Serendipity in Genealogy Research

One of those many "Family Tree" Books that my mother and father
filled out a little bit - this one turned out to have a surprise inside

Even in Genealogical research, serendipity occurs when we least expect it. In my case (Steve Averill), it led me to discover a fairly close relative I'd never even imagined. The discovery did not come after extensive research, but rather it simply fell upon my lap. The research that I did simply verified the relative was real and that her relationship was known and verifiable.

As it Happens

My Grandfather, Arthur Thorne Averill had a sister and a brother. His sister, Ruth, died of cancer while quite young. He also had a younger brother, Frederic Jack (F. Jack), who married Vivian Whetstone and had one child, Jack William, better known as "Jackie." Jackie was my first cousin, once removed.

At least that is what I thought until last night, when I leafed  through the book, shown above, that I got from my mom last winter. One of those items started off a trail that led to the discovery of a relative I'd never heard of. This is coming from someone who's got a family tree with over 4,000 people identified in it. An illustrated story follows...

Blank Dedication Page - Sigh...	Like many of these books, this one was mostly blank. In this case, the blankness started out at the beginning - on the "Dedication" page at the front. Based on the little handwriting I found inside, I think most of the inputs were made by my dad. There's no indication as to when these inputs were made.
The pattern continued inside. This book looked just a tiny bit better than another, similar one (it had a green cover) that hadn't been touched at all. I began to wonder if, perhaps, I might be able to erase all the pencil entries with a good eraser and then donate the "newly blank" book to a good cause.

The Discovery Falls Upon Me

However, then I saw something unexpected. When I got to "Husband's Parents' Family," there was an unexpected name. I'll come back to this after we finish looking through the book 

Jacklyn Edna Averill; 1943 to 1946!??!

As I was soon to discover, the rest of the book was like the page to the right - pages where nothing at all had been filled out. As those who have purchased such books, they've got pages for all sorts of records, though they don't actually provide a means for including or referencing those records. The book just has lots of places to write "stuff." It's a lot like the traditional Family Bible where people wrote that Nana's first husband was killed in WW1, but they forgot to mention the husband's name or where the pair were married.

Lots More Blank Pages - Another Sigh...

Research Verifies Things

Going back to the page with "Jacklyn Edna Averill," I was mystified. It looked like Jacklyn was the child of F. Jack and Vivian, or maybe of Jack William (Jackie) - however that was impossible since Jackie wasn't born until 1949.The notation said that Jacklyn lived from 1943 to 1946. However, F. Jack and his wife, Vivian, didn't marry until 1948. Was everything just the product of my father's fertile imagination? I decided to do a bit of digging. The game was afoot.

I looked in an obvious place - the Cook County Death Index, entering 1943 and 1946 as Jacklyn Averill's birth and death year. What, to my wondering eyes should appear but there WAS a Jacklyn Averill that was born on September 23, 1943 and died on July 18, 1946. What's more, her father was Frederic Averill, as in "F. Jack Averill. However, Vivian wasn't her mom. "Play ominous music here." The family lived at 2135 North Clark Street in Chicago. More on this later.

Jacklyn Really Existed!

F. Jack Really had Another Wife Before Vivian!

Digging a bit further into this "Edna Kearfott" lady, I checked the Cook County Marriages Index and found the record at the right. It appears that F. Jack married Edna about 11 months before little Jacklyn made her appearance. Looking in the 1930 and 1940 Censuses would have had her born about 1920 or 1921.

Dad Passes Away

Conveniently enough, there was a newspaper clipping in the May 21st issue of the Chicago Tribune on Page 14 that mentioned Edna L. Averill and her daughter, Jacklyn. Jacklyn passed away herself her Grandfather and her Grandmother was "Edna C." Kearfott (Edna L.'s mom). At this point, the record was making things fairly clear.

Jacklyn was Mentioned by the Chicago Tribune when her Grandfather Passed Away

Going Cruising When the Ex Remarries

As many know, being one that likes to cover the bases as thoroughly as possible, I discovered that Edna L. Averill resumed her maiden name soon after Jacklyn died, and F. Jack remarried (Vivian) not long after the divorce was finalized. Edna took a trip to England in the summer of 1949 aboard the Queen Elizabeth with her widowed mother, Edna C. Corroborating other documents, their address of 2135 North Clark Street in Chicago popped up as it did when Jacklyn died, and the ages and birthplaces of both passengers matched previous records.

Edna and her Mother lived together after Jacklyn's death

Tying Up Loose Ends

Rounding out the story; Edna L. Kearfott's Social Security Number was 324-12-2239. Social Security Numbers are a public record in the case of persons confirmed to be deceased. The Social Security Administration is finished when the number holder dies. Edna's Social Security Card was issued in Illinois. According to the records, she was born on Tuesday December 7, 1920 and she passed away on Sunday December 23, 2012. That's age 92, so she lived a lot longer than F. Jack, who died in 1967.

To make a long story short, you can discover relatives in the most unexpected places! 

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