Name/Title
AU Harris, Paul Joseph Jr. - 1991-10-25 letter to Robert Christopher CollettEntry/Object ID
1996.1.2Context
3923 Seeley Avenue
Downers Grove, IL 60515
October 25, 1991
Dear Rob,
I warned you that it would take me a while to getting around to sending you some materials. I am not only honest, but accurate! My new role as Mr. Mom has taken its toll on my ability to remain organized.
Please find enclosed:
Pedigree Chart for your father, Robert Vernon Ward Collett
Descendancy Chart for Patrick Ward, your third great grandfather
Family Group Record for your father and mother, Robert Vernon Ward Collett and Elizabeth Marie Fickweiler
Family Group Record for your great grandparents, Robert Burnside Ward and Mary Ann Kane
Family Group Record for your great grandfather, Robert Burnside Ward and Annie Kelly, his first wife and mother of Ida Ward, your father's adopted mother
Family Group Record for your great great grandparents, James Ward and Isabelle Martin
Family Group Record for Ida Ward and Thomas Collett, your father's adopted parents
Photocopy of your father's birth record
Photocopy of your grandmother's birth record, Margaret Ward
There is a lot of information contained in the above documents. You must realize that my information is not yet complete and the story of our Ward family is an evolving endeavor. Just two years ago all that Helen and I knew was what was on our mother's birth certificate-not much! I am working on a text version of this family's story which should be easier to understand, but its completion escapes me at this time.
The enclosed information is just the tip of the iceberg. In the future I hope to make arrangements to send you some photos and other documents. I also intend to get your father's footlocker to you. Don't give up on me.
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Please make contact with your Aunt Helen O'Connor. She will be a wealth of information for you. She is only five years younger than your father and knew him while they were growing up, though they did not know they were brother and sister until the early forties. She is planning to take the oil painting of your father to Florida with her in November and hopes you can make arrangements to drive over to Naples to pick it up. You will really enjoy meeting her. Perhaps I can slip down to her place for a visit when you are coming. It would be great if we could all get together. You must take a tape recorder when you talk to her about your father. Her address in Florida is 6866 Chartwell Lane, Naples, FL 33962 (813) 353-5831.
I want to thank you for your more than prompt response to my call. The documents you sent are very helpful, thank you very much. I am curious if the resume had any additional information since the word "OVER" was written in the lower right corner of the single page. I would also like to know if you have a copy of your father's death certificate. If not, and you obtain one in the future, I would like to have a copy for my records. I obtained the Verified Transcript of your father's birth record from the Ruth Laraway, City Clerk, Box 366, Montezuma, NY 13117. She keeps the records at her home, (315) 776-4434. You might try to obtain a certified copy of the record from the State of New York, Bureau of Vital Records, State Department of Health, ESP Tower Building, Albany, NY 12237. You may need to send them a copy of your father's death certificate to obtain the record. Let me know. Also, you might try some investigating to obtain documentation on your parents‘ marriage. Ginger thought they were married in Watertown, NY, and Helen thinks it was about 1950. It would be nice if we could nail that down.
I think this is enough to keep you busy for a while and I wanted to get something to you before Thanksgiving in the event you are going to Atlanta to meet with your brothers. You may want to make multiple photocopies of some of these forms to distribute to them. If you do, please give them my regards.
Any questions? Feel free to contact me any time.
Yours truly,
