My mom's family has some pretty long branches of the family tree, especially on her maternal side. Future posts will unearth and show that those roots go very deep into our nation's history. But for now, I want to start with my maternal grandparents.
Meet my maternal grandparents, Andrew Daniel Bodak and Madeline Estelle Mahaffy. This is one of my favorite pictures of them. They were married at the Plantsville Baptist Church in the Plantsville section of Southington, Connecticut on May 16, 1942.
Andrew was born in Plymouth, Connecticut on August 24, 1917 to Daniel Bodak and Sophie Graban. Daniel and Sophie immigrated from Austria-Hungary. They had six children: four girls and two boys. Andrew was the third child. I never got the chance to know my grandfather as I was only ten months old when he died. My grandfather died on June 22, 1967 at his home in Bristol, Connecticut as a result of a suicide. The circumstances of his death is for another time.
Madeline or "Midge" as she was know as was born in Madison, Maine on October 29, 1917 to John Wesley Mahaffy and Ruth Mae Thompson. Both John and Ruth were born in Maine. They had seven children: four girls and three boys. Midge was the third child and second daughter. She was also the last of the children to pass on. My grandmother died on January 2, 2011 in Branford, Connecticut from pancreatic cancer. Gram was only diagnosed with the cancer a couple months before she passed.
For years, I would sit with my grandmother and listen to her tell stories of my grandfather and her family. Gram's side of the family is very large so had lots of stories to tell which leaves me with lots of stories to share.
Enjoy your posts so far, and will continue to follow along. Most of research of late has been in Maine and Massachusetts. Best of luck!
ReplyDeleteThank you Cody.
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