Genealogy Story – My Great Aunts – Part 3

My four great-aunts

Although my grandparents had a total of sixteen siblings between them, and only a few had passed on before I came into the world, I had no great-uncles and only four great-aunts that I would consider to be part of our family at the time. All the others were estranged for one reason or another as I’ve detailed in the earlier parts of this blog.

Aunt Edna [Blackman] – had a very large part in our family experience. Since she had no children of her own, she instead invested herself in her sister’s family. Whenever there were family gatherings (Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.), Aunt Edna was there – usually helping in the kitchen with both she and my grandmother wearing chintz aprons. Until we turned 16, we could always depend on a small gift from her on our birthday (for me almost always a book). She visited with us, we visited her apartment in Hartford on a regular basis. I and all my siblings and cousins have fond memories of her.

Aunt Irene and Uncle Joe [Hartwell] – were also a significant part of my growing up years. We often visited them on their farm in Roxbury. Aunt Irene was the one who started me off on my rock collection – occasionally giving me contributions from her own extensive collection. They had a daughter, Marge, who was married and had three children, so of course they were more oriented toward their own family than toward ours, but we still enjoyed all our interactions with them.

Aunt Pauline and Uncle Harold [Scott] – lived only a few miles from us in Bristol. Because my father had had no contact with this side of his family while he was estranged from his father when growing up, the connections here were not as strong as with his Aunt Irene. So, while they lived considerably closer, we didn’t see them any more often. Aunt Pauline was an effusive person and you could always depend on a big hug and tooth-less kiss from her. They also had a large family, and when we visited we would often see them as well, but those were the only occasions we saw them.

Aunt Loretta and Uncle George [McNaught] – lived in Waterbury. Our relationship with them was similar to with Aunt Pauline and Uncle Harold. However, they had a very formal home where you didn’t dare to touch or disturb anything – and that made visiting with children difficult, so we seldom did. Where Aunt Pauline was buxom and huggy, Aunt Loretta was slender and stiff. They had one daughter who was married and one grand-daughter. Even though they lived only a block away and I knew the house, I was never in it and only recall meeting my second cousin on one occasion. Of all the great-aunts, I was the least close to Aunt Loretta.

Conclusion

Families are funny things. There are so many circumstances that can impact relationships. Whether it be divorce, pre-mature death, or distance, it is sometimes difficult to maintain a close relationship with those who are connected to you in your family tree.

In recent years, because of my interest in genealogy, I have reached out to the still-living members in many of the above situations. I’ve made a connection to the grandsons of my Uncle Stan. I’ve connected to my cousin Jane, the granddaughter of my grandfather’s brother William. I’ve shared emails with the grandchildren of my Aunt Pauline. And I’ve talked on the phone to Aunt Loretta’s daughter. While I did not have any connections to these individuals when I was growing up, it is also true that “blood is thicker than water” and one can still establish/re-establish a connection many years later.