The family of George Robert Allen 1837-1916

 I've learned a good bit in researching the family of George Allen.  I thought I knew this family reasonably well, but there were some surprises along the way.  George and Nancy are my great grandparents so it seems that I would know at least the main things about them.  Wrong!  

George is the son of Archibald and Margaret Dunn Allen, born in 1837 in either Putnam, Porter, or Pulaski county-take your pick.  He lived for the first half of his life in Pulaski County (except for a brief time in the Union Army during the Civil War) and the second half of his life in Daviess County, Missouri.  His first wife, the mother of all but one of his children, was Nancy McCoy, the daughter of Vincent and Eleanor Jackson McCoy.  Nancy died in 1880 and he soon married Sarah Powell Nance, who was a widow, and moved to Daviess County, Missouri, where his father had gone soon after the death of his first wife.  George and Sarah and one child, a daughter.

George and Nancy's children are:

Emma, who was born in 1861 and married Elisha Frost, the son of Elisha and Elizabeth Bourne Frost.  I located only one child for them, a son named Clyde.  There may have been others who were born early in the marriage since the 1890 census is missing.  

Andrew A Allen, who is very much still a mystery.  He was born in 1863 and is shown on both the 1870 and 1880 census records, living with his parents and in 1880, working on the farm.  Then he disappears from history, as far as I can tell.  The only additional information I have about him is from my grandmother's "At the Portal" book, in which she notes his birthdate, that he was the oldest brother of my grandfather, and calls him, in quotation marks "Major".  I have looked through some Army records, not exhaustively, and have been unable to locate him.  "Major" may be a family nick name.  Her book records family births and deaths up until late 1949, and there is no death entry for him.  It may be that they never knew what became of him, or it may be that his death occurred prior to 1909, when she started writing in the book.

Edward was the next son.  He was born in 1868 in Missouri, where his parents had hoped to settle.  They had to return to Indiana because the sale of their land, apparently on contract, fell through.  He married Edith Knott, the daughter of John Wilson and Harriet Starr Knott, and they had six children: Forest, Vernon, Tessora, Nancy Corrinne, Edith, and Richard.  I will write more of this family in my next post.

Edwin was born in 1869 and is seen in the 1870 census but is not in the 1880 census.  I don't know how long he lived, but it was apparently an early death.  

George R (I have seen both Robert and Roswell given as his middle name, but the book gives his name as Robert) was born in 1873.  He married Margaret Lurana (or Lurana Margaret) Black, the daughter of William and Ebeline Henderson Black.  They had two known children, Lois and Robert.  This was the last of the known children of George and Nancy.

George and Sarah had one daughter after they moved to Missouri.  She was Fannie Olive Allen, and she married first Herbert "Earl" Petty.  This marriage ended in divorce or annulment, because six years after the first marriage she married William A Sweaney, the son of John and Elizabeth Miller Sweaney.  Thier children were Opal, Naoma, Hazel, Gerald, Robert, and Leland.  The thing that astounded me was that Fannie lived until 1970, when I was in my early adulthood.  I don't remember my father ever mentioning her.  My grandmother knew of her because "At the Portal" mentions her, but possibly because of the large difference in ages-Edward was 15 years older than Fannie-she apparently was not a topic of conversation in the house growing up.

New to me facts were "Major" in regards to Andrew, the existence, however brief, of Edwin, and most of the information about Fannie.  That's why we do the research, to rescue those who have been forgotten!

 

The family of Archibald Allen 1809-1885

 Archibald Allen is next in our Allen line.  I well remember how I finally learned the name of his wife.  At the time, I only "knew" that he had been married in Kentucky, but I didn't know what county, and I knew only the first name of his wife.  I was also a little hazy on what time period I should be looking for, although I knew it would be sometime before 1837.  My research solution is not one I would recommend.  I stood in the county stacks for Kentucky at The Genealogy Center of the Allen County Public Library, and I pulled out every single marriage book that appeared to have records for that time period, starting with the "A" counties-Adair, etc. I was probably there for at least an hour before I got to Mercer County, and that's when I struck gold.  He'd married Margaret J. Dunn, daughter of Lemuel and Sarah or Sally Campbell Dunn, on March 12, 1834.  I had tears of joy running down my face.

With that information, it was a bit easier to find other key facts, including information about his children.  Margaret died in 1865 and Archibald married Elizabeth Ryerson Shields in 1868.  They moved to Jamison, Daviess County, Missouri, where Archibald died in 1885.

John C. (possibly for Campbell? speculation!) Allen was born about 1835 in Mercer County.  He married Mary Amanda Dukes, the daughter of Ephraim and Jane Eslinger Dukes.  Their known children are Charles, Riley, Mariah, Ida, and Mary E.  I have an unconfirmed death date of about 1894 for him, in Pulaski County, Indiana, where Archibald and Margaret had moved during the late 1830s.

George Allen was the next born, on July 16, 1837, possibly in Putnam County, Indiana.  He married first Nancy McCoy, daughter of Vincent and Eleanor Jackson McCoy.  Their children are Emma, Andrew, Edward, and George.  His second marriage was to Sarah Powell Nance, the widow of Peter Nance and the daughter of James and Mary Wilson Powell.  There was one child, Frances (Fannie) born to the second marriage.  I will write more of this family in my next post.

There may or may not be a son, Robert, born after George.  It is likely that he died as an infant or small child, as I can find nothing about him.  It's also possible that the "Robert" was actually George, whose middle name was Robert.

Harriet was born April 12, 1840.  She married Andrew John Hathaway, the son of Francis and Sarah Bourne Hathaway.  Their children were Meredith, Frances, William, Henry, Mary, Margaret, Hattie, Emery and Cora.  She died in 1910 in Kansas City, Missouri.  

Susan was born in 1843 and married John Hicks Wheatley, the son of Thomas and Agnes Holcombe Wheatley.  Their children are Margaret, Thomas, George, and Robert.  She died in 1872 in Fulton County, Indiana (likely very near her parents), just one week after the birth of her last son.  

Finally, there was Sarah Ellen, born in 1848.  She married Nathan L Agnew, the son of William and Eliza Harding Agnew in 1871.  Their children were Florence, Frances, Mabel, and Myrtle.  Sadly, this couple was divorced by 1883.  Her 1900 census in Monroe, Pulaski County, Indiana gives her birth date as 1856, but I think this is the same woman.   She is listed as a "capitalist" and two daughters are school teachers and one a music instructor.   I have not located a death date for her, although one clue I have may lead to an interesting story at some future point.

Archibald's story is an inspiring one because of his capacity for starting over, and finding information about his children has been fun.  As usual, now that I have some answers, there are more questions but that is the way genealogy works.

The family of James Allen 1769-1820

 I've been writing these "family of" posts for several months now, and this is the first family I've come across with only one of the children fairly well documented on line.  The other children were mysteries when I started preparing this post.  I have found a little about some of them and want to get this information out there, in it's current state of being unfinished, because we are not guaranteed tomorrow.  I hope to find some new cousins by doing this, or at least leave bread crumbs that someone else can follow.  My information for this post comes from James's will in Mercer County, Kentucky, census records of Mercer county, and a book of Mercer County marriages found on Internet Archives.

James Allen, son of James and Sarah Crowdas Allen, was born in Goochland County, Virginia in 1769.  He married Tabath or Tabitha Parrish, daughter of Moses and Mary Hill Parrish, on October 19, 1775 in Goochland County.  I am not sure when the couple moved to Mercer County, Kentucky, but they were in Mercer County in the 1810 census, and their last son states on later census that his birthplace was Kentucky.  James still was paying taxes in 1815 in Virginia, and if he had rented this land to someone, he would have had a source of income while settling into his Kentucky home.  James may not have owned any land when he died, as he gave directions in his will that his land in Virginia be sold for the benefit of his wife and that personal property both in Virginia and Kentucky be sold and used for the benefit of his children. 

I don't know the birth order of the children, so I will mention them in the order of the will, except the daughter was listed last, and she is already married.  So she clearly belongs earlier in the list, and she was probably either the first or second barn.  I've placed her as the second born but that may not be correct.  According to the 1810 census, there was were five males under the age of 10, one 10-16, one female 10-16, and a male and female each in the 26-45 year category. 

James is listed first in the will.  He was James P (perhaps for Parrish?), and he was married to Jane Glazebrook on September 28, 1824.  Either a Yancy or a Nancy Glazebrook gave permission, but I haven't been able yet to trace the Glazebrook family.  On the 1850 census, the following are probably their children: Robert, Tabitha, Joseph, Charles, Jane, James, and possibly another Jane, or possibly this is a different name (the writing is hard to read).  There may be other children, also, for there is an 8 year gap between Robert and Tabitha, and those children, if any, would have been old enough to possibly be out on their own.  Tabitha Allen, aged 76, is also a member of the household.  This would be James's mother.  I haven't found her in the 1860 census, so she may have died during this time.  

Eliza was born about 1800, and at the time James wrote his will in 1820, she was Eliza Vandavier, according to the spelling in the will. Eliza Vandevere is found in the 1850 census in district one of Mercer County, with five presumed daughters living with her-Mary, Ellen, Justina, Nancy, and Elizabeth.  Mary is 32 and Elizabeth is 18, with Justina being the youngest at the age of 5.  So her husband, as yet unidentified, may have died sometime after 1844, or this being 1850, it's possible that he was in California.  Also, it may be that Mary was not a daughter to Eliza, because James in his 1820 will uses the phrase "making her children equal if she should have any". Perhaps Mary was a step-daughter.  There is also the possibility that Justine is Mary's daughter, which would make sense if the Eliza Vandovier in the 1840 census is also our Eliza.  Husband may have died prior to the 1840 census.  In the 1840 census, is one male 16-19, three females 10-14, three aged 15-19, and Eliza, aged 40-49. Interestingly, there is a Henry "Vaneliver" in the 1830 census, just three names below that of Tabitha Allen, whose family includes a female of the right age to be Eliza, and includes one male aged 5-9, two females 5-9, and 3 females 10-14, indicating that Henry and wife, possibly Eliza, had been married at least 10 years.  Henry is single in the 1840 census, so it's possible that there was a separation or divorce. Clearly more research is needed. 

Isaac Allen is the next son.  I am not sure I have located him at all, until 1850, when he is living in the household of William Allen.  The census shows him as being seven years older than William, his presumed brother.  Where was he prior to this?

Moses is the next son mentioned in the will.  I've found him in the 1830 census, in Perryville, Mercer County. with a wife and one son under the age of 5.  I have not found him in Mercer County after that date.  There is a man by that name, and aged 10 years, in Daviess County, Indiana in 1840 and again in 1850.  In 1850 he is 48, his wife is Lucinda, and presumed children are Benjamin, John, Mary, Hiram, Zeporah, Elizabeth, and Susan.  I do not know whether this is our Moses or not.  The only jarring note in the census is that he was born in Ohio (or someone thought he was), and I don't know that our Allen family was ever in Ohio.

John Allen is the next listed son.  I have found nothing I can positively identify as being our John.  There is a John Allen in Harrodsburg, Mercer County in the 1830 census, who is one of two males aged 20-29.  Also in the household is a male under the age of 5, a female 20-29, and, sadly, a male slave under the age of 10.  I have no idea whether this is our John or not, but the age and location make it a possible match.  There is a John who married Cynthia McAfee, daughter of John McAfee, on 10/16/1822, but again, I can't say for certain this is our John.  

William Allen is next.   Per the 1850 census he was 43 years old, and his wife was Ellen.  I found a William Allen who married Eleanor Robards on June 27, 1829.  Did she go by the name of Ellen?  J Robards is one of the witnesses to James's will, so there may or may not be a connection there.  At any rate, William's children in the 1850 census are James, Jesse, Sarah, and William.  As mentioned above, Isaac was also in the household at this time. There is a William Allen of the right age, single, in the 1870 census in Daviess County, Missouri.  That is where Archibald Allen was in 1870, so there is a good possibility that the two youngest sons of James and Tabitha ended up living near each other.

And finally, there is Archibald.  He was born about 1809, in Kentucky, and married Margaret J. Dunn, daughter of Lemuel and Sarah Campbell Dunn on March 12, 1834 in Mercer County.  Their known children are John, George, Robert, Harriet, Susan, and Sarah.  I will write more of this family in my next post.  

This post has a lot of suppositions, and may or may not be correct.  As mentioned earlier, my hope is that this will help some other Allen family members, and that someone will contact me at happygenealogydancingATgmailDOTcom with additional information.  

A side note: A James Allen from Mercer County fought with the Confederates in the Civil War.  William's son James would have been about 21 when the war began.  If the two James are the same, then Archibald's son George and William's son James, first cousins, would have been on opposite sides of the war.  We know George was at the battle of Perryville.  Was James? 

The family of James Allen 1735ish to 1801

 This is the line I care about most at the moment  Although I have many challenging ancestors still to locate, this one is still a mystery prior to his marriage to Sarah Cloudas/Crowdus/Crowder, daughter of George and possibly Susannah or possibly Mary Cloudas.  Actually, I've not even located marriage records for James and Sarah.  The first record I have is of the birth of their son, Richard, in 1755.  Most sites give James's birth as 1735 but I think it more likely that he was born earlier than that, in order to marry and have a child in 1755.  

This is also a difficult post to write because it is so incomplete.  I've managed to trace, I think, a few of the children and that is an ongoing project.  I hope that there will be someone who reads this post who knows more than I know and who will contact me so we can put our heads together on this.  Here is a listing of the children as far as I have been able to determine.

Richard was the first born, or the first born of whom we have record.  He married Elizabeth Richardson in 1781 in Fluvanna County, Virginia.  (Fluvanna was formed from Goochland County, which is where our earliest Allen records are found.)  Elizabeth may have been the daughter of Isham amd Mary Terrell Richardson, or she may have been the daughter of Green and Nancy Graves Richardson.  They were the parents of at least 10 children: James, Nancy, William, Richard, Martha (Patsy), George, Polly, Mahala, Joseph, and Mariah or Maria.  Based on naming patterns, I think it's more likely that Elizabeth's parents were Green and Nancy, but a will or deeds should be located to verify this.

Elizabeth Allen married Samuel John Woodard, son of John and Susannah Tilman Woodard. The spelling is also seen as Woodward, especially in that of their son David.  I've found two death dates for Elizabeth, one in 1789 and one in 1832.  If the later one is correct, Samuel's census shows a total of 8 children.  However, they could have been from a second wife.  More research to do!

I could find nothing about Susannah except that she was born in 1761 and died before 1818.  

Mary May was born in 1763.  She married Thomas Glass, whom I've been unable to trace.  The couple is known to have had one child, Catherine, but there may be others.

George was born in 1766 and married Nancy Clements.  All that I know about Nancy is that her mother's name was Sally and there was a Stephen Clements who was a witness at the wedding, along with William Allen.  Unfortunately, I've found no further records of him, and do not know whether he and Nancy had any children.

James was born in 1769.  He married Tabath or Tabitha Parrish, daughter of Moses and Mary Hill Parrish in 1795.  Their children are William, John, James, Eliza, Isaac, Moses, and Archibald.  I will write more of this family in my next post.

There are confusing claims about William.  Our William died in 1841 in Goochland County, so he is not the WIlliam who married Susannah E Echols and who died in Tennessee in 1833.  Our William married Lucy Graves, the daughter of John and possibly Lucinda Adams Graves.  Their children are Sarah, Martha, Elizabeth, Harriet, John, James, Richard, and Mathilda.  

Martha was born in 1775 and married Daneil Carrell or Cararoll.  He was the son of Booker Carroll.  Daniel has one daughter listed on the 1820 census, but I do not know whether this was Martha's daughter or not, nor do I know of any other children.

Sally was their last child, born April 4, 1777.  I have located nothing further of her, except that there was a Sally Allen who married Thomas Whitlock as his second wife, in Goochland County.  I haven't yet found anything to confirm or deny that this was our Sally.  

It troubles me that there are so many unknowns in this post.  I believe there are answers somewhere, whether in Goochland County or at the Library of Virginia, but until more information comes on line, or until I get better at researching, or until some unknown family member points me in the right direction, this is the best post I can write, as of February 14, 2023.

The family of Emmanuel Harshbarger

Emmanuel Harshbarger was the son of Lewis and Catherine Mentzer (Mancer or Manser in most records). His name was generally spelled with two "ems", as far as I can tell.  His gravestone shows only one, but that could have been either a mistake, or a decision by the family to save a bit of money.  He was born in Summit County, Ohio in 1854 but came to Whitley County, Indiana as a toddler and lived the rest of his life there, dying in 1928.  

Emmanuel was married to Clara Ellen Harter, the daughter of John and Mary Bennett Harter, on July 9, 1878.  Eight children were born to the marriage, but sadly, only four lived to adulthood.  As we will note, those children ended the tradition of having many children per couple.

Lewis, sometimes seen as Louis, was the first born, in 1879.  I know nothing more of him except that he died in 1892.  

Maude was born in 1881.  She married Simon Gardner, the son of David and Amanda Fisher Gardner.  They had one child together, Belle.  Simon also had a daughter outside of marriage.  Maude died in 1954.

Olive May was born and died in 1883.  

The couple then suffered the loss of another infant, Edward, who was born and died in 1885.  

Bertha was the next child, born in 1886.  She married Charles E Shepherd, the son of Alfred and Martha Knight Shepherd.  Their children were Helen, Arthur, and Kenneth.  Bertha died in 1934.

Grover Cleveland was born October 19, 1890.  He married Goldie Withers Hawn, the daughter of William and Della Kemery Withers on October 2, 1924.  Goldie had been married previously and had a son, Paul Hawn.  Grover and Goldie had one son, Cleveland.  I've written about Grover in a previous post. 

Then there were twins.  Lula Bell and Logan were born June 8, 1895.  Lula Bell died in 1899, but Logan lived until 1979.  He married Chestia Kemery, the daughter of Solomon and Catherine Shook Kemery, and they had two children, Robert and Edward.  I've written of the World War II service of each of those men in earlier posts.  

I did not realize until I started researching for this post that Chestia and Della Kemery were related.  Their mutual grandparents were Daniel and Susannah Essig Kemery.  Finding these family connections is fascinating to me, reminding me that there is always more to understand about the lives of our ancestors, and that they had bonds that aren't immediately apparent when researching just the ancestral line.  

Even though Emmanuel and Clara had just 7 grandchildren, this Harshbarger line continues for at least five more generations, at this point. 

The family of Lewis Harshbarger 1828-1875

Researching slightly more recent ancestors is interesting, because one would expect that there would be more records and documentation for these folks.  It ain't necessarily so!  Lewis Harshbarger is a case in point.  We know his parents, but finding his children, and grandchildren, has been more of a challenge.  I do not know if the list I've compiled is complete as to grandchildren, but I hope the list of children is complete.  

Lewis Harshbarger is the son of George and Mary Kepler Harshbarger.  He was born in Summit County, Ohio in either Pennsylvania or Summit County, Ohio, and he married Catherine Mancer (the rest of the family spelled it Mentzer, but Mancer is used in all the records I've found) on February 26, 1852 in Summit County, Ohio.  (Note: Many trees give his birthdate as 1838 but clearly a fourteen year old boy would not be marrying, so the 1828 date, per consistent census records, is what I'm using).  

The first of Lewis's children seem to have been born in Summit County, but Lewis and Catherine were in Union Township, Whitley County, Indiana by 1857.  Lewis may have come first to purchase land, in 1856. Some of the dates of the children's births are pretty nebulous, supported by dates on grave stones or from sources I can't determine, so the dates may be off by a year or more.

The first child born, in 1852, was Milo.  He married Nancy Virginia ("Ginny" or "Jennie") Bailey, the daughter of Johnson and Mary Ann Smith Riley.  Their known children are Catherine, Oscar, Josephine, and Blanche.  Milo died in 1919.

Next was son Emmanuel, born July 23, 1854.  He married Clara Ellen Harter, daughter of John and Mary Bennett Harter.  Their children are Bertha, Maude, Louis, Olive May, Edward, Grover, Lulu Bell, and Logan.  I will write more of this family in my next post.  

Lavina (sometimes seen as Vina, and even Laveda) was born about 1856.  She first married Hiram Gradeless, a marriage that ended in divorce.  I have found no children by that marriage.  She then married Christopher Judd, the son of Mahlon and Susan Bair Judd in 1882.  Their children are Lotta, Mary, Ruha Zona, Charles, and Elmer. Lavina died in 1917.

Matilda was born about 1857 or 1858.  She married Dr. John Salmon, the son of Benjamin and Betsy Havens Salmon, and they had one known child, Frank.  She died in 1888.

There is a gap here of about 7 years in children's birth dates.  We know there were two children, David and Samuel, who were born to the couple and who each died young, and their births and short lives would fit here, but I have no evidence.

 Henry was born October 13.1865.  He married Lula Belle Brubaker, daughter of William and Sarah Richey Brubaker. Their children are Goldie, Lewis, Franklin, Bessie, Dorothy, Dora, Mary, Gail, Forrest, and possibly one more.  

Cassie, probably short for Catherine but she was always known as Cassie, was born in 1869.  She married George F Bente.  Their children were Glenn, May Gladys, Glenn (again) and George F.  The first Glenn and George F. died as infants.  Cassie died in 1956.

Next was Merritt, who was born in 1868 and died in 1901.  He married Almetta Freels, the daughter of John and Lucinda Smith Freels.  Their children were Nina, Garret, Lavera, and Bernice.  

And finally, there was Mary, who was torn in 1872 and died in 1940.  She married Samuel Smith, the son of John and Wilholmina Slertsly Smith.  Samuel had five children by an earlier marriage, but I have found just one child for Mary, who was named Myrtle.  

Lewis and Catherine had at least 35 grandchildren, with Lewis dying too early to know any of them.  They must have been a joy to Catherine in her old age, however, as she lived until August of 1914. 

 

The family of George Harshbarger

 Information about George Harshbarger is hard to pin down.  Although we have specific dates for his siblings, George's birth date is not currently known.  Many sites give it as 1796, with no documentation, although census records show that he was born in the 1800s.  It's important that this information be documented, because then we could better guess whether his mother was Christina Elizabeth Fehler, or an unknown first wife of his father, Johannes Harshbarger/Hershberger.  

Fortunately, information about his marriage and his family is a little easier to locate.  He married Mary E Kepler Garman, a widow, the daughter of Andrew and Anna Maria Kramer Kepler probably about 1827.  Their children were born in Summit County, Ohio, but I'm not sure where the marriage took place.  George drove wagons between his home town and Chicago, and was killed in a wagon accident in 1844 in Whitley County.  He is reported to be buried in both Whitley County and in Summit County.  I am reasonably certain that he was first buried in Whitley County, but I don't know if his body stayed there or if it was taken back to East Liberty Cemetery in Summit County, where his name is shown on the records there.  

In his short life, he and Mary had at least four children and perhaps five.  I have seen Milo Harshbarger, with no date given, listed as their child, but there are several Milo Harshbargers born during that time period, and I am not yet convinced he was their child.  If he was their child, I don't know how long he lived and it's possible that he died at an early age.  

More information is available about these children:

Lewis Harshbarger was born in Summit County in 1828.  He married Catherine Mentzer (seen in most records as Manser or Mancer), the daughter of Conrad and Elizabeth Tullapen (Duliban and other spellings) Mentzer.  Their children are Milo, Emanuel, Levina, Matilda, Henry, Catherine, and Mary.  I will write more of this family in my next post.  Lewis died in 1875 in Whitley County, Indiana.  

John Harshbarger was born in 1831 in Summit County, and married Julia Ann Snyder, the daughter of Adam and Elizabeth Knop Snyder.  Their children are Elizabeth, Matilda, Andrew B, Merritt, Flora, Mary, Laura, Ella, and Johnny.  He died February 12, 1878 in Whitley County, Indiana.  

Andrew Jackson Harshbarger was born September 30, 1835 in Summit County, Ohio and married Delilah Ruple, the daughter of James and Sarah Wagoner Ruple.  Their children are Samuel, Alice, William, Charles, Andrew Burton, Burton (these may refer to just one person?), Franklin, George, Leura, and Mary Emma, known as Mayme. He died in 1913 in Columbia City, Whitley County, Indiana.

There is a gap here of seven years, so if Milo was their son, perhaps his birth and possible death would fit in here.

Leah Harshbarger, born in 1842, was their only known daughter, and also the only of their children to stay in Summit County.  She married Jeremiah Garman, the son of Jacob and Elizabeth Hunsberger Garman, and likely some relation to Mary Kepler's first husband, although I haven't traced that.  Their children are Mary, Mayme, George, Frank, Kirk, Gertrude, and Ida.  Leah is also said to have had a relationship with Elijah Sehriver, and was the mother of Byron Sehriver.  I have not been able to locate records to show this, so I don't know if this is anything more than gossip.  Both Leah and Jeremiah died in 1904.

 Although George's life was cut short (as were the lives of two of his sons), his surviving family helped build Whitley County, and his son in law, Jeremiah, served in the Civil War for over four years.  George could be proud of his family, and we can be proud, too!