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Note: Dear Mr. Gillis, My name is Brenda Lam Leazenby and I currently live in Atlanta, GA, but my family are all from the Shenandoah Valley area in Virginia. I have always loved finding information regarding my past family history. My great-great grandmother was Ida Belle Monger Gillis. She was married to John Andrew Gillis and all that I know about him is that my great grandmother told me that her mom was a mail-order bride and her husband, John moved to VA to marry her. She had a photo of him taken in the late 1800's in Boston, however she also had photos of his sisters Margaret & Carrie, each which were taken in Chicago, Ill, also in the late 1800's. As I was searching Gillis records from Ill. (since that's where the 2 sister's pictures were taken) I saw that you had completed extensive research on the Gillis family, and am trying to determine if these Gillis's names were connected to your family in any records that you contain?
I have attached copies of the photos that she had, and she was pretty sure of the approx dates of each, when I made copies of all her photos and noted who they were of. I am just trying to locate any other information regarding my great-great grandfather. He is buried with my great-great grandmother in the Naylor-Wyant cemetery in Elkton, VA. His birth date was June 7, 1868 and he died on April 26, 1936.
Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated, if you can determine whether or not these individuals may be linked to your Gillis family tree. Thank you for your time and response in advance. My email address is: bbasas@comcast.net </mc/compose?to=bbasas@comcast.net>. I hope you have a great day and a blessed New Year. Brenda Lam Leazenby.
Jim, thanks so much for the reply (and yes, Brian is my husband). Since I've been updating my Family Tree program, I planned on taking my laptop with me when I go back home (to VA) in a few months and was going to sit down with my great aunt (John was her grandfather) to try and see if there are any other details she might be able to give me. Since the photos between John and his sisters are taken in completely different states, I don't even know where he moved from. Most of my grandmother's siblings are still alive (though in their 80's now), but hopefully one of them might be able to shed more light, that could help to determine if my family and yours share a common line. I will definitely keep you posted if I am able to get any further data that might help to determine where his family came from. I really appreciate your time and would appreciate keeping my name and email address, just in case you do come across any connections at a later time.
Thanks again for your feedback and hope you have a great weekend........Brenda Lam Leazenby
Brian" <bbasas@comcast.net>
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