Category: Michelle Williams Ancestry
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Johnny Lee Williams: From Omaha Beach to the Bakersfield Sound to France’s Legion of Honor
Photo: Johnny Lee Williams, right / My wife, Michelle, with her grandfather, Johnny Lee Williams Michelle’s paternal grandfather, Johnny Lee Williams (1925-2006), was only 15 when he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1940. By the time he left the Army five years later, he had crossed much of Europe with the 83rd Infantry Division,…
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Johnny Lee Williams: French honor service of local WWII veteran
Photo: Michelle’s paternal grandparents, Rose Hash (1923-1989) and Johnny Lee Williams (1925-2006) / This article about the paternal grandfather of my wife, Michelle, was in the Corpus Christi Caller-Times on Feb. 19, 2005. Dignitaries, friends, family salute Williams BY SARA LEE FERNANDEZCaller-Times Friday was the biggest birthday celebration Johnny Lee Williams has had in 80…
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Sharing Old Family Photos Found in an Envelope
Photo: Bertha and Charles Miller, Contra Costa County, California / Michelle’s sister recently shared an envelope of photos she found among the belongings of their late mother, Barbara Trefren Mayer (1948-2018). Barbara probably received the photos from her own mother, Gladys Serilda Williams Trefren (1917-2002), a passionate family researcher and amateur genealogist. In case you…
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Barbara Trefren Mayer (1948-2018)
Barbara Trefren Mayer (1948-2018) was born Sept. 3, 1948 in Boise, Idaho, and died of pancreatic cancer July 8, 2018 at her home in Memphis. She was 69. It has been about a year since my mother-in-law died. One day, she was golfing despite a little pain in her side. The next day, her doctor…
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John A. Hash and Bible Pathway Ministries
Photo: Far right, Iva Griffith McElroy (1900-1973) and son Dr. John A. Hash (1921-2012) / A few days ago, I wrote about the paternal family of my wife, Michelle. The brother of her paternal grandmother, Rose Lethie Hash Williams (1923-1989), was John A. Hash. Hash was a minister who established a Bible-study ministry, Bible Pathway…
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The Life of Iva Griffith McElroy
I usually blog about the adventures I encounter while researching my own genealogy, but for a long time, I have wanted to explore the ancestry of my wife. My entire family migrated west and stopped in Tennesee. Hers kept going. A few years ago, Michelle’s father, Dave, gave her a box that included items that…