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Christmas 1964 with all 7 Miller children in front of a Christmas tree

Christmas 1964 with all 7 Miller children in front of a Christmas tree

December 2024 Then and Now

Christmas Past Christmas 1964 at home at 34-31 96th Street in Corona NYC. All 7 Miller children posing in front of the christmas tree in the living room. Presents and whirlwind of gift wrapping looks to have been cleared away. Anthony is 1 year and 3 months old here riding on my shoulders. I loved that sweater. Front row is Deborah '58, Carl '61, Wayne '59. Back row is Karen '57, Keith '52, David '55 and Anthony '63 up high. This New York Christmas scene is in 1980 or '81. Kathy was born in…

Dec 25, 2024By: David Miller

Smiths family tree

Smiths family tree

Smiths Family Tree Georgia to Mass and NJ

All that I knew about our great great Grandfather James G. Smith was that he migrated north from Georgia. He met and married Maggie Brown and started a family in Englewood NJ. He also died too young. Cause unknown, at least I never heard anything about it. Our generation, or at least some of us, will remember Uncle Leon's stories of a connection to Springfield Mass. More detail was never available to him I guess. No idea what was going on. Now, again thanks to ancestry, and Loren Cope, we have…

Dec 28, 2023By: David Miller

Browns family tree

Browns family tree

Browns Family Tree NY to NJ and CA

Great great grandfather William Brown Jr. family tree. This is a photo I have from ? Maybe from Jane Brooks - Cousin Tommy? I'm not positive who this is but it "might" be William Brown Jr and his wife. Great great grandfather William Brown Jr. and wife? We are now connected to 2 "new" cousins on the Brown side. William Brown, far as I could tell had 7 children. One of which was our great-grandmother Margaret "Maggie" Brown. Sister of Maggie Brown was Cornelia Brown. Cornielia, our great-aunt…

Dec 21, 2023By: David Miller

Cousin Loren Green

Cousin Loren Green

Cousin Loren Green

While mining away on Ancestry looking into the Smith side of our family. I came across a photo of our great-grandmother, Margaret "Maggie" Brown. It wasn't just an photo either. It was one I had seen many times. Only this time in color. great-grandmother Maggie Brown Taken in her backyard in Englewood NJ. Backing on to Mackay Park on the other side of the brook. I know I've seen that photo of Maggie Brown several times. The background is reconizable as Englewood. Mackay Park. Great grandmother…

Dec 15, 2023By: David Miller

cousin Cabrini with her pet cockatoo

cousin Cabrini with her pet cockatoo

Cousins Cabrini and Gloria

Cousins cousins and more cousins. The hills are alive with the sound of cousins. Well okay maybe not quite. At any rate back in February of this year ('23) I was minding my business on Ancestry trying to establish as much history as I could and uploading some old photos of our ancestors when I got this message: My name is Gloria and my first cousin Cabrini has this site on Ancestry.com. We have been trying to uncover some of our history and recently she saw a picture you posted. It was of a man…

Dec 15, 2023By: David Miller

Cynthia and Cathy smith wearing their finest 70's furry fashion by a waterfall

Cynthia and Cathy smith wearing their finest 70's furry fashion by a waterfall

Cathy Smith

Cathy asked me to post a few photos that she sent. Some old and some new ones. Enjoy. Cynthia and Cathy smith wearing their finest 70's furry fashion Must be in Hanover or White River Junction somewhere. Alaina Cathy and Bohdi Cathy, her daughter Alaina, and her grandson Bohdi. 3 generations. This is from this September (2023) Summer of 1956 Baby Cynthia and Cathy with Uncle Sammy and Aunt Juanita May '56 is when Cindy was born so this is not long afterwards. Another earlier photo of Cathy…

Dec 14, 2023By: David Miller

Carl, Kathy Ward, Ariana Ward, Debbie, David Miller

Carl, Kathy Ward, Ariana Ward, Debbie, David Miller

New York family trip 2023

I just recently got back from my first trip back to the states since moving to Germany in January 2020. It's been a long time. Too long. Between Global Pandemics™ and illnesses. Too much time. Too much loss. Anyway I got to NY on a Thursday evening and Carl had come in earlier that morning. We went over to Kathy's apartment where Karen was staying. It was Karen we had all come to see. See was doing hospice there with her daughter and grand-daughter. I was good for everyone to get back together…

Nov 22, 2023By: David Miller

Reunion 1998 Silver Springs MD Deborah Miller Leon Smith and Dawn Smith

Reunion 1998 Silver Springs MD Deborah Miller Leon Smith and Dawn Smith

Reunion 1998

The Millers and Smiths were invited down to Silver Springs Maryland for a summer reunion. Tamara and Donald had us all over at their place for a few sunny days in late summer for sun and fun. If I remember right we all camped out in their cellar on cots and sleeping bags. Uncle Sammy and our cousins Dawn and Jeff came from North Carolina. Not sure where Uncle Sammy was then, Las Vegas or ? Uncle Leon came. Sherwood and Marie-Claire came down from Burlington Vermont. Tatiana and I came from the…

Oct 25, 2023By: David Miller

Reunion 1957 in Englewood NJ family photo

Reunion 1957 in Englewood NJ family photo

Reunion Englewood NJ 1957

Here are the only 4 photos that I know of that appears to show one of the earliest reunions of the Miller and Smith familys. Occaision appears to be the birth of cousin Sherwood. Sherwood was born in June of 1957. You don't notice it here but Karen Miller will be born in November of the same year, 1957. The location is in the back yard at 125 First Street in Englewood. People are seated just after the flower garden that was near the parking area that was along the brook. There was a smaller tree…

Oct 24, 2023By: David Miller

William Brown Jr. at 92 years old. Sparkill New York

William Brown Jr. at 92 years old. Sparkill New York

Brown Genealogy

William Brown Jr. Born ~5 March 1836 in New York - died ~9 October 1930. Great great grandfather, at least for my generation. For some of us he might be 3x great or even 4x great. I only knew his daughter, our great grandmother Margaret "Maggie" Brown for a short while up until her passing in 1965. I was 9 year old then. Mom didn't say anything about him. I don't think grandaddy ever did. I don't know if I ever heard anyone who knew him speak of him. Why the sudden interest? Well in general I've…

Jul 24, 2023By: David Miller

Karen Miller at Metis Nation of North America Pow Wow Fort Hunter NY June 2023

Karen Miller at Metis Nation of North America Pow Wow Fort Hunter NY June 2023

Metis Nation of North America Pow Wow / Festival 2023

Metis Nation of North America Pow Wow Fort Hunter NY June 2023. Karen Miller, Kathy Ward, and family friend Sharon Rodrigo attended. Karen Miller at Metis Nation of North America Pow Wow Fort Hunter NY June 2023 Karen standing for the opening of the Pow Wow

Jun 04, 2023By: David Miller

Great grandmother Margaret Maggie Smith (Brown)

Great grandmother Margaret Maggie Smith (Brown)

Mothers Day 2023

Just some photos of all our related mothers. Foundations of our extended families. Therese Miller with Cynthia Smith, Keith Miller, Maggie Brown with Sherwood, Aunt Juanita Smith with Cathy Smith Great grandmother Margaret Maggie Smith (Brown) Grandmother Elizabeth Rose Smith (Reddick) Grandmother Doris Miller (Sherwood) Therese Miller (Smith) Great Aunt Louisa Lulu Lewis (Smith) See the more photos on the Mothers Day page (coming soon).

May 14, 2023By: David Miller

Photos of Grandmother Elizabeth Reddick

Photos of Grandmother Elizabeth Reddick

Grandmother Elizabeth Smith

Photos I found in a green photo album that was gifted to Elizabeth Reddick. Inside the cover was: To Elizabeth From Blanche & Harold Feb, 25, 1955 Elizabeth Reddick Smith and Aunt Margaret and Aunt Caroline? The book is full of photos of Grandmother as a young woman and with a young courtier, James Smith beside her. There are also family members, siblings, and other relatives. Further into the album are photos with Elizabet's sister, Carrie Meyers (Reddick)*. Probably some photos from Quogue…

May 14, 2023By: David Miller

Engle log high school yearbook 1945 cover

Engle log high school yearbook 1945 cover

Engle Log High School Yearbook 1945

The high school yearbook from Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood New Jersey. Just after the WWII finished in 1945. Both Therese and Samuel Smith were in it. Both clearly were musically active, most likely owing to Grandaddy's playing and singing the piano. I remember him doing that every night after he put us to bed when we were over visiting in the summer. The yearbook photos from 1945.

Apr 10, 2023By: David Miller

Wayne Miller, Deborah Miller, Tatiana Schlaffer, Leon Smith sitting on a rock

Wayne Miller, Deborah Miller, Tatiana Schlaffer, Leon Smith sitting on a rock

Rangeley Lakes Camping

I don't remember how this all started or who instigated this trip back in '97. I think it was me. Back then Tatiana and I were both working for L.L.Bean. Bean had some land on Rangely Lake in Western Maine. The town of Rangeley is close to the major ski areas in Maine, Sugarloaf USA, Bigelow, etc. It's a couple of hour drive from Portland Maine and easily reachable from NYC or Boston, or even Qubec, PQ or Montreal. Perfect location really. Lakes, White Mountains in NH, ski areas, the ocean a few…

Jan 16, 2023By: David Miller

Krampus run in Munich Christmas Market December 2022

Krampus run in Munich Christmas Market December 2022

Beware the Krampus

Today was the Krampus run in the Munich Christmas Market. It was pretty packed and cold too. Having snowed the 3 days previous. But we didn't fear the Krampus, since we were nice and not naughty. Otherwise you would have gotten off with a whiping. And no you wouldn't want one of these showing up down your chimney when you were expecting St. Nick. A lump of coal maybe but a Krampus. From the Munich Christmas Market site: The 500-year-old tradition of the Krampus run dates back to the Christian…

Dec 11, 2022By: David Miller

Reunion 1957 in Englewood NJ family photo

Reunion 1957 in Englewood NJ family photo

First day of 2020 and the Fatherland

Dawn January 1, 2020 Waterford Maine As the dawn of 2020 rose in the frosty January morning air we were preparing ourselves for the next chapter in our lives. We had been waiting for the day when we closed on our house and home of the last 17 years in Waterford and flew to whatever was waiting on the other side of the Atlantic. (Spoiler alert: GLOBAL PANDEMIC!) Well to put it in context if we had planned to sell our house and vehicle, pack all our belongings into a container, and move during a…

May 21, 2020By: David Miller

Karen in Regalia

Karen in Regalia

Ramapough Lenape Nation Pow Wow

Karen Miller, Gerard Smith, James Smith, and Aunt Juliana Jones at the September 2019 Ramapough Pow Wow in New Jersey. Gerard Karen and James Gerard James and Aunt Juliana James Karen and Aunt Juliana Karen in Regalia

Oct 10, 2019By: David Miller

Reunion in Maryland May 2010

Reunion in Maryland May 2010

Reunion Maryland 2010

Reunion in Maryland May 2010 We gathered in Chocolate City (Pfunk)/Silver Springs to celebrate the birthdays of Aunt Margaret and Uncle Leon. Since they were just a few days apart. Aunt Margaret was having her 90th birthday. Uncle Leon was "just" 85. Both got really nice cakes and we had a pretty cool dinner. I remember that D.C was pretty hot for May. At least for us coming down from the North country and the deep snows of Maine in May. But the really cool thing happened the next day at Tamara…

Dec 17, 2018By: David Miller

Isabelle's 2018 confirmation in Burlington Vermont

Isabelle's 2018 confirmation in Burlington Vermont

Isabelle's Confirmation

Isabelle Smith was confirmed this past May in Burlington Vermont. The Bishop performed the catholic sacrament. Getting anointed by the bishop with her aunt as sponsor Isabelle's confirmation group picture with the bishop following the mass After the mass we went back to Sherwood and Marie-Claire's for some lunch. Sherwood manned the grill flipping burgers. But Isabelle's cousins were more interested in how the cake would be shared. Isabelle's cousins watching the cake getting sliced Karen…

Dec 14, 2018By: David Miller

Moving to Florida

Carl and Carol decided to sell the farm and head for warmer places late this summer. So they packed up a small sample of their belongings into the biggest Penske truck they could find (26 foot) and headed South. The little yellow moving truck that could If you ask me you can have the alligators, mosquitoes, and other larger nasty insects. Too many of them are already making their way north. Climate change? What? See my post on snow. There are no biting blood sucking insects in snow and all of…

Dec 14, 2018By: David Miller

Family gathered in Hagerstown Maryland for Leon Smith's memorial

Family gathered in Hagerstown Maryland for Leon Smith's memorial

Uncle Leon's Memorial

Family gathered in Hagerstown Maryland for Leon Smith's memorial. A mass and memorial were held in Hancock at the church were Uncle Leon used to go to mass. Uncle Leon memorial mass altar picture After the mass we went into the church meeting rooms for some lunch and to meet some of his friends from that area. For me it was just a year since Sherwood and I drove down to visit him. Besides that I hadn't seen some of my cousins in too long. Sherwood and James talking After a break we met again…

May 15, 2018By: David Miller