Serena White Sayles--are you there? That is what I ask every time I sort the Sayles' family records. My grandmother was a miracle baby. Anna Florette Sayles was born in December 1901, less than a year after Lilly Dodson and Clifton Duvall Sayles married, a second shot at happiness that these two grabbed. Clifton had … Continue reading Surname Saturday–Sayles
Serena White
Madness Monday: What Happened to Christopher Sherman Sayles?
Christopher Sherman Sayles was welcomed into the village of Alfred Station, New York sometime during 1862, the year his father, Ira B. Sayles, enlisted in the 130th Regiment New York Volunteer Infantry of the Union Army. This youngest child of Ira and wife, Serena White Sayles, was named for his paternal grandfather, Christopher Sayles. Sherman … Continue reading Madness Monday: What Happened to Christopher Sherman Sayles?
Serena’s Lament
Great-great-grandparents Serena and Ira Sayles were married in April of 1845, in Alfred, New York, but spent much of their lives from 1862 until 1894 separated by the demands of a post-war nation. Throughout their marriage Ira was an amateur geologist, and his last decade was spent traveling up and down the east coast for … Continue reading Serena’s Lament
Shoots, Roots, and Leaves 