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Surname- Gadd

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DH- William Arthur (40)
DW- Florence Mary (39)

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DD- Lillian Grace *Lilly* (12)
DS- James Robert (10)
DS- William Harry (9)
DD- Emma Rose (7)
DD- Clara Mabel (7)
DS- Joseph Thomas (5) RIP
DD- Louise Alice (4)
DS- Edward Richard (3)
DD- Ruby Mae (3)
DS- Samuel David (1)
DD- Evelyn Ruth (1)
DD- Laura Helen (nb)

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Joseph took the long way home after school and left it too late to come home so it was dark and he got lost. The police were looking for him for three days and eventually found him in the river.

Surname: Compton
DH: Gordon David (34)
DW: Chloe Isabel (32)
DD: Sadie Josephine (10)
DS: Benjamin George (8)
DD: Hazel Beatrice (6)
DD/DS: Cordelia Katharine/Leo Daniel (4)
DS: Price Theodore (1)

DH: Samuel Henry (33)
DW: Eva Rose (32)

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DD: Grace Katherine (10, b. 1900)
DS/DD: James Theodore / Eleanor Margaret (8, b. 1902)
DD: Marina Violet (6, b. 1904)
DD/DS: Henry Alexander / William David (3, b. 1907)
DD: Sophia Camille (1, b. 1909)
DD: Anastasia Rose "Anya" (2 months, b. 1910)

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So much has happened in the last five years! Last year Eva gave birth to a daughter, Sophia. However, last week when James went out to do his chores he found a tiny baby girl sitting on our doorstep! She was wrapped in a blanket but there was no note. The poor child was hungry and cold. We immediately brought her inside, fed her, and warmed her up. Since there is no way of finding out who she belogns to we decided to keep her and raise her as our own. We named her Anastasia Rose and she is a delight. Anastasia means "ressurection", as she surely would have died if she had not be put on our doorstep. Since Anastasia is a bit much for such a little thing, we're calling her Anya.

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A typhoid epidemic recently passed through our town. Marina, James and Grace were quite sick but luckily they made it through. However, Eva's sister died and left behind her three-year-old twins, William and Henry. Since her husband was killed two years ago in a boating accident, we took the boys in and they joined our family. They are adjusting well, though we are making sure they never forget their biological mother.

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This message was edited 12/28/2008, 8:26 PM

Surname: Speight
DH: Oliver Edmund (30)
DW: Della Geraldine née Ward (27)
DD: Lilah Miriam (10)
DD: Marguerite Daisy "Midge" (9)
DD: Winifred Kathleen "Winnie" (7)
DS: Booker Edmund (5)
DS/DS: Adam Ronald / Abraham Douglas (deceased at birth)
DD: Lucille Harriet (nb)

Surname: Catello
DH: Daniel Paul "Dan" (27)
DW: Marie Nicole (25)
DS: Daniel Paul Jr. (5)
DS: Evan Dominic (3)
DS/DD: Marcus Edward / Grace Amelia "Gracie" (2)
DD: Anna Claire "Annie"
DS: Joshua Michael

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Dan and Marie
Daniel, Evan, Marcus, Gracie, Annie, and Joshua

Surname: Mitchell
DH: Ryan Joseph (29)
DW: Stephanie Lynn (28)
DD: Joanna Elizabeth (10)
DS/DS: Jacob William and Benjamin Charles (7)
DD/DD: Nora Caroline and Lena Frances (5)
DS: Henry Walter (4)
DS: Joel Martin (3)
DD: Amelia Claire (2)
DD/DD: Ruby Sariah and Lily Catherine (nb)

Edited to include backstory to date...

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DH: Julius Sumner (36)
DW: Dorothy Ethel (28)
DS: Julius Sumner, Jr. (10)
DD & DD: Jane Dorothy(9) & Ethel Mary (died age 6)
DS & DS: William Davies & Hubert Ewing(7)
DS & DD: Theodore MacMillan & Katie Belle(6)
DD : Clara Margaret(5)
DS : Maurice Talbot Reeves(4)
DS : Albert George (2)
DD : Mary Ada Ethel (nb)

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Julius Sumner Grantland (born 1874) grew up in a small community is Western Indiana where his father, Theodore MacMillan Grantland ( b. 1840) ran a successful brewing business, T.M.Grantland & Sons Whiskey. While Julius elder brothers, Theodore Jr, Albert & George continued in the family business, he decided to try his hand as a livestock trader.

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By the time he was 25 he had amassed a small fortune, which he used to buy into a tobacco plantation in Georgia. It was her that he met his wife, Dorothy Ethel Davies, daughter of wealthy local family, whose patriarch William Rutherford Davies (b. 1833) had no sons just five daughters by his wife, Rose Belle Fielding (1857 – 1920); Belle Rose (b. 1877), Ada Margaret (b. 1880 d. 1908), Dorothy Ethel (b. 1882), Willa Maude (b.1885) & Bessie Kate(b.1891)

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Julius & Dorothy married in 1899 just prior to her 17th birthday. A year later their first child was born; Julius Sumner Jr. (1900).
Over the next five years the family would grow greatly with Dorothy bearing three sets of twins in a around; Ethel Mary (b. 1901 d. 1907) & Jane Dorothy (b.1901), William Davies & Hubert Ewing (1903), and Theodore MacMillan II & Katie Belle (1904). Finally in 1905 Dorothy gave birth to a singleton: Clara Margaret.

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The Grantland family continued to grow, with the additions of Maurice Tablot Reeves (born 1906), Albert George (born 1908) and Mary Ada Ethel (born 1910). Unfortunately for the Grantland’s their eldest daughter, Ethel Mary, twin to Jane Dorothy died shortly after her brother Maurice was born.

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In the winter of 1908 Dorothy's sister, Ada Margaret Ewing nee Davies died of influenza. As her husband, Hubert Castlebrooke Ewing had abandoned his family the year previous, Dorothy & Julius take in their children.

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The Ewing Children
DS : Hubert Castlebrooke, Jr (15)
DD : Margaret Ada(12)
DD : Anna Belle(10)
DS : Julius Grantland (8)
DD : Louise Kate(6)
DD : Mary Rose(5)
DD : Bessie Maude(3)

This message was edited 12/28/2008, 9:42 PM

Surname: Kraus
DH: Walter Louis (b. 1881)
DW: Cecilia Bessie (b. 1884)
DS: Leo Edward (b/d. 1900)
DD: Chloe Amelia (b. 1901)
DD: Lucille Sadie (b. 1903)
DS: Isaac Eugene (b. 1905)
DD: Ora Kathryn (1907-1910)
DD: Virginia Alice (b. 1908)
DS: Zachary Leo (b. 1910)

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Three more children were born: Ora Kathryn, Virginia Alice and Zachary Leo. Soon after Zachary's birth, the house burned down. Walter, Cecilia, and five of the children made it out alive. Unfortunately, Ora didn't make it, and she died in the inferno.

Surname: Northam
DH: Joseph William (b. 6/5/1880) [30]
DW: Grace Elizabeth (b. 3/31/1882) [28]
DS: Jack William (b. 7/23/1900) [10]
DS: James Alexander (b. 10/7/1901) [9]
DS: David Henry (b. 1/13/1903) [7]
DS: Benjamin Robert (b. 4/4/1907) [3]
DD: Lillian Violet (b. 11/27/1909) [1]

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Even though the doctor had told them that Grace would most likely be unable to conceive again, the Northams decided to try for another baby anyway. For four years they suffered through disappointment, and were about ready to give up when Grace miraculously got pregnant. She and Joseph welcomed their fourth son, Benjamin, in April 1907. Then in 1909, shortly after Benjamin's second birthday, Grace discovered that she was pregnant again. The Northams were overjoyed when Lillian Violet was born. Being the baby of the family and the only girl, she was naturally doted upon by her father and brothers. To accommodate the growing brood, Joseph moved the family into a bigger house on Beacon Hill.

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In more tragic news, Joseph's youngest sister, Clara, then only 24, was killed when a wildfire raged through northeastern Washington where she and her family were vacationing. She, her husband, and their two young children perished. They were brought back to Boston to be buried. Joseph still hasn't quite gotten over the loss.

Surname: Middleton
DH: Charles William (36)
DW: Mary Elizabeth (Lewis) (32)
DS: Lewis William (10)
DS/DS: Frank Arthur / Edward Walter (9)
DS: Henry Thomas (7)
DS: Theodore Samuel (5)
DS: George Daniel (4)
DS: Martin Joseph (3)
DS: Oliver Hugh (1)

ExH: John Andrew (1878/05/15-1909/01/23)
DW: Hedwig Amelia (1882/06/21)
DS: William Noah (1900/11/23)
DS: Henry Julian (1902/04/16)
DD: Augusta Leah (1905/12/29)
AD: Claire Adele (1909/01/11, John's daughter)
DS: James Nicholas (1909/03/19)

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It's been some crazy five years in our family and nothing is as is once was. Last year little James was born. However, two months earlier I've had found a baby girl on my doorstep. I woke John up and asked him about it. I thought that he might know who's baby it was, and if he didn't we both had to talk about it and what to do.

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What I didn't expected was a sorry. He ahd been cheating on me for two years and that he had maked this woman pregnant. It was their daughter. Their child on my doorstep! And I was pregnant at the same time! It felt horrible. I kicked Joh out of the house and told him to never come back, which he didn't. He died. The mother of their baby girl didn't wanted her so I ended up with her too. James never got to meet his father but hopefully his brothers and sister will help him and Claire to get a good picture of their father. He was a great guy, until that day I found Claire.

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So now I am a single mom to five children and I'm only 27 years old. Show me the man who would get married to a 27 year old woman with five children already. It's not going to happen.

Surname: Dawson
DH: John William (31) "Jack"
DW: Rose Elizabeth (27)
-DS: Thomas Henry (10)
-DS: Samuel Theodore (9)
-DS: Paul Edward (8)
-DS: Philip Charles (twin to James, 6)
-DS: James Clarence (twin to Philip, 6)
-DS: Joseph Albert (twin to Anna, 5)
-DS: Anna Margaret (twin to Joseph, 5)
-DS: David Walter (twin to Francis, 2)
-DS: Francis Ernest (twin to David, 2)
-DD: Grace Dorothy (1)
-DS: Martin Frederick (nb)

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Jack & Rose Dawson have welcomed 4 more children in the past 5 years. Their older children; Thomas, Samuel, Paul, twins Philip & James and twins Joseph and Anna, now have 3 more little brothers; twins David & Francis and Martin, and one little sister; Grace.

Surname: Cullen Vigée Lebrun
DH: Edward Charles Cullen
DW: Clementine Charlotte Vigée Lebrun
DD: Blanche Nellie
DS/DS: Edward William / Charles James
DD: Margaret Ethel

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4. A baby appears on your doorstep. Do you know whose it is? What do you do?

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It was July 2nd 1910 at 5:00 Edward hearted something at the door. He gated out and he saw a baby girl in a yellow blanket. He tacked her in. the next morning he went to town and asked if anyone had lost a baby. After all negatives responsive the Cullen’s decided to adopt the baby. They gave her the name Margaret Ethel.

Surname: Crosby
DH: James Patrick (34)
DW: Grace Catherine (33)
DD: Hazel Ann (10)
DS: John William "Jack" (7)
DD/DD: Alice Margaret / Adelaide Marie "Addy" (6)
DS: Daniel Allan (4)
AD: Evelyn Ruth Hill (9)
AS: Samuel Lloyd Hill (5)
AS: Robert Leonard Hill (2)
DD: Eva Florence (1)

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What a busy five years for the Crosby's! Their newest son, Daniel, was born. Then, some unfortunate news, James' widower older brother, Edward, passed away. James and Grace took in their three children, Evelyn, Samuel and Robert.
With things getting crowded in both of their houses, James and Grace decided to sell their house in the town and move permanently out onto the farm, where they expanded their house. James hired some workers to help him out, and it seems to be successful. A few years later, Eva was born.

Surname: North
DH: Robert Andrew (31)
DW: Elisabeth Anne (Astor) "Lisbeth" (29)
DS: Robert Andrew Jr. "Bobby" (b. 1900)(10)
DS: Edward Stephen (b. 1905)(5)
DS: Charles Michael "Charlie" (b. 1906)(4)
DD: Mary Rosalind (b. 1909)(1)

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It is 1910. The North family has been getting on pretty well in life. In 1906, the family moved to Decatur, Illinois, where Robert opened up a branch of the law firm he had worked for in Philadelphia. Two months after moving to Illinois, Lisbeth gave birth to the couple's third son, Charles Michael. Robert's law firm was doing well and getting a lot of business. He had a house built for the family--a two story brick structure with twelve rooms. Lisbeth really likes the house, and she enjoys giving parties there since her extravagant home is the talk of the city.

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Three years went by very quickly, and the family has really settled in to Decatur. The pace of life is a little slower than that of Philadelphia, but not by much. In 1909, Lisbeth gave birth to their fourth child--a little girl! They named her Mary Rosalind North. Her brothers adore having a sister to dote on, and Mary, four months old, seems to enjoy the attention.

Surname: Cabot
DH: Thomas William (29)
DW: Mattie Grace (27)
DD: Georgia Eleanor (10)
DD: Elizabeth Marie (8)
DD: Rose Catherine (6)
DS/DD: Jack Samuel / Sadie Jean (3)
DD: Anna Ruth (1)

Surname: Sutherland
DH: Robert David (32)
DW: Catherine Frances (28)
DD: Margaret Rose (10, b. 1900)
DS: James Robert (8, b. 1902)
DD: Agatha Grace (5, b. 1905)
DD: Elizabeth Catherine (2, b. 1908)
AS: Robert Warren "Bobby" (nb, b. 1910)

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Things seem to be going from bad to worse for the Sutherland family, well... for Catherine anyway. She has spent the past 5 years pining for Robert whenever he was away working in the big city or waiting on him hand and foot whenever he was at home. Elizabeth is beginning to question whether her parents made the right decision in giving Robert Catherine's hand in marriage. While work was still hard to come by, it wasn't bad enough for him to be working in Glasgow all the time and so Elizabeth became suspicious of her sister's husband.

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Her suspicions were confirmed one summer's day in 1910 when she opened the front door of the house they all shared to find a basket, and inside a baby of all things. With the baby came a note from someone named Bette Warren claiming to have been in some sort of relationship with Robert in Glasgow. A relationship which had resulted in the birth of a baby boy, the child in the basket. She was anxious to keep such a terrible secret from her frail sister who was already stressed enough and yet she couldn't bear to abandon this tiny child the same way his own mother already had. So Elizabeth spun a tale about a friend of a friend who had died leaving a baby boy and how she had offered to take him in. Catherine, though shy and quiet was also a very loving woman with a big heart and agreed her sister had made the right choice, she even insisted on making him part of her own family (because Elizabeth was not married and it would look far more proper if he were adopted into a nice loving MARRIED family). Elizabeth named him, Robert Warren, so that when Robert Sr. came back from his 'work' in Glasgow he would know that she was onto him.

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The other children meanwhile were getting along fine and were overjoyed to have another baby in the family, especially James who had had quite enough of being the only boy! There was another surprise in store for the family when, the week after Bobby was found, Catherine announced she had discovered she was pregnant again, with the baby due next year. While the children were very excited, Elizabeth noted, and was concerned by, the lack of excitement or even happiness in Robert's letter in reply to the one Catherine sent to tell him the good news.

This message was edited 1/2/2009, 4:14 PM

Surname: Hamilton
DH: William James (29) (Born 1881)
DW: Ruth Elizabeth (27) (Born 1883)
DS: William "Will" James II (10) (Born 1900)
DS/DD: Henry John/ Rose Elizabeth (8) (Born 1902)
DD: Catherine "Cathy" Grace (6) (Born 1904)
DS: Charles George (4) (Born 1906)
DS: Robert Walter (2) (Born 1908)
DD: Hazel Mary (nb) (Born 1910)

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Five more years have gone by for William and Ruth and a lot has happened. William and Ruth's farm is much large and is making money quickly. The kids Charles's age and older have chores on the farm, but they are appopriate for all the kids ages.

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Over five years William and Ruth have also welcomed more children. First in the year 1906 they welcomed three more children. First they welcomed a healthy baby boy who they named Charles George. Two years after that they welcomed another son who they named Robert Walter. And two years after that they welcomed a little girl who they named Hazel Grace. Even though they have seven kids they do want to have more after this. A bigger family means more help on the farm after all. Besides William and Ruth have always known that they wanted to have a big family.

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A week after little Cathy had started school she gave her family quite a scare. Cathy was supposed to walk home with her older siblings after school, but she fell behind and soon could not even see them. The twins and Will thought that she would know her way back, but she didn't and after she still had not arrived home awhile after the older kids William and Ruth started to look for their daughter. It took awhile, but two hours after they had started the search they found little Cathy crying a bit away from the path the twins and Will usually took home. The twins and Will were punished for leaving their little sister behind and since than Cathy has not got lost again.

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EDITED: I changed Hazel's middle name to Mary since one of her sisters already had the middle name Grace

This message was edited 12/28/2008, 7:59 PM

LN: Bowen
DH: William Robert Bowen (30) [1880]
DW: Laura Rose Edwards-Bowen (29) [1881]
DS: Charles William "Charlie" Bowen (10) [1900]
DS: George Clarence Bowen (9) [1901]
DD: Martha Helen Bowen (7) [1903]
DD: Grace Louise Bowen (*6) [1904-1905]
DS/DD: William Edward "Billy" Bowen and Grace Marie Bowen (4) [1906]
DD: Mary Florence Bowen (1) [1909]
DD: Alice Evelyn Bowen (nb) [1910]

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The Bowen's inherited money from Laura's only uncle Frederick Edwards.

Mine

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Surname: Catchlove
DH: Edward Walter [29]
DW: Ethel Marguerite [27]
DS: Schuyler Edward "Sky" (10, born 1900)
DS: Leopold Walter “Leo” (9, born 1901)
AS: Henry Thomas Jr. “Thomas” (8, born 1902)
DD: Ava Mary Ethel (7, born 1903)
DD: Jenny Marguerite (5, born 1905)
DS: Griffin Josiah (4, born 1906)
AD: Rose Emma (4, born 1906)
DS: Hunter Lucien (3, born 1907)
DD: Zoe Marcelle (2, born 1908)
AD: Grace Helen (2, born 1908)
DS/DD: Ashley Hazel / Sofia Evangeline (nb, born 1910)

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Good news first: In the past five years, Edward and Ethel have had five healthy children, including a set of twins. In 1906, they had a son, Griffin Josiah. The next year, another boy was born, Hunter Lucien. And the following year, they had a daughter, Zoe Marcelle. Two years later, in 1910, they welcomed the twins, a boy named Ashley and a girl named Sofia.

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