Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Saying Good-bye to Uncle Peter...

Above- My husband, Christian, Grandfather, Wally Lindquist, and my mother on Peaks Island, Maine in August of 1989.
This was at Chris and my engagement party put on by my inlaws.



My Father's Oldest Brother, Peter
Brothers: David, Peter, and Eric Lindquist
Peter Anson Lindquist
Born 9 April 1941 in New Jersey, USA
Married: #1 to:  M. Luann Lasson- 19 June 1965, Almeda, California
(Two children from this marriage)
Married: #2 to:  Marilyn Hathaway- 12 Sep. 1992, Washoe, Nevada
Died  23 December 2015 in Bernalillo, New Mexico

My Uncle Peter died today.  He was the oldest of 3 sons to Wally and Ruth Lindquist, my grandparents.  My father is the youngest and now last living member of this family group.  

I will always remember my Uncle Peter fondly.  He was the laid back one in the group. Ready to wrestle me as I was a Tom Boy child. I found Uncle Peter fun and funny.  My last memories of Uncle Peter are at my Grandfather's memorial service. A young adult (early 20s) at the time I read a poem, stating my prophesy that my Poppa Wally was the link that held this family together and that now that he was gone, I feared this chain would fall apart.  I was right. I never saw my Uncles again. (I am now 45).

I remember and loved the tourquoise and silver watch he wore, but also his smile. In the photo above, he looks a lot like his father.

Family Portrait: L-R: David, Eric (on Poppa Wally's lap) Nan Ruth and Peter,
about 1945  Oradell, New Jersey
Nanna Ruth with my Uncle Peter 



Monday, May 11, 2015

In Search of Lyman Wallace and Mary, his wife

I came across Lyman Wallace while looking at a family plot I had recently discovered, and was photographing the stones and taking down names and information.  Lyman and his wife, Mary were off to the very front/ side of the large plot by themselves, Lyman's small military stone practically sliding off the edge of the lawn into the dirt road that curved its way around the peninsula of stones. No birth date nor death date for this poor man who had serviced his country during one of our bloodiest wars in history, and now became a person no one can find in a single family tree research program. 

I would have assumed nothing of him if it weren't for the man's last name.  It was Wallace. I knew that the grand tall stone that stood behind and center on that same piece of land had the name of a Captain, and his wife, Amaril (she was a challenge too!) What the stone does not say is that Amaril's maiden name was Wallace as well. I remember searching census records trying to get her maiden name, and on most censuses, they couldn't even get her first name right!  They had every spelling and variation under the sun for her name, but rarely was it Amaril.  However, since I knew family knew her name and spelling, I trusted them.  Then I found Amaril's name mentioned on one of  her daughter's death certificates.  They also put her maiden name on it!  THERE! I knew it was Wallace, but really needed to prove it.

Capt. (Jere) Jeremiah McIntire & his wife, Amaril Wallace

Doing family History work in Sea View Cemetery, notice Amaril and her husband's large stone  in the front, (Mother and Father stones are the smaller ones in front on the big stone) and the two small stones off to the left are Lyman and his wife Mary. Everything behind the large stone are family as well.
Lyman's wife was Mary.  After a little research, I discovered that Mary's maiden name was likely the same surname as her husband's, which, in this particular Wallace family was not so surprising to me. The question remained whether the name was truly spelled with "ACE" or "IS".

The Wallace and Wallis families populated the Phippsburg area back in the 1700's. William Wallace & Rhoda Blethen had many children, and those children had children, for generations, with names that were passed on from generation to generation.  Mary is not the only Mary Wallace.  Unfortunate for me, Lyman Wallace was a bit more of a rarity. Did he have a first name and Lyman is his first name? The task of hunting down his parents and confirming Mary's parents began.  I thought perhaps Mary was Amaril's sister, and indeed find a Mary as a sibling, but no list from any of the censuses had a mention of Amaril, so again I doubted myself.  For Lyman, all I could find was a Lermand or something. In every cencus under Lyman's alleged parents, it carried on as Lermon or something similar, never turning up as Lyman.  Then comes Mary married to another fellow.  Well, Lyman had his stint in the Civil War, so he did not marry young.  He was at least in his mid thirties when he was discharged on 8 July 1864. Since it states elsewhere that they married in 1865, she was at a similar age.
Lyman's stone with no dates.
Company A
1st Massachusetts- Heavy Artillary

Mary A. wife of Lyman Wallace.

Could have Mary A. Wallace been married before Lyman. and are her parents indeed Josiah and Charlotte Wallace? Are Amaril's parents the same?  I may never really know, so the mystery continues.