Aunt Leona and how I became interested in Genealogy.

                                                    My Great-Aunt, Leona (Smith) Judkins

When I was fourteen years old, an uncle of mine had passed away and I went with my parents to attend the funeral. My Dad and I had dropped my mother off at her sister's house in Pittsfield.  My Dad wanted to take a drive out to Corinna where had lived until 1972 to go to his parent's graves.  Although I had been there before as my Dad always made the trip to the cemeteries for Memorial Day and put flowers of his parent's graves.  Until this trip, I had never really had much interest in my family history outside knowing my parents, aunts and uncles and cousins.  I had been close to my grandmother Smith as a child as she often took care of me for periods of time when brothers were born or sick, etc loved her and spending time at her house.  

One of the big excitements for me when at I was at my grandmother's house was calling my Aunt Leona.  Now my Aunt Leona was late grandfather's Smith sister.  I was not aware of exactly how she related to me as child, I just called her aunt Leona and I was able to talk on my grandmother's phone a real person! I was never allowed to talk on the phone at home, unless it was to say I love you or goodbye to a family member.  It was one old big black phones with a rotary dial.

I felt so grown up to talk on the phone.  I know look back at those days and realize my grandmother was trying to keep occupied while she trying to prepare meals for wither lunch or dinner or some choir without me under foot. Aunt Leona told me years later, she remembered my phone calls very well and although she didn't always understand what I as saying or talking, I sounded so excited, she would just listen to me talk. Of course, I was probably only about 5 or 6 years old when I began talking to her and she was in her 70s, a widow with a grown grandchild, so she found a nice distraction. In 1972, my family left Corinna and my grandmother died that same year and contact with Aunt Leona ended.

My Dad and I made the trip the Corinna Village cemetery and we got out and of course, I recognized the graves with my grandparent's names.But =

There other stones in the same lot and I asked who are these other people?

My Dad explained that there were my great-grandparents Smith, parents of grandfather and behind us were the graves of Joseph and Arminda Smith, my grandfather's grandparents.  I was amazed that I was looking at three generations of my family, going back in time to a man born in 1835.My Dad only remembered his grandfather, J. Clifford Smith as a child, but didn't know anything about him. So My Dad says, I know someone who can tell you all about them, your aunt Leona.  So we were off! Aunt Leona only lived a mile away.

In 1978, Leona was 82 and walked very slow and had to use a walker to get around.  When Leona answered the door and asked her if she knew who he was?  She immediately answered "Malcolm?"

who was my uncle and my Dad said No it's me Glenn.  Leona gave him a hug and then I was introduced, and we were invited into her home.  Dad explained to her we had been in the cemetery and I had questions about the Smith in the cemetery and could not answer them.

It was over the next few hours we sat in her livingroom that Leona told me the story of her grandfather, Joseph Smith sailing to California during the Gold Rush, striking gold and making a small fortune.  She only knew he had sailed from Belfast, Maine around the Horn of South America and up the west coast of the Americas to San Francisco.  She said he remained there for several years and returned home to Corinna because while he was gone, all of his siblings died and his parents needed his help with the family farm.  She had known her great-grandfather, Daniel Jones Smith, who was my 3rd great-grandfather as he lived with her grandfather.  I remember being amazed that this woman I am related to and is telling me about an ancestor who was born in 1810.  Daniel had married for his 2nd wife, Fannie Ireland who was the first white baby girl born in Corinna.  Leona then told me to a table and there were photos of my ancestors, Joseph and his wife and his parents.  It was amazing that I could see what these people looked like.  I had never thought about who my ancestors were and what they had done that actually was apart of history I was learning about in school.

                                        Joseph Smith                                                            Daniel Jones Smith

As much as I would luke to rely on my aunt's stories being 100% accurate, one part of the family story didn't hold up as well when it came to factual research.  Joseph's wife, Arminda Devereaux.

According to Leona, Joseph had met his wife in California where she was working as a barmaid.  She claimed that Arminda's father was one of four brothers who were sea captains and had sailed from France to Maine.  Leona remembered her grandmother as being kind and raising her siblings and herself after their mother had died.  She was religious and strict, but loved her dearly.

This part of the ancestral story did not match the facts that the Devereaux family could be traced back to the early 1600s arriving in Massachusetts from England.  There was no evidence that Arminda ever lived in California, however 3 of her sisters did live there later in their lives.  None of them as far as I can find were ever barmaids.  

My talk to with my aunt did yield some controversy.   When I asked Leona on more details on her grandfather's time in California, she knew very little and she said he rarely spoke about it.  She would hear bits and pieces about, but didn't remember what was said.  She said that a cousin would visit her family periodically and she remembered would tell them stories about those "crazy Devereauxs" but again didn't remember any of them.   However, Leona mentioned that her grandfather had a gold watch and chain made from the gold he mined and it been left to her father who left it to her brother, my own grandfather.  She said my aunt had it, but it was supposed to be passed to a male in the family.  She was going to ask my aunt what had happened to it.

So we left my aunt's house with my mind filled with stories she had shared and couldn't wait to share.  We stopped at my aunt's house on our way to get my mother and I said to my aunt "did you know we were French?" to which my aunt responded "That blood has all petered out by now."  I knew that being of  French ancestry was not a fact that my aunt wanted to be known for.  My Dad brought up that watch &  chain and asked if she knew what happened to it.  My aunt said she had it and it was part of the estate from their father, but all she had was a watch chain and no watch came with it.  She brought it out from a safe she kept stuff in and I got to hold and feel how heavy it was.  It was amazing I was holding something made in 1862 and had been in the family for 4 generations.  My aunt put it away and we left to get my mother.

                                                    Aunt Leona and her husband Wilbur Judkins

After my visit I began to write down what my aunt had told me and names and dates of the ancestors  found that day.  My aunt also wrote to her first cousin, Margaret Hurd and told her of my interest in family history which Margaret mailed my a large envelop of family history on my great-grandmother's family.  She had traced her family back to the kings and queens of England.  It was amazing that I could see my ancestors going back hundreds of years.

It would only be in high school I learned that family history was a hobby called genealogy.  It would be in college I would really start to trace all my ancestors with real excitement. 

I saw my aunt Leona one last time before her death in 1986 when she was in a nursing home in Pittsfield.  She asked me to sit down in front of her, but couldn't see me with her vision.  She held my hand while she talked about me as a child calling her on the phone. I am thankful for my time with her and the knowledge she shared with me.  I know the history would have been forgotten like photos of people we have with no names and have no idea who they are today.  She was the reason I love genealogy and it lead me to discover so much about my myself, my family, meet cousins I never knew and even become President of the Maine Genealogical Society.  

Who knew a trip to a cemetery would start me on a lifelong journey to discover and preserve family history.