Fred's Birth Family

At long last, I am beginning to get a handle on Fred's birth mother. She has been such a worry for so long now. Very little was known about her. She was born, died and had several husbands and children.

Yesterday when I opened an e-mail from a man that said he had access to the Minneapolis Historical Society. He was able to find and send me Lillian Violet Gowell, birth and death certificates. Both opened up a world of information.

From there I learned Lillian's parents, grand-parents names, found land records, civil war records, death records as well as the usual, 1880, 1870 census, special schedules. I also found where Vandelia Gowell, great-grand mother lived in 1914, as a widow of Samuel in the 1914 Minneapolis Directory.

If only Fred had lived long enough to enjoy the harvest of research. Fred had met his birth father, William Farrier, as well as some of his siblings, so that was a blessing. After his death I was able to put together a fairly good history of the Farriers, with the help of family members and hard work.