Sunday, May 9, 2021
Ezra Sill DAR Patriot
Sunday, March 7, 2021
Dear Grandparents,
Happy Anniversary to Joseph and Mehitable (Young) Sanford my 5th great grandparents who were married March 7, 1769. Joseph, the son of Captain Joseph and Mary (Clark) Sanford, was born about July 28th, 1745 in Litchfield, Connecticut the youngest of their 6 children. The Sanford family were descendants of Thomas Sanford from Hatfield, Broad Oak, Essex, England.
![]() |
Photograph of St. Mary the Virgin Church and maps are from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatfield_Broad_Oak |
Not as much is known about Grandmother Mehitable's family. The book "Thomas Sanford, the emigrant to New England; ancestry, life,, and descendants" published in 1911 and compiled by Carlton Elisha Sanford states that Mehitable was from Long Island. There is a Jeremih Young who marries Mehetabel Brown in Southold, Suffolk County, New York in 1747 which would be of a good age to be the parents of Grandmother Mehitable. The Peabody Genealogy, which has been published on ancestry.com, lists a Jeremiah Youngs born 1719 in Oyster Ponds, Long Island who married 3 Sep 1747. His father is given as Jonathan Youngs and his mother Dorathy Browns. Evidently his wife, Mehetable Brown was a cousin of his mother. The genealogy also lists two daughters Ann Youngs and Mehetable Youngs.
![]() |
Google maps distance between Oysterponds and Litchfield |
We don't know how Joseph and Mehitable met. Many would suggest that most people married people who lived in the same county if not the same town. This is not alway true in our family of wanderers. Today the journey between Oysterpond, Long Island, New York and Litchfiedl, Connecticut would take about 3 hours by car. In their day, the trip would have been measured in days not hours.
Joseph's immediate family were all located in the South Farms area of Litchfield and it was there that they made their home. Seven children were born of their marriage:
- Stephen 1770-1772
- Mehitable 1771-1772
- Joseph 1773-1805
- Olive 1774-1817
- Stephen 1776-1841
- Edmund 1781-1860
- Osias 1784-1856
In the "Genealogical and Family History of Central New York, Vol. 1, Joseph is referred to as "Captain" Joseph Sanford. On page 445, it states that he served in the revolution and "On June 8, 1778, he was captain of the Eleventh company, trainband in the Thirteenth regiment of the state." He was also at Peekskill with the main army in New York.
Honestly, I did not remember what happened during the Revolution at Peekskill. I also had not thought about how close Peekskill is to Litchfield, Connecticut. New York State has created an almanac website that tells more of this story. In the summer of 1776, the British had more than 8,000 troops on Staten Island and 100 ships were anchored in the harbor. They needed to feed their sailors and troops. The flour, fresh meat and produce that were held on Litchfield farms were just what the British needed. Only the men of the Litchfield Miltia stood in their way. As a farmer, you must have known that you had to keep the British from reaching supplies but also that the survival of the Sanford family and others depended on their ability to stop the British.
![]() |
Map from https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2014/01/american-revolution-trouble-at-poughkeepsie-and-peekskill/ |
Things were even more complicated for the Sanford family. Their first two children had died in 1772. If Joseph went with the Militia, Mehitable would be at home with a three year old, a two year old about to give birth early in July. There was extended family around but most of the men were also part of the militia.
Joseph chose to serve and his service has been recognized by the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. He is Patriot #100080. Mehitable has not been recognized for a contribution to the Revolution. This rankles me more than a bit. My husband served a 30 year career in the U. S. Navy and I well know that family members make more than little contributions to their loved one's service. I promise you I had it easier than Mehitable.
Joseph's and Mehitable's marriage lasted nearly 45 years until he passed on 13 Dec 1813. That was a long marriage in those days. Joseph left a third of his estate to his wife.
![]() |
Joseph's will refers to "his beloved" wife |
Three years after Joseph's death, Mehitable married widower Daniel Strong of Bethlem. Their marriage lasted until his death June 15, 1830. Mehitable lived until March 11, 1835.
No headstones survive for either Joseph or Mehitable. An earlier transcription of headstones in the cemetery at Morris, Litchfield County, CT refers to a stone "In memory of Mr. Joseph Sanford who died Dec 13, 1818 aged 68 years.
Thank you both for your service. We remember you still.
Love,
Cecily
Our descent from Joseph and Mehitable is as follows:
Their son Stephen Sanford married Olive Woodruff (whose father also served). Their daughter Caroline Beckworth Sanford married Reuben Newton. Their son Charles Shepard Newton married Mary Elizabeth Clark. Their daughter Helen Brown Newton married Frederick Naaman Cone. Their son Charles Newton Cone married Hazel Bynum Allen. Their son Charles Newton Cone, Jr. is my father.
Monday, November 23, 2020
Thankful for Intrepid Ancestors
Dear Grandparents,
A few days before we will celebrate Thanksgiving, we pause to remember that we owe our lives to intrepid ancestors who were willing to take huge risks to settle in an area that was largely unknown. We have many ancestors who came on ships but today I will especially be remembering those who came on the Mayflower 400 years ago.
My 10th Great Grandfather, William Bradford was one of the religious separatists that fled England for Holland and then Holland for America. William was born around 1590 in Austerfield, Yorkshire, England. His father died when he was an infant and he was raised by older relatives. He was among those imprisoned in Boston, England during their first attempt to escape to Holland. Records from Leiden list him as a fustian maker (a maker of cotton cloth). On November 15, 1613, he married Dorethea May whose father was among the religious separatists. She died in Cape Cod harbor December 7, 1620 slipping on the Mayflower's icy deck and falling in to the water. How sad to have survived the difficult voyage only to drown before setting foot in the new world.
Bradford married second Alice (Carpenter) Southworth a widow who came in 1623, it is said, in response to a letter from William proposing marriage.
William Bradford became one of the leaders of the Plymouth Colony, serving as its Governor for nearly 30 years. Much of what we know about their life in Leiden, in the colony and of the Mayflower's voyage comes from his account entitled Of Plymouth Plantation. Below is the first page of his manuscript: (from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Of_Plymouth_Plantation#/media/File:Of_Plimoth_Plantation_First_1900.jpg)
Our descent from William and Alice (Carpenter) (Southworth) Bradford is as follows: their son William Bradford, his daughter Alice Bradford, her daughter Abiel Adams, her daughter Delight Metcalf, her son Eleazer Warner, his son Thomas Warner, his daughter Joanna Warner, her son William Warner Cone, his son Frederick Naaman Cone, his son Charles Newton Cone, his son Charles Newton Cone, Jr and me.
My 11th great grandparents William and Mary (unknown) Brewster also came on the Mayflower. They were among the older religious separatists. William was born about 1566 in Nottinghamshire, England. According to Bradford, he attended Cambridge University. He then entered the service of William Davison, Ambassador to the Netherlands and afterward Secretary of State to Queen Elizabeth I. Brewster became Postmaster at Scrooby. This office was rather more involved than today and included occupying Scrooby Manor and entertaining royalty and church prelates. It was through Brewster's friend Sir Edwin Sandys, treasurer of the Virginia company, that he obtained a grant of land in North America.
William Brewster was a ruling elder of the Plymouth church and until 1629 acted as minister and teacher. When he died in 1644, the inventory of his belongings included separate listings of his Latin and English books totalling nearly 400 titles. The chest below is on display at the Pilgrim Hall Museum in Plymouth and is said to have been brought on the Mayflower by Brewster.
Unfortunately, Mary's surname and origin are unknown. Our descent from William Brewster is as follows: William and Mary Brewster; their daughter Patience, her daugther Mercy Prence, her daughter Hannah Freeman, her daugher Mercy Mayo, her son Nathaniel Hopkins, his son Nathaniel Hopkins, his son Elisha Hopkins, his daughter Rhoda Hopkins, his daughter Joanna Warner, her son William Warner Cone, his son Frederick Naaman Cone.... etc.
Another of my 10th great grandfathers is Francis Cooke. Born about 1583, his English origins have not been discovered. Some think he was from Norwich or Canterbury. He lived in Leiden where he married Hester le Mahieu July 20, 1603. She is said to have been a French Walloon (protestant) whose parents had earlier fled to Canterbury. Their marriage occurred six years before the Pilgrim Church had moved to Leiden. The Cookes returned to Norwich, England for some time but returned to Leiden to have their first son baptized at the French church there.
Francis and his oldest son, John, sailed on the Mayflower. Hester and their other children Jane, Jacob, Elizabeth and Hester came to Plymouth in 1623 onboard the ship Anne. Francis lived a long life dying at about 80. His wife survived him by at least 3 years.
Our descent from Francis and Hester (le Mahieu) Cooke is as follows: their son Jacob, his son Jacob, his son John, his daughter Sarah, her son Nathaniel Thacher, his daughter Sarah, her daughter Lydia Hornell, her daughter Mary Elizabeth Clarke, her daughter Helen Brown Newton, her son Charles Newton Cone, etc...
My 8th great grandfather Edward Doty was not among the religious separtists who sailed on the Mayflower. His English origins are still unknown. He is believed to have been born between 1597 and 1602. He came on the Mayflower as a servant to Stephen Hopkins and was still a servant in 1623 when the land was divided. He signed the Mayflower Compact so he was probably 18 to 21 in 1620. Nothing is know of his first wife. He married Faith Clarke who came on the ship Francis in April 1634 with her father Thurston Clarke.
Doty has the reputation of being a troublemaker in Plymouth. He fought a sword and dagger duel with another Hopkins servant Edward Leister. Both were wounded. They were sentenced to have their feet and heads tied together for an entire day but were let out after an hour because of their "suffering".
Our descent from Edward Doty is as follows: Edward and Faith (Clarke) Doty, their son Edward Doty, his daugher Mercy Doty, her son Edward Pratt, his son Jeremiah Pratt, his daughter Harriet Pratt, her son Harriet Utley, her son Frederick Naaman Cone, etc....
Stephen Hopkins, my 10th great grandfather, led a very interesting life. Proven descent from Stephen can get you into the Mayflower Society as well as the Jamestown Society. From Hampshire, England, he married his first wife Mary in the parish of Hursley. They had three children Elizabeth, Constance and Giles. Hopkins sailed in the ship Sea Venture bound for Jamestown as a minister's clerk. Unfortunately, the ship was wrecked at Bermuda. The surviving crew and passengers were stranded on the island for ten months eating turtles, birds and wild pigs.
Six months into this life as a castaway, Stephen and several others organized a mutiny against the ship's captain. The plot was discovered and Stephen was sentenced to death. Pleading with sorrow and tears, he begged for mercy as his death would ruin his wife and children left behind in England. Eventually, the castaways built a small ship and sailed to Jamestown. It is unknown how long Stephen stayed in Jamestown.
Meanwhile in England, Mary Hopkins died and left a probate estate which mentioned their children by name.
Stephen married Elizabeth Fisher in England in 1617. Their first child Damaris was born about 1618. The entire family sailed on the Mayflower. The others treated him as an expert on Native Americans as he had met some of them in Jamestown. Stephen died in 1644 leaving a will and naming his children. Below is his signature
Our descent from Stephen and Mary Hopkins is as follows: son Giles who also came on the Mayflower, his son Stephen Hopkins, his son Nathaniel Hopkins, his son Nathaniel Hopkins, his son Elisha Hopkins, his daughter Rhoda Hopkins, her daughter Joanna Warner, her son William Warner Cone, his son Frederick Naaman Cone, etc...
Recently, I discovered another Mayflower passenger who is my 11th great grandfather, Richard Warren. He was born about 1585 in county Hertford, England. He married Elizabeth Walker April 14, 1610 at Great Amwell, Hertford.
Not much is known about Richard's life in America. His wife and five daughters came on the ship Anne in 1623. In Plymouth, they added two sons. All of the Warren children survived to adulthood, married and had large families. At his death, it was written, "this year (1628) died Mr. Richard Warren, who was an useful instrument and during his life bare a deep share in the difficulties and troubles of the first settlement of the Plantation of New Plymouth."
Our descent from Richard and Elizabeth (Walker) Warren is as follows: their daughter Abigail, her daughter Lydia Snow, her daughter Deborah Skiffe, her daughter Keziah Presbury, her daughter Sarah Freeman, her daughter Drusilla Conant, her daughter Rhoda Hopkins, her daughter Joanna Warner, her son William Warner Cone, his son Frederick Naaman Cone, his son Charles Newton Cone, etc...
I am thankful that this group of people, bound by a common experience, braved the ocean voyage and a new, unknown land. I wonder if I would have been as brave.
Love,
Cecily Cone Kelly
Saturday, August 8, 2020
Evert Van Eps and the Battle of Oriskany
Dear Grandfather Evert,
Yesterday, August 6th, was the 243rd anniversary of the Battle of Oriskany. Though I am certain you well remember the day, I think many of your descendants may not know about the Battle or that you were part of it. So here is what we know today... wish you could correct any wrong impressions we have.
Early on the morning of August 6th, 1777, a troop of more than 800 men from the Tryon County (NY) Militia and their allies among the Oneida, were marching along the path through woods leading west from the Oneida Village of Oriskany. The terrain they were navigating was difficult, a rocky wooded ravine. They were ambushed as they were marching to the aide of Fort Stanwix which was under seige by British forces led by Lt. Colonel Barry St. Leger and their Iriquois allies.
The American troops were led by Nicholas Herkimer. Herkimer was the son of Palatine German immigrants who had settled in the Mohawk Valley. A veteran of the French and Indian War, he became the head of the Tryon County Committee of Safety and then colonel of the local militia. After a split with the loyalists on the committee, Herkimer was commissioned by the Provincial Congress as a Brigadier General on September 5, 1776.
Upon learning of the siege of Fort Stanwix, General Herkimer ordered the Tryon County Militia to assemble at Fort Dayton. We assume, that you were with those troops and began the 28 mile march to the west. There must have been a great deal of confusion at the start of the ambush. We know that both you and General Herkimer were wounded in your left legs. You lived to relate the story of your wound to your family and it is included in the Widow's Pension application for your wife.
General Herkimer was not so lucky. Though his leg was dressed on the Battle Field, infection set in on the retreat. His leg was amputated by an inexperienced surgeon and Herkimer died ten days later.
I hope you know that the site of the battle has been long rememberd. The Oriskany Monument was dedicated on August 6, 1884. Though the action was considered a tactical loss, the Battle is considered to have contributed to the colonists' major victory at Saratoga and a coalition of civic and political leaders, descendants of Revolutionary soldiers, historians and artisans were instrumental in constructing the monument.
Monument dedication August 6, 1884 from oriskanymuseum.com
Your name is on the plaque listing the soldiers who fought at Oriskany. We thank you for your service there and your other efforts to secure our nation. More than 40 of your descendants have proven their relationship to you for membership in the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.
Love,
your 4th great granddaughter
Cecily Cone Kelly
Our descent from Evert Van Eps is as follows
Evert Van Eps married Mary "Polly" Minthorn; their daughter Jane Van Eps married Richard Hugunin; their son Van Eps Hugunin married Sarah Amanda Gibson; their daughter Mary Elizabeth Hugunin married William Wallace Colby; their daughter Ada Grace Colby married Cecil Oscar Werst; their daughter is my mother Betty Lorraine Werst.
Tuesday, June 16, 2020
Happy Anniversary Theodore and Mary Jane (Vale) Whitlock
Yesterday, we are commerated the 166th wedding anniversary of my husband's 3rd great grandparents, Theodore and Mary Jane (Vale) Whitlock.
![]() |
Image from www.ancestry.com Whitlock-Vale record underlined. |
Mary Jane is the daughter of James Vale (Vail). She appears with him on the 1850 census as a 16 year old living in Middletown, New Castle County, Delaware. There is no appropriately aged female that could be considered her mother on the record.
![]() |
1850 Census Middletown, New Castle County, Delaware stamped p 196 www.ancestry.com |
![]() |
1860 Census from Little Creek Hundred for Theodore Whitlock and presumed family image from www.ancestry.com |
![]() |
1870 Census record for Theodore Whitlock and presumed family www.ancestry.com |
![]() |
Death Certificate for Theodore Whitlock, Sr. wwww.ancestry.com |
![]() |
1900 Census for Middletown, New Castle County, Delaware District 63 www.ancesty.com |
Ed, Amanda and I stopped in Middletown a couple of years ago and spent a few hours looking in local cemeteries and libraries looking for a death record for Mary Jane and headstones. Unfortunately, we did not have any luck. Hopefully, we'll be back later this summer and find something.
Until then,
Cecily
For family members
Theodore and Mary Jane (Vale) Whitlock parents of
James Whitlock who married Catherine Shaffer
Catherine "Kate" Whitlock married Edward Everett Hanna
Alice Mae Hanna married William Joseph Kelly
Edward Ebert Kelly* married Pauline Nelda Haas
*family lore has it that Edward Ebert Kelly was supposed to have been named Edward Everett for his grandfather and an error was made on the birth certificate so Edward Ebert he became.
Sunday, May 31, 2020
Reverend Thomas Hooker
Today, May 31st we are marking the anniversary of your delivery of your most well remembered sermon at Hartford, Connecticut in 1638. Those of us who are students of the origins of the United States of America, consider it to be among those sentiments that led to our Declaration of Independence. Your declaration that "the foundation of authority is laid firstly in the free consent of the people" was passed on by Henry Wolcott, Jr. who was in attendance at church that day and made handwritten notes of your revolutionary statement.
In the 21st century, most have forgotten that in your time, the world was dominated by Kings and Emperors and that normal, everyday people had little, if any say, in their government. Your sermon is credited with providing some of the impetus for Connecticut citizens to ratify, in January 1639, the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, the first known written constitution to form a basis of government. According to the Office of the State Historian (Connecticut) historian John Fiske wrote 150 years later that the Fundamental Orders "mark the beginnings of American Decomcracy, of which Thomas Hooker deserves more than any other man to be called the father."
So who were you? Some records are lost to history. You were born in Leicestershire, either at Marfield or Birstall on July 5, 1586.
You recieved your first formal education at Dixie Grammar School, a free school in Market Bosworth. Following that you matriculated at Queen's College, Cambridge University in 1608 and then transferred to Emanuel College where you received your BA in 1608 and your MA in 1611. You later studied Divinity there.
![]() |
Front Court Emanuel College, Cambridge Photo by DAVID ILIFF. License: CC BY-SA 3.0 |
![]() |
St. George's Church, Esher where Rev. Thomas Hooker preached circa 1620. Church was not remodeled during the Victorian era and appears much as it was in Hooker's day. from Wikimedia Commons |
The Governor of Massachusett, John Winthrop, recorded the arrival of Griffin in his diary writing,
“The Griffin, a ship of three hundred tons, arrived (having been eight weeks from the Downs). This ship was brought in by John Gallop a new way by Lovell’s island, at low water, now called “Griffin’s Gap”. She brought about two hundred passengers, having lost some four, whereof one drowned two days before, as he was casting forth a line to take mackerel. In this ship came Mr. Cotton, Mr. Hooker and Mr. Stone, ministers, and Mr. Pierce, Mr. Haynes (a gentleman of great estate), Mr. Hoffe, and many other men of good estates. They got out of England with much difficulty, all places being belaid to have taken Mr. Cotton and Mr. Hooker, who had been long sought for to have been brought into the high commission; but the master being bound to touch at the Wight, the pursuivants attended there, and, in the meantime, the said ministers were take in at the Downs. Mr. Hooker and Mr. Stone went presently to Newtown, where they were to be entertained, and Mr. Cotton stayed at Boston."
![]() |
Drawing of Griffin from GENI |
(For family members, another of my 11th great grandfathers, John Gallop, was also aboard Griffin.
It must have been wonderful for you and your family to be reunited with your friends from Chelmsford who had settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Once you were pastor of your old congreation, you are quoted as saying, "Now I live, if ye stand fast in the Lord."
![]() |
Plaque honroing Thomas Hooker's Ministry at First Church of Cambridge, Cambridge, MA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Hooker |
![]() |
from Wkimedia.org |
![]() |
Hartford, Connecticut from www.wikipedica.org |
Love,
Your 11th great granddaughter
Cecily
For family members, here is our descent from Thomas Hooker
Rev. Thomas Hooker married Susanna Garbrand
Mary Hooker married Rev. Roger Newton
Capt. Samuel Newton married Martha Fenn
Susanna Newton married Joseph Plumb
Susanna Plumb married Nathan Nettleton
Anne Nettleton married Samuel Woodruff
Andrew Woodruff married Miranda Orton
Olive Woodruff married Stephen Sanford
Caroline Beckworth Stanford married Reuben Newton
Charles Shepard Newton married Mary Elizabeth Clarke
Helen Brown Newton married Frederick Naaman Cone
Charles Newton Cone married Hazel Bynum Allen, my paternal grandparents.
The two Newton lines do not seem to be related. Though both English, Rev. Roger Newton's line is from Lincolnshire and Reuben Newton's line goes back to Bures St. Mary, Suffolk.
Monday, May 25, 2020
On Memorial Day We Always Remember
This was first published a few years ago but it seems proper to repost it on Memorial Day 2022.
Our family has a strong tradition of men and women who have served our country from the Revolutionary War to present day. By and large, they have survived their service to go on to have careers, families, and long lives. Today, as we commemorate another Memorial Day, I want to write about two family members who were not so lucky and made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.
My 2nd great uncle, Theodore William Clarke, served with the First Nebraska Infantry fighting for the Union during the Civil War. He was an unlikely soldier and most of what we know about him comes from the more than forty letters he wrote home to his mother Lydia Hornell Clarke and sister Mary Elizabeth Clarke Newton. The letters have been carefully preserved and handed down through the generations.
Theodore or "Trit" as he was nicknamed by the family was an unlikely soldier. Born about 1838 in Michigan, he was working for the telegraph company laying wire across Missouri and the Nebraska Territory when the war broke out. On July 15, 1860 he writes home stating, "I am in the employ of the Western Union Telegraph Company. We are engaged in the construction of the Pacific Telegraph running from Saint Louis to San Francisco in California... We're going along the Missouri River as far as Omaha City and then across to Fort Kearney... which is as far as we shall get before cold weather sets in." He is anxious for his little sister Molly, my 2nd great grandmother, to understand where he is and write August 5, 1860 from near Nebraska City, "It is about 60 miles from here to Omaha City and 180 from there to Ft. Kearney. By allowing about 5 miles for every working day you can look on your map and see anytime where I am."
![]() |
Theodore William Clarke from tintype in my possession |
Trit stays with Western Union until they complete the line to Ft. Kearney and he learns to become a proficient telegraph operator feeling that he is making good money doing so. However, the situation changes when word of the secession of the southern states reaches the Nebraska Territory. He enlists as a 'fifer' or musician with the First Nebraska Infantry explaining to his mother on July 16, 1861, "I can never have it said that I, who have no one dependent on me and nothing but my life to loose, stood back in this hour of our country's peril and remained an inactive spectator."
His words turned out to be prophetic. Theodore spent more than 18 months with the First Nebraska, surviving the Battles of Ft. Donelson, and Shiloh before dying January 7, 1863 in Van Buren, Missouri. Like the majority of the Union casualties, Theodore died not of wounds but of a disease probably something like pneumonia.
![]() |
Battle of Fort Donelson fought February 14 through 16, 1862. Picture created by Kurz & Allison 1887 www.lincolncollection.org |
My cousin Phelps Wilson Long, Jr. also gave his life, not in a national catastrophe but in a global conflagration. The 1940 Federal Census finds Phelps as a 16 year old, living with his family and attending high school.
His father Phelps and mother Martha Allen Long were running the family department store in Tallahassee, Florida. Little sister Shirley was in the sixth grade. An older cousin Lindsay Pappy also lived in the home.
![]() |
Phelps is fourth from the right in the bottom row of the University of Florida Seminole Yearbook image from www.ancestry.com |
![]() |
Private Phelps W. Long, Jr. copy of photograph in possession of his sister. Used with permission. |
Phelps' unit was eventually sent to the South Pacific to take part in the battle for Bougainville, a strategic island that had been held by the Japanese since 1942. His unit, the 3rd Marine Division was given the task to take the hilly area around the Japanese field artillery. One of the most difficult positions to take was an area called "Helzappoppin Ridge". The Marines attacked there on December 12th. It wasn't until the 18th that coordinated attacks allowed the American troops to capture and control the ridge. Phelps was killed on the 16th.
His death left a huge hole in his tight knit family. My grandmother Hazel Allen Cone (his mother's sister) said that his mother never recovered from his loss. She died a mere five years later at age 47. Talking with his sister Shirley Long Collins last month is Tallahassee, she said that her father never got over Phelps death either. I could see the sadness over of the loss of her brother that remains with Shirley to this day. Phelps' parents eventually paid to have their son's remains returned to Florida for burial.
Hopefully, we will all take time among the picnics, boat rides, cookouts and other festivities to remember those whose sacrifices have secured our country and way of life.
Love,
Cecily Cone Kelly
P. S. For family members - Phelps W. Long was my paternal grandmother's nephew and my father's first cousin. Theodore Clarke is also on my paternal side, the brother of my 2nd great grandmother.