threats from the Chicago organized crime families. He had moved to Dayton, Ohio, and changed his name to Walter Hayes. He remarried and raised more children, but never sent for Russell.

As the 1920s progressed, Russell lost his grandfather and the family lost the income from his tailor shop. The Great Depression devastated the family real estate holdings, leaving Agnes and her grandsons in financial difficulty. Russell and his cousin Warren took jobs delivering telegrams for Western Union after school.

Russell and Bernice lived and raised their son in the Chicago area. Russell died in 1997 and Bernice died in 2005. They are buried together in Memorial Park in Skokie.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #34 An Ice Bucket for Dana Allee

My cousin Dana Allee was diagnosed with the horrible disease of ALS before her fiftieth birthday.

As the ice bucket challenge sweeps the world, I've made my donation in lieu of the dousing. I challenge all our Allee relatives to take the challenge or just pick up your checkbook or credit card and make a donation to the ALS Association as they work toward finding a cure. You can also donate with Paypal or Amazon.

Dana Allee was survived by her husband, parents, children, grandchildren, sister, nephew, niece and many cousins. For the sake of their privacy, I'm not sharing her married name or other identifying details. Her sister wrote a touching tribute for Dana's memorial folder and graciously agreed to share it, along with some of these beautiful photos.

All elements from ClubScrap's Lotus Pond digital kit

Dana’s highly distinctive, loving and artistic style can be seen in her magical garden home, and her enormous talent is further revealed with floral and landscaping designs that benefited so many local charities.  She participated in the “Martha Stewart Entertaining” Garden Tour and the “[area] Holiday Home Tours”.  Dana was selected one of the top floral designers in [the area] by the [newspaper].  She was an extraordinary and amazing person, gifted, and giving, truly an Angel on earth.  May her spirit live on!

Dana bravely concluded her graceful and spirited fight with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) and peacefully closed her eyes on Christmas Eve in her fairy tale home surrounded by those dearest.  Her ashes will be scattered at the family ranch in her beloved Colorado.

In lieu of flowers, Dana requested that donations be directed to the family and shall be distributed to the Aids Orphans that captured her heart.

Dana's request that donations be sent to Africa shows that her loving and selfless spirit endured to the end of her life.