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Paddle Your Own Canoe
Chapter 28


“Stuard Howell was Virgie's brother.”  Dee's brother (cousin, white way) told her as he looked at the yellowing aged photograph she had put in front of him.”

“I see.”  Dee was enlightened.  “As I understand it, Virgie was Gramma Bell's niece  Virgie was a daughter of Bell's sister Sarah? “There you have it.  There was some scandal involved somewhere. You might want to research that.  I don't know the particulars.”

“Oh well!  There is always  something or other somewhere in the lineage.  I don't bother with that. Probably, it is  public record. Anyone can find it if they wish to do so. Besides, some folks get real bent out of shape if their grandfather is labeled in some way.” “While you are here I want you to see these records of land transactions in the Brewer family. It is America Hunter Brewer signing papers to transfer land to her children.  There were huge amounts of land.  I suppose it was a nickel an acre or something or other. Some in the family said it was a land grant but I haven't seen papers on that either.”

“Don't let Albert see it.  He will probably be going up there to try to get it back.”  In this way the man continued the friendly rivalry they had as brothers.

“Don't show it to Randle.  He wouldn't know what he was looking at, anyway.”  Her other brother defended himself.

“Oh by the way. Nancy Brewer, daughter of America Hunter and John Brewer married a Lightle.  If any of you light hearted and free footed gentleman are in the neihborhood of  Bolivar, Missouri you might try to look up family.”

“I went to school with a Lightle.”  Albert  was reflective.

“Sure enough. We did.  I had forgotten him.”

“Oh no!”  Their mother piped up.  “Don't tell me we were related to them.”

This was an ongoing joke with her Mother as she couldn't understand the desire to “dig” up one's ancestors.

Dee had learned long ago when to make a quick exit and this is what she did now. Stepping a short distance away from one room to the next in order to access the tiny library gave her a acceptable distance from the group. She could hear their fun making as to her obsession with research.  Her being slightly removed from the circle of the group allowed the determined woman to go on with uncovering lost family ties which had rewarded her this day with one more tiny link, “Stuard Howell was Grandmother, Virgie's, brother.”

Her brothers  were business men following the rough and heavy world of the construction crews, jobs, and competition of that lifestyle. Something like intrinsically delicate hidden information secreted in piles of papers  was not to their thinking as  being a challenge. Little did they know.

One of her brothers had been at one time in his life involved with the perfectionist's world of printing.  For a moment his mind would be caught with the wonder of the search.  However, he would not let himself   be trapped into it.  “After all?”  He asked.   “How much money can you make with ancestors who are long gone?”

“Sheesh!”  Dee could be as forthright in the friendly exchange. “It isn't the ancestors for whom you search. It is the decedents who can become beautiful, strong, loving friends.  And, that is worth more than money.”

This reasoning did catch the  brother's attention. He was the one who enjoyed friendships more than the others.

Dee was stating her case lest she be over run as easily as her brother's huge earth moving machine ran through unbroken miles of timber or desert like areas.  “I have hardly been off this acre and I can tell you about geography in Oklahoma just from these studies of genealogy.  For instance, what about the contributions made by Senator Robert Kerr and in what areas?”

That caught her brother's attention and they were off to discussing all the achievements the man had left over the state as to water ways and such.

“Say!  Sis?   Have you ever been to see personally any of the places he established.   No.  You haven't have you?”

Dee knew it was their way of chiding her because she was such a staunch ultra conservative totally in opposition to their life styles.  “I'm sorry.”  She, as the oldest had always had to be quick thinking in order to keep control when they were kids.  “I'm sorry, but I've just been too busy building my own contributions to leave as a gift to go look at his.”

As intended, the statement brought the brothers to a place where they were made to think.

The most receptive of them seemed to snap.  “Say.  You mentioned you found some of our Jones's on the Cherokee Dawes Roll?”

“At last.”  Dee was thinking.  “At last, maybe some help was forth coming.”


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