My great-grandmother Wynona was given away in the early 1900s. She always said that her father’s name was Frank Warren though she couldn’t remember much about him. She couldn’t remember her mother’s name at all but remembered that she had an older sister named Ethel and a little brother… if there were other siblings at the time she was given away, she couldn’t remember them (or didn’t know about them).

Somewhere in Washington State, the girls ended up with a blind man and his family who sang on the streets. Nonie remembered selling penny pencils for them while they performed. Nonie and her sister, Ethel were passed around a couple of times and were eventually separated. She said she remembered throwing a fit when they took her away from her sister. Eventually, the little band ended up in Ada, Oklahoma. Nonie was put in school there and when the family she was with decided to go visit another family, they left her there with another blind man (Blind Henry Landers) and his family. When they eventually came back to get her, she didn’t want to leave because she loved school and liked the family she was staying with. When it was discovered that neither family had legal custody, they fought over her and the police were called.

She was eventually put up for what she called “public adoption” and was adopted by a widow woman who owned a boarding house named Mary Davenport. (that’s another crazy story for another post!) My great-grandma Nonie always longed to find her siblings and wondered what happened to them… she had no idea that her parents continued to have more children… each parent remarried… and had additional children. As the oldest, of an oldest, of the oldest child, I have continued the search through setting up websites on Ancestry and MyHeritage many years ago…

Three years ago, for my grandfather’s (Nonie’s oldest son) 90th Birthday, I submitted his DNA to see what additional information we could discover. After we submitted the DNA, I continued to periodically check on any new matches and would get caught up for hours finding wonderful connections, but no “real” breakthroughs concerning this BIG family mystery.

Finally, in September 2018, my grandfather had a “hit” of a very high potential 1st cousin! I didn’t recognize the name…but when I looked at the family tree… there were only two names listed… Frank Warren and Eva Musselman. I was actually shocked… Could it really be the connection I had been searching for? I contacted the match by email and included my phone number — and discovered that when we compared notes, our stories were very similar and a much bigger picture began to take shape… One we only imagined!

This connection knew very little because her mother was also given up for adoption as a baby and hadn’t discovered that she was adopted until late in life. They were able to get a court order for her birth certificate with her birth parents’ names listed from the “orphan home” where she was placed. She was never able to find out anything further… one of her grandchildren recommended that the daughters submit DNA and that is where we made our first connection. That was a miracle in itself…

I triangulated the new match’s DNA with my grandfather’s to see common connections. Through the information gathered in my family trees and then comparing it with my DNA notes, I’ve been able to begin piecing together a fantastic but puzzling story.

My great-grandmother’s mother, Eva Musselman looks to have had around (at least) 7 children… most of which ended up in other homes – adopted or fostered. She evidently goes on to marry several more times… She does eventually reconnect to a couple of her birth children later in life. After splitting with Frank Warren, we know she married a Rex Rodney, an I.O. Stangbye, possibly a John Martins, and eventually a Frank Smith.

My grandmother’s father, Frank Warren disappeared up into Canada where he eventually married and had three more children. I have been in contact with a couple of his descendants in Canada… The story passed down was that Frank told them he was an orphan from Ohio… and that he lied about his age to join the military. He ended up in his late 30s in Canada as a farmer. We are not sure if he lost track of his children from his first marriage nor why he and Eva separated…

My grandmother would have been so thrilled to know she had other siblings and it makes us sad that she never knew them…I have been able to make several more connections by DNA or by sharing my story on Ancestry.com

One major breakthrough came through an odd notation in a letter one of the descendants had… it was a name I scribbled down and couldn’t find a place for… Later, I realized that the oldest of the siblings, Ethel had a daughter who she also gave up for adoption with a name change… Taking a chance, I contacted one of the people who had the new name listed on their family tree… That step paid off! Come to find out, the person I contacted was the ex-granddaughter-in-law of my grandmother’s oldest sister, Ethel… and she had photos! We were astounded and brought to tears when we saw what could have been my great-grandmother’s “twin!” It was amazing to finally see the face of someone we had heard of but never thought we would see. (More on Ethel’s story in a future post)

This is just part of the story… a piece in the puzzle… the unraveling of an OVER 100-year mystery…It is another long and winding road… but what we once thought was a dead-end is now open and connecting the old with the new…

**Until I’ve had a chance to Blog more about it, I’ve also created a “Group Page” on Facebook with more photos, newspaper clippings, and documents for those interested in more information. https://www.facebook.com/groups/312294829725317/