Cousins!

My cousins Wayne and Marilyn
I loved them with all of my four-year old heart from the
moment I first met them on the farm in Maine

I remember sitting at the table with my mother in the kitchen of our little San Francisco house (you can see it here, it's the light-colored one in the middle of the picture). I was probably nine or ten--old enough to want to know about my mother's family. She had a paper and pencil and was writing out a list of my sister's and my first cousins. When the list was done I felt that we were really special, because what I remember is that we counted up something like 32 cousins (at that point) on my mother's side of the family.

The list for my father's side was short. In fact, it was non-existent, as he was an only child. There were some second cousins, but no first cousins at all.

Now, almost 60 years later, I need the help of all my records and this computer to recreate the list. Let's see how many we end up with. Sadly, after doing some research, I now know that some of my cousins have died, and I will show their birth and death dates. I will use first names only to protect the privacy of the living, and no dates for them for the same reason.

The names of my mother's siblings are in bold and their spouses and children follow. In some cases, people remarried, but I am just concerned with the parents of the cousins for this list.

Aunt Alma (1900-1984) and Uncle George (1900-1982):

George Russell "Russell" (1921-1997)

John Lewis "Louie" (1922-2003)

David Lawrence "Lawrence" (1924-2010)

Eugene

Arnold (1928-2010)

Robert

Murray

Audrey

Ivan

Darrell

Jane

My cousin Hazel is in the middle
(Photo thanks to Pat Pickard)

Uncle Clifford (1903-1991) and Aunt Helen (1902-1976):

David (1932-2014)

Hazel

Esther (1936--1938)

Charles

Charlotte


Uncle Beecher  (1906-1964) and Aunt Waneta/Juanita (1919-1985)*

Faustina

Bruce

Brian (1959-1998)

Candace


Uncle Jesse (1908-1950)

Never married, no children


Aunt Hope (1910-1933) and Uncle Donald (1913-2000)

Ruth


Aunt Bess (1913-1997) and Uncle Clayton (1915-2013)

Esther

Carroll

Stanley (1937-2002)

Edith


Elva (1914-1998) and Dan (1907-1972) (my mother and father)

Clair

Jean


Aunt Anna (1917-1976) and Uncle Eugene (1917-1982)

Brenda

Sandra

Claudia (1938-2008)

John G.


Aunt Sadie (1920-2009) and Uncle Joe (1912-1987)

Richard "Dickie" (1938-1981)

Jane


Aunt Gladys (1921-2002) and Uncle Murray (1910-1952)

Wayne (1937-1995)

Marilyn (1942-2005)


Aunt Lois (1924-1999) and Uncle Gilbert (1918-2000)

Gary

Gilbert

Virginia

Evangeline


Aunt Faith (1926-2001) and Uncle David (1924-2010)

Barry

Cheryl


Uncle David (1928-1974) and Aunt Muriel

Timothy

Cathleen


I count a total of 43, including my sister and myself. So we have 41 first cousins. We are spread out all over the country and probably wouldn't recognize each other if we passed on the street.

*Thank you to my cousin Gary for information about Beecher's children.

Updated 3 Dec 2018