Reverend Harry S. Crossett, Sr.

Today the decision is to begin the backward look at the family by using the one with the least depth.  The Crossett Family.  What do you do when your grandfather doesn't exist?  At least according to all 5 Boroughs of the city that never sleeps, he doesn't exist.  

He looks pretty much like a person to me.  This is even what I remember most, except the mouth line was often in a grin and always ready to tickle (my brother would probably beg to differ).  

Every document post 1900 tell us he was born in NYC in May, 1884.  It's those pesky documents from 1890 that were burned that are the problem.  

His mother's name was Sarah M.  According to her death certificate, she was born in Fort Edward, Washington County, NY.  Can't find her in Fort Edward. She died in CT with the only last name we can confirm, TWISS.  

Are you feeling as confused as we are?  We have no idea who his father was.  According to the Census, Sarah had 3 children.  All alive in the 1900 census, but all with different last names, Crossett, Baldwin, and Twiss.  Sensing a trend here?  Harry Jr. has done the DNA test on Ancestry in an effort to find some missing pieces, so far, we've linked to his mother's family (Brainerd/Brainard)) but no Crossett.  

Wikipedia doesn't have much to offer on May 1884: 

• May 1 – The eight-hour workday is first proclaimed by the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions in the United States. May 1, called May Day or Labour Day, is now a holiday recognized in almost every industrialized country

But May of 1884 means that I exist.  Where is he?

It was 1946

1946 Lynbrook, LI, NY
Ray's christening

Here's the proof that the families merged.  Both sets of Grandparents are here.  Dad's brother Wes & wife Bobbie (cousin Geof thinks they may have been stationed in Guam about this time) and mom's brother Harry (Jr.) were missing.

We're not sure of who all these people are, but the major players all showed up including Aunts, Uncles, and two cousins.  Sad to think that from this photo only two survive today. The man of the hour and our cousin Kathy held in her daddy's arms. 

According to Wikipedia, here were the events on his birthday: 

• The United States Army recovered a treasure trove of jewelry and manuscripts that had been stolen by a group of American officers from theFriedrichshof Castle in Kronberg, Germany. Women's' Army Corps Captain Kathleen Nash Durant had hidden part of the loot at her sister's home in Hudson, Wisconsin, and her husband, Colonel Jack W. Durant, had hidden hundreds of diamonds and other gems in a locker at the Illinois Central railway station in Chicago.^[8]
• The National School Lunch Act was signed into law by U.S. President Harry S. Truman, permanently establishing federal financial support for free or low-cost meals for schoolchildren.^[9]

Found a "honeymoon" photo from 1945.  They skied in the hills of PA. Don't know if they ever went skiing again.  

This photo is way before I arrived, mom and dad headed to FL 1947.  Since we moved there in 1960, guess the sand had already lodged in their toes.  

Nice to see them looking happy.  Guess Ray was staying with Ma & Pa Carrs.  Later in life they enjoyed special travel destinations not the least of which being Alaska, Brazil, and to visit their  Macadamia Trees in Costa Rica.  

First Post

If you are reading this, you've either nuts or interested.  I've been informed that if I really think we need a family blog, then I'd best get to it.  So it is named for the two people who brought me into this world; dad, Bob Franklin and mom, Chris Crossett.

Can't seem to get a better copy from their wedding day being 1945.  Dad was still on active duty in the Navy.   The world functioned around these activities on their day: 

     * Nazi occupiers forbid food transport to the West (The Netherlands)

     * Russia liberated Auschwitz and Birkenau Concentration Camp (Poland)

     * S. Romberg, H&D Fields musical premiered in NYC

     * Wally van Hall, a Dutch banker and resistance leader was arrested

Sounds like a pretty eventful day!