French Family Association
Mara French, P.O. Box 1109, Sutter Creek, CA
95685-1109. 209-267-0649
marafrench@mindspring.com
French Potpourri
Last updated by Mara French on 4/2/08. Send corrections or additions to Mara French.
Alfred and Letitia French adopt Arabella, 1890, in Milwaukee
From jfoust@threedee.com. I've been investigating the story of Arabella Jahn, my (maternal-maternal) great-grandmother's sister. She was the daughter of Henry and Arabella Jahn. Henry operated a barber shop in the Railway Exchange building in downtown Milwaukee at the turn of the century. Arabella may have taken her own life in 1908, after giving birth to a daughter out of wedlock. The baby was given up for adoption. The story was described in the Milwaukee Journal at:
á
http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/oct01/stincol14101301a.asp
I've also made a web with pictures at:
á http://www.foust.org/arabella/
The Journal story led a genealogical researcher to find a lying-in record that showed the baby's name as Gwendeline, matching a birth record we'd known but never connected. The father's name was listed as Raymond Lamboy. Knowing only the birth date, I conducted an online search in the SSI death index and it led to her married name, Letitia Welsh, born Letitia French in Milwaukee on 6 Nov 1907. She was adopted by Alfred and Letitia French and died 23 Mar 1992. I've made minimal contact with the descendants of Letitia and Raymond but they don't seem interested. - John