Family History
The ancestor not shown was Asa Prevo the father who lived in pre-revolutionary Maryland. His son Asa moved to west central Indiana.
My Grandfather is shown. He is Russell O. Prevo. He married Clara Dora Doebler. My father was James August William Prevo born March 10, 1910 in Kouts, Indiana.
My grandfather operated a general store there and was president of the bank. Each week he drove butter and eggs from the surrounding farms to Chicago.
We had some ‘unique’ family members. One ancestor was described as looking like a Golden Retriever. The hair covering him was that shade. He was described as a gentle person.
My Grandfather’s sister married the man who became Sheriff in Lake County, Indiana. They lived at the jail and she provided the meals. It was pretty low-key but they had one famous guest — John Dillinger. Yes, soap gun and all.
I am James Kenneth Prevo. I have two younger sister living: Peggy Jan and Rebecca Ann. A third sister, Virginia Ann, was born during an Influenza epidemic and died shortly after birth. My Grandfather sued the hospital and they settled by installing windows to separate the public from the infants.
My earliest memory is of that funeral. Then, they were held in the home and each day the funeral home brought the tiny casket to our living room. That and my parents sadness terrified me.
My mother was Maud Virginia Barrett born July 27 (or 26th), 1917. (You didn’t stay a friend using Maud.) She was born in Vinita, Oklahoma. Her father was Arthur John Barrett. Grandpa was a sooner. His father was an itinerant mechanic/blacksmith. They lived in a covered wagon and were in OK before the land rush but didn’t bother to claim land. His wife was a Cherokee Indian. A guess is they came together from the Carolinas. Arthur’s wife was Hildegarde Augenstein from Marietta, Ohio on the Ohio river.
When the dust bowl happened, they moved to California and later to Illinois where mother met my father. My grandfather raised 5 children and my mother was the youngest. There were 4 girls and 1 son — also Arthur John.
I’ll try to flesh this out later but it is a start.
Recent Comments