George Joseph Austin (1912 - 1991)

George is in the center of the middle row, five from the left.

- He was born January 23, 1912 in Jackson, Michigan
- He grew up in a home that mostly did not include his father
- He graduated from St. Thomas the Apostle High School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
- He worked as a Lithographer for Printing Business, Braun-Brumfield
- He lived the majority of his life in Ann Arbor, Michigan
- He died June 18, 1991 in Michigan

Julia Carolina Allen (1921 - 2007)

Julia was my grandmother.  This has become my favorite picture of Grandma.

- She was born May 17, 1921 in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
- She lived in Sault Ste. Marie through high school
- She lived with Aunt Bobbie and Uncle Art in Detroit for a year or two during her high school years
- She married Victor Harrison in 1940
- She lived the remainder of her life in Genesee County, Michigan
- She wintered in Florida after she retired from GM
- She gave birth to 5 girls, 3 of which were triplets
- She died September 29, 2007
- She is buried in the West Vienna Cemetery

This photo is of Julia with her good childhood friend, Ruth Brown.

Emily Jane Snow (1893 - 1988)

- She was born November 30, 1893 in Ausable Forks, Essex, New York
- She worked as a "paper counter" in Ticonderoga, New York before she married
- She married Joseph Williams on April 5, 1915
- She lived the first 30 years of her life in New York and then she moved to Michigan for the remainder of   her 90+ years
- She had 2 children, 14 grandchildren, 30+ great grandchildren and 30+ great great grandchildren
- She graduated from high school in the 1980s
- She died March 30, 1988 in Michigan

I have been told she was a strong woman with a loving heart.  She enjoyed spending time with her family.  Other memories and thoughts would be appreciated.

Emily at her graduation

Ralph Raymond Peterson (1907 - 1993)

- He was born January 15, 1907
- He traveled to Germany and Sweden for a couple of years just after he was born
- He married Dorothea Margaret Colter in 1932 in Los Angeles, California
- He was a grocer for the majority of his life
- He owned his own grocery store for a while in Altadena, California
- He died December 23, 1993 in Huntington Beach, California

Theressa Irene Peterson (1912 - 1999)

Theressa Irene Peterson (1912 - 1999)

- Born April 7, 1912 in Concord Township, Dodge, Minnesota

- Married George Joseph Austin March 7, 1936
- Has 3 children, 9 grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren
- She was an artist but never pursued her talents
- Died March 9, 1999 in Ann Arbor, Washtenaw, Michigan

I came into the family prior to her death, but unfortunately did not have the chance to meet her.  I was able to meet a lot of the family at her funeral.  She was much loved by her children and grandchildren.

Victor Ephraim Harrison (1922 - 1971)

The first Harrison that I am going to be featuring was my grandfather Victor Ephraim Harrison. 

I did not have a chance to know him as he passed away a few years before I was born.  I am told that he was an extremely intelligent man, who had a few struggles in his life.

- He was born on January 9, 1922 in Sault Ste. Marie, Chippewa, Michigan
- He lived for a portion of his youth with his "Aunt Idena" McLean
- He married Julia Carolina Allen at a very young age
- He moved his family from Upper Michigan to Flint, Genesee, Michigan where he resided for the remainder of his life
- He died July 8, 1971 in Flint, Genesee, Michigan
- He is buried in West Vienna Cemetery, Genesee, Michigan

There is very little that I know about Victor and I would love some stories, memories, comments, etc. to add to his legacy.

Bernard Charles Murray (1918 - 1976)

The first Murray that I am going to feature is Bernard Charles Murray:

I did not have the chance to meet Bernard.  Everything that I have heard about him is that he was an extremely kind and generous man.  Here are some of the things that I have learned about Bernard:

- He was born August 25, 1918 in Detroit, Michigan
- He had two sisters and a brother
- His mother died young
- He attended and graduated from Notre Dame University
- He married Hilda Ruth on March 1, 1941 in Detroit, Michigan
- He was a mechanical engineer and manager for Chrysler Corporation
- He has six children, 16 grandchildren and 25 great grandchildren
- He died February 23, 1976

Please add any comments, corrections, additions and stories.  I am sure we all have memories of him to contribute.

Dorothea Margaret Colter (1910 - 1986)

I am going to start with Dorothea Margaret Colter. 

She was called many things during her life but I always knew her as "Mimi".  I knew her for the first 12 years of my life.  She was my grandmother.  Here are some things I knew about her:
- She was born in Oklahoma on August 23, 1910
- She was an only child growing up (she had an older sister that died young)
- She married Ralph Peterson in California
- She attended nursing school, she received her RN degree
- She has three children, six grandchildren and nine great grandchildren
- She moved to California in the 1930s and resided there for most of her life
- She died December 31, 1986
- She is buried in Westminster Memorial Gardens, Huntington Beach, Orange County, California.

Please add any comments, corrections, additions and stories.  I am sure we all have memories of her to add.

A New Blog is Born

My blog is born, February 9, 2011! 

First I want to apologize to all that read this blog as my writing skills leave a lot to be desired.  I took on this endeavor to document some of the ancestors that have gone before my family in hopes that we might remember them just a little bit longer.

The title of my blog comes from the fact that my children can claim may heritages.  I decided to figure out how much of each country makes up the blood of my children, but doing that made my head hurt.  So, off the cuff, not doing any deep digging.  We know that they have quite a bit of English and Irish in them (but what redhead does not).  Then a little bit of Norwegian, Swedish, and Dutch.  The second biggest piece comes from our German ancestors.

Please feel free to add kind comments.  Here goes ...