Roland (Ron) is the son of Ronald Erhardt and Mary Lobdell. Ronald died in a fire when Mary was pregnant with her second son, who was stillborn. I am currently documenting many items from family bibles, etc. and preparing research on this side of the family.
Carol (me) is the daughter of Frederick Denning and Doris Gifford. Frederick died in Guam, on December 7, 1944. I have his Purple Heart. My mother married the late Jim Williams and had two children, Robert and Sandra, who currently live in the San Antonio, Texas area. Her third husband is Ray Butler and they live in Belleville, Illinois. One evening during a visit, he pulled out some boxes which had old pictures, letters, etc. He gave these to me to bring home and add to our genealogy search. One of the mementos he pulled out of a box was a German soldier's hat. He became very emotional when he looked at it. He said that the person who wore the hat had killed many people, but that he would never kill again. When I asked him if he had killed the German soldier...he said, no. But he would not tell the story. He said maybe some day he'd be able to talk about it.
My mother's mother, Mabel Gifford, married Lloyd Taylor. Lloyd had been married previously, and had a son , Eugene. Eugene had an airplane. I have only vague memories of him, but I know at one time Mom and I lived with him in an apartment. Mom has no information on her father or any of his history. Only known information is that her mother died when the wood stove caught her clothes on fire. My mother witnessed this. Her father, Lloyd, died approximately one year later, rumored of venereal disease. She was adopted by her maternal uncle Roy Gifford, and his wife Clara Pearl Woodworth Gifford. Roy and Clara had a stillborn daughter but no living children of their own. They also adopted a boy later, Warren Gifford, who died of leukemia when he was 11 years old.
My father (Frederick Denning) and my mother (Doris Gifford) were divorced prior to his death. Frederick was the son of Ora and Emma Denning. I remember visiting them during the summer. They had 2 other boys, (Ora and Donald), one had the nickname of Mickey, and one daughter, Marilyn. I idolized my Aunt Marilyn. She was a dancer and often performed at functions in the local park. She taught in a dance studio. After she got married, I lost all track of that side of the family.
After Mom's divorce from her second husband, Jim Williams, my brother (then 2) went to live with his father. My sister, (then a baby) went to live with Jim's brother and his wife. I (then 4)went to live with my grandparents on my mother's side. I lived with them until I began 3rd grade. Vague memories and recollections of stories were that my grandparents on my father's side were attempting to get custody, but lost when my mother came back and appeared in court.
Ron and I were married December 30, 1979. Ron had 4 children, 3 boys and 1 girl, and I had 4 children, 3 girls and 1 boy. People laughingly referred to us as the Brady Bunch. With a family this large, family gatherings are always a lot of fun. This Christmas, 1999, we all were together for the first time ever. Ron's son came from Colorado Springs, Colorado, and my son came from Scipio, Indiana. The rest of the children live in surrounding areas to us, in Columbus, Ohio. We have 13 grandchildren, and one on the way, including all our steps! We are a very extended family. Ron's roots are in the northern Michigan area.
Stop back often to see new additions to our family tree. If you have any information on our missing links, please feel free to e-mail me at -- c.a.erhardt@worldnet.att.net
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