To say the least, it was not a pleasant experience for her. We knew that my grandmother suffered from tuberculosis frequently. Additionally, from the photos, we assumed the mother had a living brother and three siblings who died as children.
After a few days of “digging,” some fascinating information was uncovered (lots of laughter here) about daddy’s family that we never knew, and a big surprise about our mom’s family.
Growing up during the Depression, the mother also had a brother who grew up with her. As a child, he too suffered from tuberculosis. “As he got older he became more and more bitter about his plight and (…) turned to vicious companions,” a 1930 article told Buffalo News.
With two companions, he took part in a few robberies. During an attempted robbery, my 24-year-old uncle was shot and killed. Oh my! Here’s a family member that my brother and I didn’t even know existed.
The grief experienced by my mother and her parents is hardly imaginable – a grief so deep in her heart that it pained her too much to talk about her life or death forever. However, this discovery explained so much about his sadness.
From other news articles sent by my friend, we have reconstructed the last years of my uncle’s life and untimely death. In addition, there was a clue as to where our uncle’s body had been buried. Since our maternal grandparents are buried in the same local cemetery, with the help of the kind cemetery staff, his final resting place has been located.