Posts in April 22, 2017

That reunion listing in the newspaper may contain more than blood relatives. This 1932 reunion was for descendants of James and Elizabeth (Chaney) Rampley who died in Hancock County, Illinois, in the 1880s. Most of the individuals listed are descendants of that couple or are spouses of descendants. There are a few non-Rampleys in the mix, including a girlfriend of a descendant, the sister of James and Elizabeth’s daughter-in-law (who was the aunt of over half the attendees), another girlfriend of a descendant who is listed as “Mrs.” when she should be “Miss,” and a handful of people I can’t quite figure out, but who are not descendants or their spouses. Reunions might not contain only “blood” relatives. Don’t assume everyone in the listing is related to the […]