Hello Family and Friends!

This is a long overdue update of family events, but I have been busy being retired!!

The McCollum Family Branch has been busy with children being born to LeeAnn and Kevin McCollum, and more recently, the marriage of Brooke McCollum to Timothy Simpson. Two updates are in the Genealogy – Family Branches menu, and another in the Memories drop down menu, respectively.

In addition, I am building a special Military Service remembrance section under the History dropdown menu, too. The Eugene E. Clemons remembrance has been updated to reflect his WW2 experiences including his “witness to history” moment.

Till I get some more time that’s all for now!!

See if you can find the updates. You may be surprised with what you find along the way. Enjoy the search!!

If you have trouble and/or questions, let me know and I will help!!

David (dclemonsaz@yahoo.com)

Hello Everyone!!

I have just completed a research project on the Grant-Wilson-Burger branch of the family and I found some very interesting facts. Ella Grant Wilson was a cousin of Ulysses S. Grant and a very prominent florist in the city of Cleveland, Ohio in the late 19th, early 20th centuries. Her story is one of determination and grit as she struggled to make a living in a world that did not appreciate, or wish to recognize, a female entrepreneur.

In pursuing her life story, I discovered that she had self-published two books about her experiences as a florist to the rich and famous millionaires that lived all along Old Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio. Later in life, she was a syndicated gardening columnist for a number of newspapers across the mid-west.

Her story can be found under the Memories drop down menu item on the Home page.

I hope you enjoy reading about her as much as I did learning about her.

Enjoy!! And, Merry Christmas!!

           David Clemons – Great Grandson of Ella Grant Wilson

Hello Everybody!!

I have added some new items to the website!! Life truly has limited my time to update the Clemons/Family Branches website.  To make it more current and  to keep you apprised of the changes, I will periodically list the changes made…starting now!!

The following changes have been completed:

1. Under the Genealogy heading, a number of family branches have been updated such as for the Lapp, the Jesson, and the Melching families.
2. Under the History heading, military service recognition including  pictures, documents, and articles has been added for Claude Clemons, and Eugene Clemons.
3. Under the Woodland Cemetery heading, the military service plaques have been added for Richard Lapp and Eugene Clemons.

There is a wealth of information contained on the website so do not limit yourself to just the changes listed. Explore!! You might learn some interesting things about your family…like who have the same birthdays, etc.

Going forward, my intent is to add military service recognition for other family members. To this end,  I need your help in sending me military information for all family members (including branches) that have served. I will format the data, pictures, and documents sent as I have done for Claude and Eugene.

In addition, I intent to continue adding to the History heading. I have many documents that relate to the Clemons family migration and think you might find it interesting as I have.

Well…time to go!!! Getting hungry…talk sooner than later….

With love,    david clemons

 

Hi Everyone,

Happy 4th of July!!! Great to be an American!

I have recently been taking a course on Non-fiction Creative Writing in the hopes of applying what I learn to the writing of our family history. Names and dates are so very boring (only good to know when you are checking on someone’s birthday, or death).

If we could communicate with an ancestor and ask questions, it would give us an insight to why they did what they did when. The events of our time drive us today, just as events drove our ancestors in their time.

To start the dialog, I have composed a letter from Augustine Clement (an original ancestor in England) who is responding to the fictitious letter I sent to him asking him why the family moved from England to the New World in 1635. While this is true speculation as to the why, by studying the historical events at the time, a very good guess can be made. I have placed the letter under the History tab in the menu line on the front page.

No ID, or password is necessary to access any of this information, just click and read. You will also find new items stored there for your inquisitive mind.

Hope you enjoy the journey. I plan to write to other ancestors soon! Why did the family move to up-state New York from Massachusetts? Why the return from Downer Groves, IL to Michigan? Let me know if you have questions to be asked!!

Have a great day!!!!

david

Hi Everyone!!!!

You probably thought I finished and/or lost interest in the family genealogy project, right? Wrong!! I just had to take a break and got busy on other things. Now…… the beat continues!!!

I have recently traced the Clemons lineage back to Augustine Clement (1604-74 AD), who originated in the County of Berkshire, England in the vicinity of Reading. He and his family came to New England (The Massachusetts Bay Colony) during the Great Puritan Migration of 1620-40’s AD. He was a painter of renown (portraits, church windows, etc). While he is thought to be the first painter to emigrate to the colonies, controversy swirls as to whether he should be designated as The Father of American Painters. Interesting, huh?

Note that a new menu item, HISTORY, has been added. I have started to track the movements of family members (beginning with Augustine) and have begun to define what was happening in history at that time that may have influenced their lives…..and ultimately our lives in the present. Why did Augustine Clement move his family from Reading, Berkshire, England to Boston (Dorchester), New England? How did the family get to New York from Massachusetts? And, how in the heck did the family get to Michigan, where after a time, family members exploded to all parts of the United States?

Instead of closing the door on the family’s genealogy, I have opened a new door seeking to go beyond the relationship of dates and places to ask the question, “Why did they do what they did when?” I am not sure definitive answers will be forthcoming, but speculation and supposition will be a fun trip.

Thanks again for all the continuing help!!! Many family members have provided either new documentation, or have updated/corrected existing information. The website is current with all received changes having been applied……I think?

Wishing you all the very best!!!!! God bless you.

david

PS. If you need any help, want to make suggestions, etc., post to this website, or send me a note at  dclemonsaz@yahoo.com . I look forward to hearing from you…..

PSS. And yes……..for those who might be wondering……I have too much time on my hands to be able to do this……ha, ha!!

 

Hello All!!!!

It has been a long time since I updated the website, but I have been collecting more information on many of the branches of our family tree. I found that once you start out  onto a limb, it is hard to stop!!

So……new information has now been downloaded!!

You will find that the Clemons name was not always spelled the same as you travel back to 1604. Starting from England, to Massachusetts, to New York, to Michigan, and thereafter, all over.  I must note for you that there are entirely too many John /Jonathan Clemonses (with or without middle names) in our family!! Plus, the family exploded in numbers when they got to Michigan…something in the water I’ll bet?

I did find that my great grandmother’s home in Cleveland, Ohio during the late 1800’s, was on the site of the headquarters building for the company I would eventually work for, The Ohio Bell Telephone. Strange, Huh?

And, as you might expect, I found stories of family members that were both joyous and tragic., many of which I am awaiting family members to document.

I find all this very interesting and enjoy hearing stories that define who we are. Take the time and jot down what you know and send it along to me. I will publish asap…or when I get the time…amazing how busy you get in retirement!!!

Thanks to all for your contributions. I look forward to adding more in the near future.

Till then……god bless!!

David Clemons

Hello Family!!!!

Well, the pieces are coming together!! The website has just had a major update with new family pictures contributed by Betty Clemons Lapp and Dibet Lapp Hotchkin!!! The photographs and descriptions are from the late 1800’s – 2010’s revealing the family history through the faces and happenings of our ancestors. As with….the pet bull that almost gored Claude Clemons……the WWI and WWII pictures and momentos….the 1920 pictures of the young Clemons children and cousins….. and more!!!!

Don’t miss the piano musical tribute to Emma Clemons by her grandson Kevin (Kip) Larson. It reminds me of when she would play the piano…..glancing at us grandchildren as she played. She was fun!!! 

Videos too have been added as provided by Claudette Clemons Larson!!! See Claude, Nels, and Claudette riding Claude’s new lawnmower while Emma looks on with caution. Observe the antics of Carl and Nels riding a “surf” door at the lake!

And, did you know that Vera Terry was an original auto industry investor? Well, it is all on the site along with other tidbits of interest stored in The Attic!!

Thanks to all for their contributions!!! There is so much to learn and share as a family!!! Keep sending “stuff” for the family site!!! If you need help to get onto the site, let me know. I’ll send or call what you need!!

God bless to all!!!

Have fun and let me know what you think!!

                             david clemons

PS. I am always looking to improve the site and always on the lookout for errors I have made. Thanks to Claudette and Dibet, the site continues to look better and be more accurate….thanks so much!!! I can use all the help I can get as you all know!! The nut doesn’t fall very far from the tree!!!

Hello Family Members!!!

We all know how difficult it is to stay in touch. Life keeps getting in the way of finding out what is going on with that cousin, second cousin, aunt, or uncle that we’ve lost contact with for whatever reason, right? Facebook has come along to close the gap to some degree. However, not all things are as interesting to friends as they might be to relatives.

For some time, I have been collecting information about our extended Clemons family. It is an amazing journey to learn more about our family members!!!  Some information is the simple day-to-day happenings of life, while other bits of data define who our ancestors/relatives were and what they did.

For example….did you know that a member of the extended Clemons family was the florist for President James Garfield’s funeral in Cleveland? That a family member was a published author? That President Ulysses S. Grant is a distant relative? Do you know who stood 5 ft. 4 ½ in. tall at the time he served in WWI? Do you know who was a locomotive engineer before becoming a Michigan dairy farmer? Have you heard the story of the tragic fire and wondered how it all happened? Do you know a family member who witnessed the preparations for the use of the atomic bombs at the close of WWII? These are but a few of the facts and stories captured to date…so many more need to be documented before they are forgotten…and lost.

While doing this detective work, I ventured a guess that other family members might be as interested in this “stuff” as I had become. Galen Terry could tell I had been bitten by the bug just as he had been. Great genealogy job, Galen!! Thanks!!!

So….with the help of our son Chad (IT guru), we launched into building a website/blog to store and share what had been found. The objective of the website is really very simple: to capture, store and share our family ancestry information. My hope is that in so doing, others will want to do the same, adding to the time capsule of memories. 

To go to the website, click on www.theclemonsfamily.com, or copy & paste it into the address line of your browser.    

Located just below the banner picture, you will find easy “click” dropdown page menus for Albums & Pics, Memories, The Attic, and Woodland Cemetery. View, read and printout!!!

Access to the Documents and Genealogy pages has been restricted and requires a login procedure. A unique id/password combination will soon be sent to each family member for whom I have an e-mail address.

To open the Documents and Genealogy pages, click on the blue “Login” button located in the upper right hand corner of the Home page. A sign-in box will appear. Enter the id/password combination sent to you. You now have access to all the features in the website. Oh…and be sure to Log-out when you leave. This procedure will provide better security and privacy of the stored family information.  

Please jump in and explore the website!! While there is already a lot of information, there is always room for more! Each family branch is an opportunity to learn more about our extended family!!! Dates of family happenings are very important, giving us the limbs of the family tree. The stories and remembrances are the leaves that fill-out the tree.

Special thanks go out to early contributors Claudette, Nels & Kevin Larson, Betty & Dick Lapp, Doug & Suzanne Burger, Nancy & Gary McCollum, Galen Terry, and Roland Hammer. Thank you all so very much!!!!!!

If you have questions, and or problems with the website/blog, let me know! I’ll consult the guru and get back to you!!!! And remember, send contributions and suggestions!!!

Enjoy the journey!

            Best to all,

david clemons

2707 E. Westchester Dr.

Chandler, AZ 85249

david@theclemonsfamily.com

Home tel #   (480) 664-9669

PS. In the near future, we plan to add family videos, some you may not have seen before!! You won’t believe what you see….and yes……once upon a time, we were all much younger!!!!!

PSS. Just a note….when sending pics for the website, please identify the date, people and (if possible) the location. Thanks!!