by Larry Miller
One of the real joys of genealogy is finding family you either didn't know you had – or reconnecting with family you've never met.
One of the real joys of genealogy is finding family you either didn't know you had – or reconnecting with family you've never met.
But those happy moments also apply to cousins you knew you had – but hadn't seen in a long time. Say....50 or 60 years!
Such is the case with the Snyder girls, Marlene and Darlene (shown above, although it could well be Darlene and Marlene!) They are the twin daughters of Evelyn (Miller) Snyder, youngest of the 11 children born to Pete and Dora Miller, our German-Russian grandparents who lived the last 30-40 years of their lives in Whitney, Nebraska, where Evelyn was born in 1930.
I saw the twins at least once, but it was a long time ago. I believe they were with Evelyn when she came back to Nebraska for the funeral of grandma Miller in 1963 – but in may have been in 1957 when grandpa Miller passed away.
In any event, it was a long time ago! Fact is, my memories conjure up only the images I've seen of them in two photographs. One of those photos is shown above.
In March, after finding information about both the girls in a 2000 obituary published in Akron, Ohio, I was able to locate Marlene in Virginia and track down a telephone number.
We had a delightful conversation – followed some days later by a phone call from Darlene, who also lives in Virginia!
It's safe to say that most of the Miller cousins whose photos have appeared on this website and the linked Miller Gallery have never met these ladies, who are still on the young side – even though they're celebrating a landmark birthday today! We hope they're able to review some of the many stories and photos we've posted over the years, learning a bit about their Miller cousins.
We hope to learn more about Darlene and Marlene. Perhaps they'll share with us a bit about themselves and their families as so many of our other Miller cousins have over the past 15 years or so. Maybe a photo from time to time that we can add to our gallery (It'll be hard to top the cute photo above!)
But for now, we wish them both a very Happy Birthday! May you and your families be safe and well!
But for now, we wish them both a very Happy Birthday! May you and your families be safe and well!
