The Research:
In July 1999, I decided to start doing some research on family names. I visited several web sites and came across a Virginia State Library site that had categories of digital cards. I was surprised to find that there were 140 cards just for the surnames of my father's family. With the information I gathered over the years, I was able to trace the family back to 1750 up to the birth of my grandfather. This really sparked my interest. So, I purchased software and started our own family tree.
One of the features of this program is access to their web site. The first day, I came across a General Forum Message board and started checking to see if anything could be found. The third message was one showing the surnames I had for my father. Hum, this is interesting! I was able to find a home email address and sent a post keeping it very general as to just searching for information but saying, "I thought I could be a relative." I didn't receive a reply until a month later and wasn't sure how to answer. Just how much information should I give? So decided to go "for broke" and tell all. It took forever to write that letter and if I had to wait another day, probably had second thoughts for fear of another rejection.
Two days later I received a response that read "Dear Cousin Sally." I broke into tears. My newly found cousin Margot Osborne, was one of nine children born to my father's 1st cousin. I was told that in the early 1900's my grandfather had a falling out with his family and because of this, never kept in contact with any family members. However, Margot's family did have the opportunity to meet my father in the 1960's.
It didn't end here, within the next few days; I received several emails from three of these cousins giving me as much information as they could . Keep in mind that I never spoke directly to anyone except by email and they were willing to believe me. I was asked to call Margot's brother Peter Osborne. I wanted to reassure him that I wasn't some "kook" off the Internet. So, I faxed copies of all the information I had. Once he received the fax, this started the ball rolling. The next thing we knew, we were invited to their Labor Day Family Event in Maryland.
By the time we left I learned that my father, died in 1968 at age 49 of a heart attack, was married and had two children. The obituary notice said he was a Lt. Col. in the Air Force, served in the British RAF Eagle Squadron, won several British decorations and one of Gen. Eisenhower's personal pilots during WWII. He was later assigned to Washington as an assistant air attaché to Finland, serving two years in the Defense Intelligence Agency, and later a command pilot with the 1001st Operations Squadron at Andrews Air Force Base until his death. I was so proud to have a father who had such a service record.
THE EXCITEMENT IS ABOUT TO BEGIN........
WE'VE SAVED THE BEST TILL LAST
