Duncan Cousins

Finding this picture of Shirley Jean Duncan, age six years and William Lloyd Duncan, age four and a half months, prompted me to get back in touch with Shirley's daughter, Victoria. She had contacted my brother, Les, four years ago looking for information on her Duncan relatives. He forwarded her e-mail to me and I replied with what info I had.

Shirley and William are the children of Grandma Bessie Duncan Lynam's youngest brother, Ralph. I met Ralph and Shirley in May, 1957, when they came from Seattle, WA to visit Grandma Bessie and Ralph's brothers, Leslie and Lloyd. I remember the visit at Grandma's house plus it was reported in the Free Press.

From reading the old papers online, it appears Ralph, his wife, Pearl and little Shirley lived in the area until April, 1939. I don't know when William was born, but he is not mentioned in any of the Free Presses.

Victoria and her cousin Rachel, William's daughter, were looking for answers to one of their family's mysteries as well as working on their family tree. When they were teenagers, the girls had heard that their Grandpa Ralph had been married before he and Pearl were married and had a son from that union. Did we know anything about that? It wasn't a story I had ever heard. Another question she had was how did Ralph and Pearl meet as she was from New Jersey and he was a southwest Iowa boy. Again, something I could not answer. Pearl's maiden name was Kuiken. The only mention of any Kuikens I find in the old newspapers was from the September 29, 1938 Free Press - "Mr. & Mrs. John Kuiken and daughter Genevieve of Omaha spent the weekend in the W.O. Stalder home." This was in the "South Brooks" news. Might Pearl have been a relative of theirs?

I asked Victoria if she had had any luck in their search during the past four years but she did not reply to that question. She did say she would like to have the pictures I have of her Grandpa. And I will send this one along to her, too.

Talking about divorce or children born out of wedlock wasn't something our grandparents did. They might not even have told us if we had asked such questions. There are only two Duncan cousins of Dad's still living. I'd best be talking to them before it is too late.