Harold Willett

Harold Willett

My grandmother, Jeanette Shrum Willett, left us a wonderful handwritten manuscript of her life which she wrote in the mid 1980’s. She was born August 4, 1897 in Bloomington, Indiana and died March 3, 1988 in Salem, Massachusetts.  I have been transcribing her manuscript here. You can start from the beginning with Part 1. My…

Yellow Fever in Virginia – Family Legend or Truth?

Yellow Fever in Virginia – Family Legend or Truth?

To anyone other than a genealogist, getting excited when you learn about a tragedy in your family history is kind of morbid. But I wouldn’t say the word “excited” is exactly the right term. Interested. Fascinated. Connected. In July of 1870,  my third great grandfather, Orlando Shrum,  was a successful young brickmason in Halbert Township…