Hello, My hubby has mentioned several times that many people do not have a hearing problem -- they have a listening-problem. And, I've told my maternal grandmother's story before. A brief version of her story is: She was born Feb. 1889, and at 3 mos. became a Ward of the State. At some point she went to live with John and Mary DEXTER. They were life-long residents of Killingly, CT, but had moved to MA ~1885. While in their late 50's, they adopted a little girl who had just turned 3. They changed her name to Mary Anna Clark DEXTER - after Mrs. DEXTER's maiden name. Mrs. Dexter died in Apr. 1899, and my grandmother was 10. She was taken to an orphanage in Boston. She would spend until she was ~20 in "homes." (Mr. Dexter died in 1905 at a State Hospital.) During her 8-10 years with the Dexter couple, different things happened. When she was young and important people came to call, she was hidden away in a back room of the house. One day, she was upstairs and heard that a man has visited. She decided to listen as he was talking just before he left. The man said, "Some day that little girl "must" find out who her real father is !" She never did ! But, this tells me that the Dexter adoptive parents "KNEW" who my grandmother's birth-parents were ! And, my grandmother never found out who gave birth to her. Because of all the hints and clues, my "educated guess" is that the Dexter's married daughter back in Killingly, CT, had a pregnancy outside of her marriage in the "summer of 1888." My grandmother tried to find out. My mother and her sisters tried to find out, and I have tried to find out. My grandmother had known her Adoptive parents' grandson. He had visited the home many times, and she remembered him as being a teen-age boy when she was a child. After she was married and had kids, she was able to get in touch with him. Earle YOUNG (only grandchild) stated that his mother, Clara, went to her dying day -- proclaiming that she didn't even know that her parents had adopted a little girl. I just pulled the report on her story out of a box, and will send a copy to a lady in CT. It is a long and complicated story. I wish I could find a book author who would be willing to turn the story into an historical novel. This lady in CT just received a surprise package in the mail, a whole pile of "old photos." Two of the photos were of Mrs. Dexter, and her mother, Mrs. Clark. She mailed me copies of the photos and I hope I receive them today. I very much want to compare my grandmother's photo to Mrs. Dexter's photo. The lady in CT and I have already compared her grandmother's picture to my grandmother's picture, and there is a strong family resemblance. If the new photos compare, then this lady in CT and I are probably, hopefully both descended from Mrs. Clark - thus we are "very distant cousins." The full name of Mrs. Clark in her older years was Mrs. Rhoda (MANCHESTER) (LAVARE) CLARK (1800-1883?), always in Westport, MA (US). IF I ever write up a better document on my grandmother, I will probably title it: Rhoda and Molly and Clara and Daisy. (Gr-grandma, Grandma, Mother, my grandmother, I hope.) (It would take a true miracle - to find out who the birth-father was !) Have a pleasant August weekend ! Betty (near Lowell, MA, USA) List Administrator

Hi, About every year I read with great interest your story about the DEXTER family and your search for relatives. (It reminds me of my search for my mother's birth parents.) Just wanted to say, please keep telling your story. I hope and pray you will someday get all your answers. I almost missed your email because the subject line was "Hearings vs. Listening ....." Luckily, I read beyond the subject line. Cec Combs -----Original Message----- From: can-usa-migration-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:can-usa-migration-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Betty Sent: Friday, August 07, 2009 5:33 AM To: can-usa-migration@rootsweb.com Subject: [CAN-USA-MIG] Hearing vs. Listening and Eavesdropping (mygrandmother) Hello, My hubby has mentioned several times that many people do not have a hearing problem -- they have a listening-problem. And, I've told my maternal grandmother's story before. A brief version of her story is: She was born Feb. 1889, and at 3 mos. became a Ward of the State. At some point she went to live with John and Mary DEXTER. They were life-long residents of Killingly, CT, but had moved to MA ~1885. While in their late 50's, they adopted a little girl who had just turned 3. They changed her name to Mary Anna Clark DEXTER - after Mrs. DEXTER's maiden name. Mrs. Dexter died in Apr. 1899, and my grandmother was 10. She was taken to an orphanage in Boston. She would spend until she was ~20 in "homes." (Mr. Dexter died in 1905 at a State Hospital.) During her 8-10 years with the Dexter couple, different things happened. When she was young and important people came to call, she was hidden away in a back room of the house. One day, she was upstairs and heard that a man has visited. She decided to listen as he was talking just before he left. The man said, "Some day that little girl "must" find out who her real father is !" She never did ! But, this tells me that the Dexter adoptive parents "KNEW" who my grandmother's birth-parents were ! And, my grandmother never found out who gave birth to her. Because of all the hints and clues, my "educated guess" is that the Dexter's married daughter back in Killingly, CT, had a pregnancy outside of her marriage in the "summer of 1888." My grandmother tried to find out. My mother and her sisters tried to find out, and I have tried to find out. My grandmother had known her Adoptive parents' grandson. He had visited the home many times, and she remembered him as being a teen-age boy when she was a child. After she was married and had kids, she was able to get in touch with him. Earle YOUNG (only grandchild) stated that his mother, Clara, went to her dying day -- proclaiming that she didn't even know that her parents had adopted a little girl. I just pulled the report on her story out of a box, and will send a copy to a lady in CT. It is a long and complicated story. I wish I could find a book author who would be willing to turn the story into an historical novel. This lady in CT just received a surprise package in the mail, a whole pile of "old photos." Two of the photos were of Mrs. Dexter, and her mother, Mrs. Clark. She mailed me copies of the photos and I hope I receive them today. I very much want to compare my grandmother's photo to Mrs. Dexter's photo. The lady in CT and I have already compared her grandmother's picture to my grandmother's picture, and there is a strong family resemblance. If the new photos compare, then this lady in CT and I are probably, hopefully both descended from Mrs. Clark - thus we are "very distant cousins." The full name of Mrs. Clark in her older years was Mrs. Rhoda (MANCHESTER) (LAVARE) CLARK (1800-1883?), always in Westport, MA (US). IF I ever write up a better document on my grandmother, I will probably title it: Rhoda and Molly and Clara and Daisy. (Gr-grandma, Grandma, Mother, my grandmother, I hope.) (It would take a true miracle - to find out who the birth-father was !) Have a pleasant August weekend ! Betty (near Lowell, MA, USA) List Administrator When you want to respond to a query or comment posted on this List, I find it MUCH easier to post a new message -- remembering to include the SUBJECT from the post you are responding to !! Please make sure there is a SURNAME or place-name in the Subject. To search the archives: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/search?path=CAN-USA-MIGRATION The information page is: http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/other/Immigration/CAN-USA-MIGRATION.html ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to CAN-USA-MIGRATION-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message