Family History Jigsaw Puzzles

Courtland Marchant
abt 1928 or 1929

When I do genealogy on a family line, sometimes I go backwards in time and sometimes I go forwards.  Then I go back and forth.  By the time I am done, I've been able to piece together their "story."  The whole process is like solving a mystery and I love a mystery.  Or it is like putting a jigsaw puzzle together.  I like puzzles, too.

Sometimes the puzzle pieces pop up in surprising places.  Last year, I was looking at my grandmother's and her sister's families trying to find a few more pieces to the stories.  I "googled" one of the names - Courtland Marchant - my grandmother's nephew. I was stunned to find him on Facebook! Yesterday, I found a second cousin, also a Marchant on Ancestry.com.  

In Mom's office was a box of old letters and cards written to my grandmother Vernie (Crabb) Bailey during the last few years when she lived with my parents.  Some of these were from her nephews.  I also found a file folder of old pictures of Aunt Arloene's family.  I posted these to Facebook - where I am creating a gathering place for my cousins so we can share family history and present day stories with each other -- an ongoing family reunion.  Hopefully someone will be able to identify the photographs with no name.

Here are two letters from Al Marchant, son of Emmer and Arloene (Crabb) Marchant to his Aunt Vernie (Crabb) Bailey:

21 May 87
Dear Vernie and all,
"Greetings from Beautiful Ft. Bragg California."
Hope all is well with all of you.
I have been with Leona for about 8 months.  She has been bed ridden and uses a walker all this time.  She gets up to eat and then back to bed.  She has a lady to take care of her.
I have been doing a lot of repair work around the place.
I liked this cassette so that you would like one to.
Best Regards and may God bless and guide all of you.
           As Ever
                          Al


Dear Aunt Vernie,
"Greetings from Foggy Calif."
Was surprised you were in AZ.
I was thru Page many years ago and I like all of Ariz.
Us Campers stay around Yuma or Quartzsite in the winter and on the Mts around Flagstaff - Williams - Prescott in the summer that way we get the best of two worlds - (wish I was at Quartzsite now.)
  The big mineral show takes place first of Feb every year.
  Leona is about the same
We went to town Sun and she enjoyed the ride.
  Hope all of you are in Good Health and have a "Happy New Year"
       "Jesus is Lord"
                   Al
P.S.  You never told me you[r] daughters name? a cousin I last saw in Commache Texas I think?
  The older I get - the more doughtfull I get.
[enclosed an newspaper article about Quartzsite dated Jan. 29, 1988]

A Christmas card postmarked 1989:

Dear Aunt Vernie:

  Virgil & I wish you a very "merry Christmas" and hope the new year brings you health and happiness.

  We are both doing great.  Virgil golfs three times a week, and I take aerobics three times a week and get in a golf game whenever possible.

  We are meeting our oldest daugther and family at Moutee's in Seaview for Christmas this year.  Then Lisa and family will come up here for a few days before heading back to Calif.

  Weather here is clear and cool.  No rain - no snow.

      Love,

          Virgil & Ruth.