52 Ancestors 2021: Week 14: Great

I've been a week or so behind in the topics for 52 Ancestors, so I clicked on the prompt for Week 14 and it was the word, "Great." I'm sitting there thinking... GREAT. What in the world do I write for that? I scrolled to the bottom of the page and noticed that Barb LaFara decided to write about her Great Aunts and Great Uncles! That's a great idea!!

And then I sat here and counted.... I have 33. I have 33 Great-Aunts and Great-Uncles, not including the spouses. *inserts face-palm emoji here, if I were able to...* This might take a little while. 

My Granddad, Glen Mefford, was one of eleven children. My Grandma, Mina (Jones) Hendrix Mefford was one of seven children. My Grandpa, Jady Blanford, was one of thirteen children. Lastly, my Grandma Glynda, was one of six children. 

Let's start with... 

The Mefford's

1) Billie Mefford; November 28th, 1927 -- March 27th, 1931

2) Mary Ellen Mefford; December 11th, 1929 -- July 21st, 2009. Married at least four times and had a son with three of them.. her first son being a Fleming, second son being a Mason, and third son being a Confrey. My Great-Aunt Mary is who helped me get started with my Mefford genealogy. She wasn't able to help me, honestly, with the Bastin's, but she was who told me about her parents -- Clint & Edith, her Grandparents -- French & Lillie, and her Great-Grandparents, Phylander & Lucy. 

3) Barbara Ray Mefford; June 2nd, 1933 (still living). I think I've met her one time at Aunt Mary's funeral, but she lives in Chicago and is married to a Palmer. She wasn't able to come to my Granddad's funeral.. distance, COVID, and bad health. 

4) Ima Jean Mefford; January 14th, 1936 -- August 21st, 2013. Married at least three times -- to a Summers, Durbin, and Atzinger. Her children are with the Summers marriage. 

5) This would be my Granddad Glen's place in the birth order. 

6) Clinton "Clint" Mefford Jr; June 29th, 1940 -- February 1st, 1941. 

7) Wanda Lee Mefford; December 4th, 1942 -- January 1st, 1943.

8) Owen Lee Mefford; April 22nd, 1944 (still living). Uncle Owen is married to Carol Fulkerson and I'm glad to say they're both interested in their family tree and family history. I'm really glad to know them!

9) Vernon Lee Mefford; September 18th, 1946 (still living). Uncle Vernon lives up towards Indianapolis, so I've only met him a number of times. He's quite a character. I think he's been married a couple different times, unsure if he's currently wed or not. He runs the business "Swings by Mefford." I believe he's made a porch swing for former President Bush (I think the younger President Bush, not Sr.) and for John Mellencamp. 

10) Michael Wayne Mefford; December 28th, 1949 (still living). Uncle Mike is our money man.. he's worked for Hilliard Lyons in the past and knows his stuff about the stock market and whatnot. He's married and unfortunately lost a son back in 2019. I never had the chance to meet his son. 

11) Sharon Ann Mefford; May 5th, 1953 (still living). Aunt Sharon is married to a Topmiller and they reside in Central City. She's also very interested in the family tree and our family history. I've been able to get some great photographs of the family from her over the years. 

The Joneses

1) My Grandma, Mina's place in the birth order. She was the oldest. She also died first. :( 

2) Joseph Edward "Pete" Jones; I'm actually uncertain of Uncle Pete's exact birth date, but it was in 1937.. and I'm not sure when he died exactly, either. It was sometime in the mid 1980's, I believe. He had been married to a woman with the last name of Cox.. sadly all of his children were adopted by their step-father with the last name of Little. I don't think any of his children had anything much to do with him. Heck, his youngest kids may never even have met him for all I know. 

3) Hubert Lee "Tony" Jones; January 5th, 1940 -- July 14th, 2016. Don't you dare ever call Uncle Tony by the name "Hubert," he apparently hated it. He married two times -- his kids being by his first wife, a Wilson. His widow was maidenly a Garland. We're pretty close to a couple of his kids - especially cousin Tommy. He's right in between my Mom and Dad's age and they get on with him great. He's also very interested in his family history. 

4) Dorothy Jean Jones; July 11th, 1943 -- December 3rd, 2007. She married first to a Barber and then to a Wilson. Sadly, her son, Ronnie, passed away in February of last year and it was very hard on my Dad. They grew up together and were close in age. Aunt Dorothy was the closest thing to a "Mom" that Dad had after Grandma Mina passed, or at least, he thought of her like a Mother. 

5) Marilyn Jones; August 1st, 1945 -- March 12th, 2016. I had only met my Aunt Marilyn once when I was a little kid, but we reconnected on Facebook. I really really loved her. I wish I could have gotten to know her better and visit with her before she passed away. She had been married to a Boin and had a couple daughters. I'm good friends with one of the daughters -- we connected over our love of spooky stuff! She, too, is very interested in her family history. 

6) Brenda Jones; October 19th, 1950 (still living). She married a Wilson and had a couple kids. They moved down to Georgia a handful of years back. She's always been very interested in our family history as well. Sadly, I've made some revelations with our DNA that not everyone in the family likes. 

7) Wilma Sue "Susie" Jones; January 17th, 1954 -- July 30th, 2010. The youngest and might I say the wildest child of my Great-Grandparents Doc & Lorene. Aunt Susie married a Morgan and had a couple kids with him. In fact, her niece (my half-Aunt, Debbie) married the Morgan's brother and had kids with him. Susie & Debbie were very close in age. 

The Blanford's

1) Stillborn baby girl Blanford; December 14th, 1931. I had grown up hearing about the first little baby being a girl.. and my Grandpa said she'd been buried in a shoebox, beneath a tree, in the Smith Mills Cemetery. I finally ordered off for a birth/death certificate for the baby in 2014. The stillbirth certificate says the mother, Lorene, was about six months with the child. The doctor was unsure what caused the miscarriage. It's possible it was because it was her very first pregnancy. 

2) Charles Richard Blanford; May 20th, 1933 (still living). Uncle Charles is a retired college professor.. he's taught a little bit of everything. The last teaching job he had, he taught the GED program at our community college. It's safe to say that absolutely everyone knows him. EVERYONE. He's absolutely the smartest man I've ever met walking this Earth. He's never married, and never had any children... but he's been to Woodstock. How about that. He's very interested in our family history and helped me with most of my beginning information about the Blanford's and LaRue's. 

3) Kenneth Eugene Blanford; November 21st, 1934 -- September 20th, 1993. Married JoAnn Williams and had a couple children, one of which, the eldest, Marcy, was very interested in her family history. Sadly, she passed away in 2018. Kenneth and JoAnn were very close to Grandpa Jady and my Grandma Glynda. Grandma thought of JoAnn as one of her blood sisters, honestly. It's through JoAnn that I'm related to my best friend who's also a genealogist, Jessica Williams. 

4) This would be my Grandpa Jady's place in the birth order. 

5) Jerry Lee Blanford; March 29th, 1938 -- January 12th, 2008. He married a wonderful woman named Lottie Stone and had a few kids with her; one of which died tragically in a car accident in 1969. His next wife, after their divorce, was a Coffman. I didn't meet Uncle Jerry but a couple times... I was closer to Aunt Lottie. She would come over and clean my Grandparents house on occasion so therefore I called her, when I was a kid, "Miss Lottie Clean." We're closest to their daughter, Melanie, who reminds me a lot of my Mom.

6) Delores Faye Blanford; April 28th, 1940 (still living). She married Charlie Pippin and they still live out in Geneva. She's also always been interested in the family tree. 

7) Mary Virginia "Ginny" Blanford; August 6th, 1941 (still living). She's married to Larry Sigler. They haven't any children of their own -- but Aunt Ginny has been a mother or Grandmother to many. She's always been super interested in our family tree as well. 

8) Martha Ann "Motts" Blanford; April 21st, 1943 -- September 9th, 2020. Aunt Motts' passing came as a complete and total shock to us. We had just buried my Granddad Glen a few weeks back.. and then suddenly Aunt Motts passed. We still really don't know from what (not COVID.) She was married to Pat Hall and had several kids with him and quite a few of them, and their children, seem interested in our family tree. 

9) John William "Johnny" Blanford; October 23rd, 1944 -- May 18th, 2009. He was married a couple times and had one son. I only met Johnny maybe twice in my entire life and honestly, I don't remember either time. My Mom has told me about them, though. His first wife was a Dickerson, and his widow is a Woodward. 

10) Linda Ruth Blanford; March 9th, 1947 (still living). Her kids were by her first husband, a Tinnell, and now she's married to a McCallister. She lives out of town but still came to visit my Grandparents fairly often. We're closest to her son, Bub, who is Uncle Jay's age. He and Jay were very close friends/cousins. 

11) Infant Blanford; June 16th, 1950. We've never been able to find a birth or death certificate about this baby. Grandpa Jady said he believed the baby was born with the cord around its neck and unfortunately died from that. It was buried, initially, in the back of Saint Louis Cemetery but after Lorene and Dick passed away, it was stated in Dick's will, I think, that he wanted the child exhumed and moved to the front beside of their grave. 

12) Joseph Earl "Jody" Blanford; August 4th, 1951 -- July 15th, 1982. Jody was mentally handicapped -- I'm not sure, but Grandpa might have told me that his handicap was due to the cord being around his neck, too, at birth. Jody wasn't supposed to live much past childhood or early adolescence, but he lived to be 30 years old. If he'd have made it another few weeks, he'd have seen 31. He died just 5 days after my Grandma Mina, the day after her funeral, actually.

13) George Edward Blanford; February 19th, 1953 (still living). He's been married twice -- his first wife, a Morris, and his second, a Pierce. His kids are by his first wife and we're closest with his daughter Marie. She's a lot like my Mama. You can't look at them and mistake them for anything but a Blanford. Uncle George is probably the most like my Grandpa Jady. He loves to joke around and push your buttons. 

The Sandefur's 

1) Carolyn Ann Sandefur; April 8th, 1934 -- July 30th, 1982. She was the same age as my Grandma Mina when she died..and died just a few weeks later. July 1982 saw the death of my Grandma Mina, my Uncle Jody, and my Aunt Carolyn, back to back. Her first husband was a Boatman whom died of a heart attack just two weeks after they were wed. Her next husband was a Jackson and they had three daughters. At least two of which are very interested in their family tree. 

2) Donald Lloyd Sandefur; May 17th, 1936 -- August 3rd, 1994. According to my Mom, he "dropped dead of a heart attack on the tarmac at the airport," pretty much. He was married to a Burns and had two daughters, one of which has done her DNA on 23andme, so she's somewhat interested in genealogy at least. I never met Donald that I'm aware of, as I was born just a year before that. 

3) William J "Buddy" Sandefur; November 5th, 1937 -- September 17th, 1994. Died six weeks after Uncle Donald.. lung cancer I believe. His widow is a Littrell and they had one son together.. and a set of twins, but sadly, the set of twins died at birth. I don't believe I properly met him either.. I was only 18 or so months when he died.

4) My Grandma's place in the birth order. 

5) Phyllis Jean Sandefur; October 25th, 1946 (still living). She's been married at least three times -- her children by her first husband, a Pippin. We're closest to her son, Jimmy... but don't have anything to do with her. When I eventually write the "Grandma was kidnapped and all her money stolen" saga.. you'll understand. 

6) Debra June Sandefur; June 30th, 1955 (still living). Married a Parker and had four boys. Again, because of the Grandma saga... we don't speak to her and none of her kids have anything to do with us now either. Shame how a family falls apart because they believe the abuser over the abused. 

33 Great-Aunts and Great-Uncles... my fingers are killing me after typing all of this, so I think I'll wrap it up. Now you know the Mefford's, Joneses, Blanford's, and Sandefur's. I wish I had family photos of each bunch of kids, but sadly, I don't. If you check in my other blogs, you might find some goodies I've posted in the past, though.