Benson Family – It's All About Family

Ronald Dean Benson

The Early Years – Oklahoma

Ronald was born on February 17, 1932 in Muskogee, Oklahoma to Opal Deane Menser Benson and Cletus Benson. He was two years and a few months younger than Harold Benson, my husband Mark’s father. He had a significant influence on Mark so I thought he deserved his own story.

Ronald was born in the waning period of Opal and Cletus’s marriage. Prior to his birth, in 1930 Opal and Harold were living with her sister and family, and Cletus was living with his sister and family. At the time that Ronald was born, Cletus was 25 years old and an automobile mechanic and Opal was 24 years old and a housewife. It’s unknown how long the marriage lasted after that but in July of 1938, Opal married George Ray Shelton.

Ronald entered 1st grade as a Benson in 1938, and 2nd grade at a different school as a Shelton. His brother, Harold, was listed as a Shelton in one school article, but then went back to Benson.

Based on an Affidavit of Birth signed by Opal dated November 18, 1953, Ronald began using his step-father’s name in 1938. The affidavit was used as one of the documents for a Delayed Certificate of Birth with the state of Oklahoma in October of 1965.

The 1940 census shows George, Opal, and Harold living at 403 South Pennsylvania Street in Shawnee, but Ronald isn’t listed, but I’m sure he was living with them.

California

Two years later, Ronald was in 4th grade and the family was living in Vallejo California while George was working as a machinist for the Navy at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard according to the 1942 Vallejo directory.

*Harold and Ronald – ages unknown – 2 years apart*

Ronald attended sixth through tenth grade and graduated from Benjamin Franklin Junior High in Vallejo, California in 1948. His last two years of schooling, eleventh and twelfth were at Technical High school in Oakland, California.

During high school, Ronald was working 18 hours a week at a drive in restaurant at the soda fountain “making orders”. Opal managed the restaurant, and his sister-in-law, Wanda worked as a car-hop at the restaurant.

Military Life – Korean War

The Fold3 website had approximately 15 records that gave me snapshots of his service in the Korean War.

On November 30, 1950 a few months shy of his 19th birthday, Ronald enlisted in the Marine Corps and in January of 1951, was sent to San Diego as a trainee in the 1st Recruit Training Battalion for Boot Camp. At the time, the family was living at 1758 62nd Street in Berkeley California.

In April of 1951, he was with A Company, 4th Infantry Training Battalion, Training & Replacement Command at Camp Pendleton in Oceanside California. He was a Private First Class and was learning things like rifle and machine gun tactics, patrolling, land navigation, field special, entrenching and defensive positions, grenades and demolitions, and working as part of an infantry squad. the Marines were doing everything the could to prepare the soldiers for combat overseas as quickly as possible.

*US Marine Corps 3rd Marine Division* *– 1951*

In July of 1951, six month after his enlistment, he was on his way to Korea. He headed overseas as a Private First Class with Headquarters Company, 1st Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, FMF (Fleet Marine Force). What’s that all mean? It means he was part of one the major combat divisions in Korea. The division had infantry regiments, artillery, tanks, engineers, and support units.

At the end of October 1951, he was assigned to Company D, 1st tank battalion, 1st Marine Division as a Private First Class. We know from family history already that he is was part of a tank crew and his MOS ID of 1811 confirms that. Records from January 1952 and April 1952 share the same information but in April his rank was E-3, or Lance Corporal.

In June of 1952 after one year overseas, he and 1919 other marines arrived at Fort Mason in San Francisco on June 18, 1953 aboard the USNS General William Weigel.

Following his return, special orders issued in late June and July, transferred him back to Camp Pendleton. He became part of C Company and the 3rd tank battalion of the 3rd Marine division. The 3rd marine division never fought in the Korean War but it was reactivated in January of 1952 to build combat readiness and training in new military tactics. The Marine Corps recognized him as a leader and teacher which is certainly the man we all knew!

He remained at Camp Pendleton as part of the 3rd Marine division until he was honorably discharged on November 11, 1953. His place of separation was the Marine Corps air station El Toro in Santa Ana, California. From there, he headed to a family home at 5616 Telegraph Avenue in Oakland, California.

While in service, he was awarded three medals. A National Defense Service Medal which was awarded for honorable active service during the Korean War era. A Korean Service Medal with one bronze service star which means he served in the Korean theater and indicates participation in one designated campaign during the war. Since I don’t have an exact date of his arrival in Korea, that campaign might have been the UN Summer-Fall Offensive which ran from July 9 to November 27, 1951 or the Second Korean Winter which ran from November 28 to April 30, 1952. If any family history buffs know, or are interested in these campaigns or the Korean War, let me know! The third medal was A United Nations Service Medal which was awarded to person-involved who served under the United Nations Command in Korea.

After the War

Ronald was home for less than a year when he met and married Barbara Grove on July 21, 1954. She was an 18 year old divorced young woman with a one year old son. They would be married for sixty five years.

Ronald and Barbara settled first in Vallejo, California in the late 50s, before moving to Napa, California. Ronald was working for Western Electric Company, as an installer. They had their first daughter, Shawnee Dean in 1955 and their second daughter, Mahona Jo in 1962.

*Ronald, Harold, and Mark (Harold’s son) Apr. 1967*

Ron’s daughter Shawn remembered this motorcycle and said:
“He had that bike when I was about 5. He used to take me for a ride to get hot cocoa at a diner but made me ride in front of him. We got pulled over one time and the officer said I needed to ride on the back. Dad told the officer that he was concerned if I fell off, he wouldn’t know! That ended our dates. No helmets either.”

Ron was transferred to Vancouver, Washington in 1968 where the family was very happy. In 1974, he was transferred to Bossier City, just over the Red River from Shreveport in Louisiana. Shawn, already out of high school remained behind in Washington. After six months they realized this was not where they wanted to be and Ron was able to get a transferred back to Washington State. In our conversations, Mahona realized she spent 5th grade in three different elementary schools!

When they arrived back in Washington State, Ronald invested in a campground with Jerry Capps who also worked for Western Electric. Jerry bought the property and Ron helped finish building it. It was called Jerry’s American Heritage Campground located in Tumwater, Washington.

Ron continued worked for AT&T and helped run the campground before and after work and on the weekends. Barbara also helped there and started working at a doctor’s office nearby. The Capps family included Jerry, his wife Darlene, and children Mark, Linda, and Kevin. They had mobile homes brought on the campgrounds and the two families lived side by side.

Shawn was already on her own, but Mahona, who was 12 or 13 at the time had some great memories that she shared with me:
”When we moved to the campground I had a blast. It was like a camping vacation 24/7. All of us kids worked around the campground. We had a store and a pool. They even ordered some kind of soldier uniform for us to wear and paid me and Kevin to stand out on the main road and convince campers to come to our campground and stay (there was a KoA just down the road). We waved signs 😂. I’m pretty sure we were the first ones to ever wave signs on a road for advertisement.

That text conversation brought up some more memories:
One of my favorite jobs was driving or riding in an old truck and picking up the garbage bags that the campers would set out at the end of their campsite. I was 12/13 driving. I bet it was dad’s old truck. I also loved working in the store. On the weekends we did a hay ride for campers on a flat bed. Sounds pretty dumb now. We just drove people on the back.

We had a good laugh at the picture she sent of the similar uniform and I could picture a younger Mahona wearing it.

*Outfit similar to what Mahona wore trying to bring in customers to the campgrounds!*

Unfortunately, that only lasted two or so years. I don’t know whether only Ron and Barbara got out or if it closed down altogether. The property is still a campground and is known as American Heritage Campground.

Ronald continued with his job at AT&T and the family moved to property at 940 88th Avenue SW in Tumwater, Washington. They put their trailer on the property and lived there until a duplex was built in 1981. This was the home I remember from our visits to Washington through the years.

The Later Years

Ronald continued to work for AT&T and Barbara worked for a medical practice as a receptionist before heading to work at Providence St Peter’s Hospital in the Diagnostic Imaging Department.

In 1987 at the age of 55, Ron was offered a Cash Out for early retirement from AT&T. It provided a lump sum of money, a pension, health insurance for him and Barbara for the rest of their lives and free long distance phone calls. He gladly took it!

A few years after that, he became a fishing guide in Alaska. He would spend a few months a year there. He also had a fishing boat that he would take people out in Neah Bay and Westport in Washington. Just like his brother Harold, he loved to fish.

His daughters were in the Olympia area, both married, with children and lived in the town of Tumwater, a short drive from the Olympia home.

We traveled from California to visit for Thanksgiving in 1991. Our son, Cody, was about 18 months old and I think it was the first time both of us met Ronald and Barbara and the family. Cody had three new cousins! Opal lived next door in the other home of the duplex.

*Who did doesn’t love a wheelbarrow ride?*

For Thanksgiving of 1994, Ronald and Barbara, Shawn and her family, and Mahona and her family (one a newborn!), along with Harold and his wife Danielle, all piled into our small home in California for the holiday weekend. There were two campers in the driveway and every bedroom space was filled! Aunt Barbara took over the cooking and you can be sure I let her.

After we moved to Connecticut we traded visits with Uncle Ronald and Aunt Barbara visiting us and the three of us, visiting them and their family in Olympia, Washington.

A favorite visit was when we surprised him for his 80th birthday in February of 2012. Shawn and her family were visiting us in January and casually mentioned they were having a birthday party for him and we said, “we want to come!” We booked our flight and were there to surprise and celebrate 80 years of Ronald.

The years went by and time took its toll. Aunt Barbara began to suffer from dementia and Ronald tried to care for her himself, but he couldn’t do it, and she needed to be placed in a memory care facility. Unfortunately, Ronald had suffered from PTSD after the Korean War and his worry over his wife, brought on anxiety. After some time, trial and error, he sold his home and moved in with his daughter Shawn. His younger daughter Mahona and her family were right around the corner.

The last time we saw him was in February of 2019. Mark and I flew out for a visit and we had a wonderful time. Aunt Barbara joined us for dinner but she wasn’t sure of who we were. We met new family members of all ages.

*Nancy, Mark, Ronald on visit to State Capital*

On December 9th of 2019, we received the phone call we never wanted to hear. Uncle Ronald had passed away.

Aunt Barbara would continue to live for another six and a half years at a memory care facility before joining Uncle Ronald on June 9, 2025.

Uncle Ronald never lost that Okie from Muskogee persona. He was down to earth and quick witted. He took care of his mother living next door, his wife, his children, and his grandchildren and he still had time for his nephew and his family.

Cletus Harold Benson, Jr.

My father in law, known by all as Harold, was born on November 4, 1929 in Muskogee, Oklahoma, the first born son, to Opal Deane Menser and Cletus Harold Benson.

The earliest record I find for Harold is the 1930 Federal Census. He and his mother Opal were living in Shawnee, Oklahoma with her sister, Zera and husband John Jeffreys, and their five children ages 12 to 3. In the same census, his father, Cletus, while working as a mechanic, was living in Shawnee with his sister, Sylvia Reville, her husband Jack, and their son Bedford, as well as a lodger. I would not be surprised if his parents were separated at this time.

Cletus and Opal got back together at some time after this census because their son Ronald Deane was born on February 17, 1932 in Muskogee when Harold was 2 years and a few months old.

That reunion didn’t last very long because on July 16, 1938, Opal married George Ray Shelton. George was previously married in December of 1931 and divorced in November of 1934.

After they were married, George’s employment with the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railroad took him from away from home. He was also employed by Phillips Petroleum in 1940 and was living in Phillips, Texas. This employment information is on his World War II draft card and on the 1940 census.

In the 1940 Federal Census, Opal, George, and Harold, who is 10 years old, were living in Shawnee at 403 South Pennsylvania Street. But as mentioned above, George is living in Texas and working for Phillips Petroleum. Younger brother Ronald, who would be 8 years old is not listed.

If you read my story about Harold’s wife, Wanda Armstrong, you might remember they were married in February of 1949 when Wanda was a senior in high school and Harold was in the Army Air Force and stationed at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. It looks like Harold and Wanda met at Meeker high school when Harold enrolled as a junior in March of 1947. According to the 1950 census, however, his schooling ended here.

Harold and Wanda were living in Berkeley, California with Opal, George, and Ronald during the 1950 Federal Census when the information was collected in April of that year. Harold worked with George as an apprentice pipe fitter for the Steam Railway Company, where George was a Machinist Inspector.

But, by September of that year, Harold and Wanda were once again in Meeker and Wanda gave birth to their daughter Linda in December of 1950.

There is no census, or any town directories to tell me what Harold did for a living after moving back to Oklahoma. But I found a newspaper article for May 1953 in the Shawnee News-Star. An Assembly of God group attended a young people’s rally at the Sparks Assembly of God church. Sparks is about 24 miles north of Shawnee. A quartet comprised of 4 people, including Harold Benson sang “Come Unto Me”. I recall hearing him sing and he had a nice voice.

In October of 1953, a group of Assembly of God members traveled again to Sparks when one of their members, Harold Benson, preached and the quartet sang a song. One of the members of the quartet, and also a preacher, was James Odell, his cousin Venita’s husband. Venita’s mother, Zenas, aka Mrs. Lester Curtis, and his mother, Opal were sister and whenever Opal traveled back to Oklahoma, their names were included in the newspaper articles announcing their visits.

With this knowledge of Harold’s occupation, this photo takes on new significance. Wanda is being baptized and that is Harold standing off to the right. The man baptizing her is likely the Reverend C.W. (Charley Washington) Decker of the Assembly of God Church. I wish besides the name on the back of the photo, someone wrote the year it was taken, but if it was 1953 or 1954, Wanda was 23 and Harold, 25.

*Back of photo: Harold and Wanda date unknown*

In 1954, there were a few more articles mentioning Assembly of God services with Harold giving a sermon but after December of 1954, although C.W. Decker is still the Reverend, there was no mention of Harold or James Odell.

I know that by March of 1958, Harold, Wanda, and Linda were back in California and living at 5764 Vicente Street in Oakland when Mark (my husband) was born. Through some outside the box research, I discovered Opal and George were living in the other side of the duplex at 5766.

*Directory listing for George and Opal in 1957*

*5764 and 5766 St. Vicente Street Oakland*

In the last two years of the 1950s, the family would be at two different addresses. The first, at 1700 41st Avenue in Oakland was the address put on Mark’s immunization record book. The second, at 1417 46th Avenue, is the updated address on the book.

Mark’s birth certificate listed Harold’s occupation as a bus driver in public transportation which in this case was AC (Alameda County) Transit. This was a good job that could become a lifelong career.

But then, Harold decided to buy a gas station in Calistoga! In January of 1961, he purchased the Shell Station at 1020 Foothill, on the corner of Lincoln and Foothill in Calistoga California from the previous long-time owner, Ray Oxford. Harold had no experience with automobiles or running a business.

I located the family in the Napa directory for 1961 and found them living at 1328 Berry in Calistoga. It was a short distance from the gas station. My husband was 3 years old at this time and so the picture of the house didn’t bring up any memories of that time period.

Things didn’t work out for Harold and the gas station and in November of 1961, he sold the station back to The Shell Corporation. A few weeks later, Shell sold the station back to the previous owner Ray Oxford.

Over the years, the gas station survived floods, fires, and leaking underground storage. In 2014, two men who had a vision, purchased and turned the old gas station into the Tank Garage Winery. Friends of ours, who knew the gas station story, were in Calistoga and went to the winery. They brought Mark a shirt from their visit there.

As I mentioned in Wanda’s story, I believe this was the beginning of the end of their marriage. Wanda filed for divorce in 1962, and was remarried to Paul Reinhart in February of 1963. Given that California required a year between divorce and marriage, the filing definitely happened in January of February.

After the divorce, Harold became a weekend father. Harold taught Mark to fish and they enjoyed spending time through the years fishing together. “A lot of fishing”, Mark said. He also recalls spending a lot of time with him in San Francisco visiting museums or spending time at the wharf.

Harold went back to work as a bus driver for AC Transit and lived in San Leandro area. He worked his way up through the years to instructor and supervisor until his retirement.

He also remarried. Her name was Marilyn but that’s all Mark can remember. I can’t find any marriage or divorce records for Harold and Marilyn. But, in October of 1976, Harold married Margaret McCarthy. They were married for four years, getting divorced in 1980.

He met his fourth wife, Danielle Heath, while they were both working for AC Transit and they were married in June of 1981.

When I first met Harold and Danielle in 1987, they were living in San Leandro and we were in Castro Valley so we got together for dinners and holidays. We moved up north to Healdsburg and we didn’t see them as often but they would drive their motor home up and spend a weekend, especially after Cody was born.

Harold retired from AC Transit and they moved to a houseboat in Brentwood on the Delta. It was small for sure, but they both loved it, and when we visited, we spent time out on the boat on miles of Delta waterway.

A funny story about a stay there – it was Christmas Eve and I was 2 months pregnant with Cody. We drove down from Healdsburg to visit and planned to leave early the next day to continue on to Twain Harte to spend time with Wanda and Paul. After dinner on the houseboat, Mark and I stayed in their motor home parked on top of a levee, and it is always windy out there in the Delta. That motorhome moved so much we were afraid we were going to tip over! We got up, packed our stuff, left a note and got out of there around 3am! We literally had tumbleweeds bouncing up and over our SUV as we drove through the country roads. We laughed then and still laugh about it today. We pulled in to Twain Harte around 5 am, with Harold and Danielle not even knowing we were gone.

*Harold doing one of his favorite things*

In the mid-1990s, they moved to Port Orchard, Washington, just one hour north of Opal and George, and Ronald and his family. We were able to visit them one or two times after they moved there.

Harold, had some health complications and Mark made a trip out to visit with him and his Uncle Ronald in November of 2005. Thankfully he made the trip because Harold passed away the following month.

One of my fondest memories of Harold is when I went into labor with Cody, Harold came to the hospital to wait it out with Mark. He sat in the nurses station all night long. He might have come in to check on me, I don’t remember. Likely he waited for Mark or the nurses to come out with news. After I delivered Cody by c-section the next morning, he went home.

He came to visit us after we moved to Connecticut, once on his own and another time with Opal. He and my father would have very competitive games of Cribbage!

We also shared a love of family history. When I saw him for my last time in November of 2001, we talked about his family and he shared a picture of his grandmother and her four sisters and told me stories that had been passed down to him. He also enjoyed talking about history in general, was well-versed on subjects, and that’s probably where his son gets his interest as well.

It is hard to believe he’ll be gone 21 years this Christmas. He was a kind man and he clearly loved his son. He always made an effort to visit us no matter where we lived and I am grateful that I got to know him.

Shaking More Branches

I haven’t fully exhausted researching my side of the family tree, but I think it’s time to explore my husband’s lines. Those limbs take us back from present day Oklahoma, through middle America as land became available in Illinois, skipping back into Newport, and out colonial Virginia and North Carolina back over the ocean to where it all began in Scotland, Wales, and England. Much research has already been done, but it is new to me.

I wrote a little bit about his family here, as part of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks series in 2024. Now, I will be profiling specific ancestors, starting with his parents.

I’m excited to put their stories along with mine!

*Benson Family Crest – if God is for us, who could be against us*

I created a family tree a few years ago for Mark’s birthday and I had to break it up in four sections because of the number of ancestors!

My Veterans

In honor of Veterans Day, I’m sharing the story I wrote in June of 2024 for the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge. It’s called, The Effects of War. There are links within that story that share the details of their time served.

Beginning with World War I, there was my biological maternal grandfather, Jacob Engram and my paternal grandfather, Charles Jakiela.

My Great Uncle Bronislaw Liro went back to Poland before World War I broke out, fought for the Austrian Army, was captured, and escaped from Siberia.

World War II saw my Uncle Connie and my dad enlist in the Army Air Force and my Uncle Walt and Uncle Mal in the Navy. My Uncle Walt lived through the horror of Pearl Harbor 3 weeks fresh out of Navy radio school.

While cleaning out my aunt’s home, I found a letter from my Great Uncle Antoni written in 1947 describing the aftermath of World War II.

My father in law Harold served in the Korean War as a cook, his brother Ronald as an infantry tank driver, and my step father in law Paul was in the motor pool.

It’s an honor to have these brave men in my family.

Symbols and Signs

The topic for week 38 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is Symbols. You can probably figure out that it’s actually Week 52 of 52 Weeks and so I’ll pick and choose the remainder of the topics to fit in with the topics for 2025. Anyway… Symbols!

I’ve written about the signs that my departed loved ones send me. My dad sends dimes and cardinals, and I find those dimes in the craziest places!

Earlier this year, the words in the New York Times Connections puzzle on two significant days told me my mother was wishing us continued happiness.

Last year, my father-in-law checked in, sending me my special number, 717.

Psychic mediums tell us to open our eyes and ears to the messages of love that surround us because the signs are there. Two books I really enjoyed on the subject are “Signs: The Secret Language of the Universe” and “The Light Between Us”, both by Laura Lynne Jackson.

The most recent sign came early Christmas morning, at 2:15 AM to be exact, when a little wind-up musical box began playing its tune, “Deck The Halls”. I found this in my in-laws’ home when we were cleaning out after my father-in-law passed away in 2022 and it has been sitting on a shelf in a bookcase outside our bedroom. It doesn’t play any music unless you wind it up on the back, and once it’s played out, it stops.

We both woke up with a start and I grabbed my phone, thinking it was ringing but I never have my ringer on! I leaped out of bed and only had to go a few feet to the source. How the heck did it start playing? It played so briefly, that I thought I had imagined it. 2:15 in the morning!!

It was another sign.

My husband’s biological father passed away on Christmas morning in 2005. We don’t know the exact time because it happened in Washington State and we live in Connecticut. We received a phone call that Christmas morning around 7am after we had finished opening presents.

Could it have been him? Because it was the anniversary of his death, both our minds went to him. I also remembered that he came through at the end of a recent reading I had with my wonderful psychic medium. He was in the background and we decided to keep him there. Maybe he just wanted to make sure we got the message that he was thinking of us. It would be just like him to use the method he did! So we laughed, went back to bed, and I moved the darn music box down to the first floor!

Signs from our loved ones are all around us. We just have to be willing to recognize them.

Grateful

Happy Thanksgiving from me to you!

Recently, one of my favorite bloggers wrote about what she is thankful for.

I’ve been thinking the same lately as I leave my house in the morning. It helps to ease my everyday anxiety by getting me to think about something other than what happened in high school or where I’m going to be 10 years from 6 months ago!

It might have something to do with the book I’m currently reading, “Solito” by Javier Zamora. It’s a memoir of his travels in 1999 with a group of 8, originally strangers, led by a coyote from La Herradura, El Salvador, to the United States when he was 9. His parents were already in “LA USA”. Everyone thought the trip was two weeks long which, at the point of my spot in the book, is three months.

It also brings to mind the people in North Carolina who suffered through Hurricane Helene. Many are still living in tents and others, in homes, just recently got potable water. It was such an unexpected weather event that hopefully they will never see again in their lifetimes.

We’re heading over to celebrate Thanksgiving with family of family, people whom we’ve been sharing this holiday for over 20 years, and hopefully there will be 20 plus more to come.

I’m grateful for my family, my home, my health, fresh water, inside plumbing, food readily available, a vehicle to get from place to place, and our business.

I hope you are having a happy and healthy day!

The Story Teller

The topic for Week 25 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, is The Story Teller.

I’ll tell you how and why I started researching and writing about my ancestors.

American history was one of my favorite subjects in school. How the United States was created, and the people involved. The first biography I read was on Abigail Adams in elementary school. I loved the Little House on the Prarie books imagining what life was like in those days.

I noticed in my 20s that I asked many questions about people – where they came from, their families, education – and I loved hearing stories about them and their lives.

Everyone on my maternal side of the family lived nearby so I knew their names, I knew the names of my maternal great-grandparents because their pictures were hanging on the wall at my grandmother’s house (just their faces – it was a little strange!). On the left in the background of the picture below are my grandmother Julianna and grandfather Konrad. On the right is my maternal great-grandmother Gertrude and great-grandfather Ludwig.

Uncle Connie, Aunt Tootsie, and Aunt Judy 1960

My paternal side was similar but different. Out of 5 siblings, 3 lived in the Wallingford. One, Uncle Eddie, lived in Meriden with his wife and two sons. I have no memory of meeting Aunt Ann or his sons although we went to a son’s wedding when I was 9 or 10. Uncle Walt was in the Navy and lived primarily in California and Louisianna with his wife and two sons.

So what prompted my Ancestry search and storytelling?

The ancestry part came about on our move from California to Connecticut. We stopped in Meeker Oklahoma to visit with my husband’s family. We met with his sister Linda and Cody and I met his Aunt Katherine and Great-Aunt Mildred. Aunt Mildred was her family researcher. She had family sheets for her and her husband Jesse and all of Jesse’s siblings, at least 10 that lived to adulthood including my husband’s grandmother Virgia Cleo.

While reading through the family sheets and various notes, it was exciting to think about the place in history this family held. It made me curious about mine.

Between 1995 and 2000, I used Family Tree Maker software for my work. In 2000, Ancestry created its website to help people share their family trees and information. I still had to mail requests for documents but this was a good start. Once documents started coming and people added more information, it was easier to piece information together. The stronger Ancestry has become the more family there is and the DNA connections made it even stronger. My Heritage is another site I joined because it is a better tool for Eastern European records.

From there, I started asking questions of my older family members like my dad and his siblings and my mother’s two sisters. They were all full of information and of course, Aunt Tootsie had all the family pictures. The stories they told were usually stand-alone but sometimes a comment would be a clue to help something else suddenly make sense or confirm what someone else had said. I remember how crazy it was to discover my half-aunt Joanne through DNA when we couldn’t figure out how we were related or to hear about my grandmother taking in her cousin’s infant daughter and then seeing the documents where she had to give her up for adoption because of her own growing family.

I’m always excited when I find new ancestors or learn the dates and locations where they lived. It helps to piece together their lives and the stories are created from there. Some people left us far too soon. By telling their stories, someone will realize they got those woodworking skills from their dad, grandfather, AND great-grandfather. Or that fierceness comes from their great-grandmother. Telling their stories keeps the connections to the past alive.

Nicknames

The topic for week 21 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is – Nicknames.

Where do they start? Is it a shortening of someone’s name? Something someone said, something they did? In my family, it’s a little bit of everything!

In my mother’s family, there were some simple nicknames – Elizabeth was known as Betty and Conrad was called Connie. But Antoinette became Tootsie! In my head I can hear her being called T and maybe that turned into Toot and from there – Tootsie. I don’t think we ever heard the story of her nickname.

In my father’s family, their nicknames may have been more the version of their names. Steve was called Stas in a letter from their uncle. Walt was known as Vots, Helen was Helchie, and my dad John was called Yunk and Yunkie all his life.

When I was growing up we were told the names my sisters and I were given, Janice, Gail, and Nancy, were so people couldn’t make nicknames out of them! Of course, we are called Janny, Gaily, Nan or Nanner, so that theory went right out the window! Maybe my mother didn’t enjoy being called Betty instead of Elizabeth so she tried to prevent something like that.

In high school, my twin Gail and I were called JakTwin 1 and JakTwin 2. Eventually for me, it was shortened to Jak and is a name some friends still call me today. A few have said they didn’t know my first name was really Nancy!

My husband Mark, for much of his adult life was called Rocky. You might think it was because he was big and strong like Rocky Balboa. Unfortunately, no. It was for Rocket J. Squirrel, the pal of Bullwinkle because he was “flighty”. Friends said he would say one thing and do another.

Do you have a nickname? How do you feel about it?

The Effects of War

The topic for Week 17 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is WAR.

Over the life of this blog, I’ve talked about family members who have been in World War I like my paternal grandfather Charles Jakiela, and my Uncle Walt in World War II.

*paternal grandfather Charles Jakiela abt. 1923*

My grandmother’s brother Bronislaw Liro went BACK to Poland only a year or two before World War I broke out and managed to escape from Siberia!

My biological maternal grandfather, Jacob Engram, was in World War I as a member of the 49th Infantry out of New York. My lifelong maternal grandfather, Konrad Posluszny, didn’t serve in the war but he had four young children at home when the First World War broke out.

There was the aftermath of World War II as described by my grandfather’s brother Antoni in his letter to my dad and his siblings in the United States. “Even Helenka’s photo on a pony bothered them hanging on a wall.”

My mother’s brother, Connie, and her brother-in-law Mal both served in World War II. Connie was a cook in a San Antonio training camp. I have no records of him anywhere on the Fold3 website but in the videos from conversations with Aunt Judy, she said he was a cook and they had to pack up the kitchen when the fighting got close. The possibility of Connie going overseas was the family’s explanation when his father Konrad committed suicide in late December of 1944.

My husband’s dad Harold, uncle Ronald, and his step-dad Paul were all in the Korean War. Harold was a cook and Paul was in the motor pool in Korea. Ronald was in a tank during his time in Korea and it was a time that had a lifelong effect on him.

My dad, John, enjoyed his time overseas. He enlisted in February of 1943 in the Army/Air Force and headed overseas to Suffolk England. He talked very fondly of his time there at an airfield base and I think it was because he could leave home. He was living with his oldest brother, Steve, Steve’s wife, their two young sons, and John’s sister, Helen. I know he was grateful that he had a home, but I think it was a little crowded! He recalled to my sisters and me that when it was time to board the train to head off, parents and sons were crying. His only thought was, “This is an adventure!”. He volunteered for hatchman duty on the transport ship to England because it gave him privacy. At Great Ashfield Airforce Base near Stowmarket England, the location of the 385th Bombardment Group of the USAAF, he was a Corporal of the MPs on the base. He was back in the United States by September of 1945.

*John Jakiela, Corporal Army Air Force Word War II*

He had a picture of his squadron framed and hanging in his basement work area. We loved to take it from its spot and listen to his stories of the men in the picture.

He kept his address book of local friends and their war addresses along with the addresses of people he met while in the service. I have it now and like to flip through it to look at the various names.

He had a few Suffolk locals listed in there. One is Joyce Filby of Finningham England, who I think was his girlfriend while he was there. Another is the Hammond Family of Wetherden. I have a letter they wrote in November of 1947. Although the war was over for two years, they were still having difficulty getting food and were being strictly rationed for bread and potatoes. “Things are getting worse instead of better.” That sounds similar to Great Uncle Antoni’s letter from Poland in January of 1947!

Although some of the men had difficulties once they came back to the United States and their families, I’m grateful they all came back.

How We Got Here

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

The topic for Week 16 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is – STEPS. This week I’m bringing my husband’s side of the family into the “It’s All About Family” family.

My husband Mark is a Benson with a lineage back to 1495 in Yorkshire England through 12 generations.

His 7th great grandfather, Christopher brought his family, including 6th great grandfather, John Benson to “the New World” in 1693. John married, lived, and died in Newport Rhode Island in 1722.

5th great grandfather John Hendrick was born in Newport RI in 1720. He married in the Second Congregational Church in Newport. He raised a family in North Carolina, and died in 1803 in Washington Georgia.

4th great grandfather, William Carroll Benson was born in 1755 in North Carolina. He married in 1772, moved to Barren Plains Tennessee, and raised 11 children. He died in 1831.

3rd great grandfather William Carroll Benson Jr, was born in 1783 in Barren Plains Tennessee. He made his way to an area of Illinois which is now Williamson County named for his donation of land. He was one of the original settlers of the area and there is a lot of information on him. He died in 1856 in an area of Williamson County Illinois

Joseph William Benson was born in 1825 in Marion Illinois and remained there until his death in 1876. He fought in the Mexican American War of 1846-1848 and was registered to fight in the Civil War but I don’t know if he did. He’s the only Benson that didn’t move away from his birth place!

Mark’s great grandfather, Archibald Lee Benson was born in 1867 in Marion, Williamson County, Illinois. He and his wife and children moved to Shawnee Oklahoma just prior to 1910 and he died there in 1948.

Grandfather Cletus Harold Benson was born in 1907 in Oklahoma. He and Mark’s grandmother divorced and He died in 1963 in Sacramento California.

*Archibald Lee and son Cletus Harold Benson*

Mark’s dad Cletus Harold Jr was born in Oklahoma and he and Mark’s mom made their way to Oakland California after their marriage in the late 1940s.

Mark was born in California and lived there until 1995 when we made our way to Wallingford Connecticut, my hometown, to live and here we are today. Not Leaving!

*The clockwise (sort of) travel route of the Bensons from 1693 to 2024!*

It’s funny to think that all those miles of travel, all those steps around the United States and we find ourselves one state away from where the Bensons began life in America!