Every family has its stories. We tell the stories and we hear the stories and they get passed down as we remember them, for generations. One of my families stories involves the ancestry of my Great- grandmother, Jennie Stanley Wintle. For years, my sister and I were told that she was an American Indian. There are only a few people remaining that knew Jennie, and they also believe that she was a least part Native American. We cherished the notion that we were somehow long lost Indian Princesses.....along the line, perhaps of Sacagawea or Pocahontas.
Well, I've been doing quite a bit of genealogy research on the Wintle-Stanley Family. My discoveries tell me that Jennie, may actually have been named Jane. She was born in Illinois, and lived in several places in Kansas, during her lifetime. Her mother's name was Emily and her father was Charles B. One of her brothers was named Sherman, which is also my grandfather's (Jennie's son) middle name. Jennie's father was a miner, as was at least one of her brothers. I discovered that this brother, also name Charles, was "blown to shreds" in a mining accident in the early 1930's.
Jennie and Walter Wintle had eight children, that reached adulthood. They all lived in and around the same small town in Kansas, along with several generations of their offspring. I have photos of all of these people, and many pages of newspaper articles and notices, documenting their lives. But, nowhere can I find any tribal connection for Jennie Stanley Wintle.
I am not an Indian Princess. I am just an average old American woman, with ancestors coming from many different places to America, years and years ago. I can live with that.
Dear Lord. We are, very simply, your children. We belong to Your Family. Show us how to live together in peace and harmony.
1 comment:
Thanks for the latest geneological info.
I still want to believe the old stories.
You're the BEST!
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