"In The Beginning"

          The First Question:

"What do you know about Bert and Lefty?"

Step-siblings 1953

Bertram Canavan and Jacqueline Fueston

          Recently I wrote about my tug to finally go through my handed down boxes of genealogy stuff from my grandfather William Richard Rollins, Sr.

  

        That story can be found here  "Handed Down"

My husband and I had the privilege of having lunch with my sweet cousin Virginia Kentzell in Medford, Oregon.  That day was an unseasonably warm one in the early fall of 2021. She had photos with her and she asked the simple question: “What do you know about…” as she shared photos with us.  This caused the spark to ignite and the journey into family history to begin.  

Even though I’d been sort of interested in genealogy, the reality was it gave my grandfather and I something to talk about while spending time together.  More accurately if you wanted to spend time with him you heard the stories.  

One of Virginia’s questions was “who are Bert and Lefty”? I pondered her question and told her that I absolutely knew the names but was not sure who they were.  The hunt began. A phone call was made to Shirley Manlove-Rollins.  She is the matriarch who married into the Rollins family.  She married my uncle, William Richard Rollins, Jr. 

Robert Fueston and Bertram Canavan 1953

                                                                                                          

I asked Shirley the same question that Virginia had asked me. What did she know about Bert and Lefty?   She remembered them well.  Bert and Lefty had a sister name Patricia she recalled.  They are “the children of grandpa’s second wife Helena.” Helena was from Canada.  She and William Richard married in 1950.   Which meant that they were the step-brothers and sister of Virginia and my parents. 

   

Aunt Shirley remembered them and she laughed as she reached into her memory bank and recalled an incident that occurred when she first met the family.  On one of their early dates Bill brought her to meet his family.  As Bert approached to greet her,  he was being greeted by a dog who thought Bert's leg was a fire hydrant. The impression made on her allowed her to recall who Bert and Lefty were.  More research needs to be done but alas the tale of Bert and Lefty has had some light shed on it. 

Since hearing her story the names Bert and Lefty have, along with Patricia’s has shown up on documents and are written on photos.  I don’t know why the step-siblings were not talked about other than to hear their names uttered occasionally and to see the eyes roll when hearing their names.  

Mrs. Kentzell, Herbert Kentzell and Eleanor Rollins

William Richard Rollins Sr, and Helena Canavan

        Helena and grandpa divorced before 1961 when he married Idamae Mills.  During their marriage they combined their two families.  He had 4 children and she had 3.  From pictures it would appear that the families were close.  Bert is shown to be the best man at Robert Fueston and Jackie Rollins (my parents) wedding.   Additionally, photos of the mysterious woman with my grandpa at Eleanor's wedding are not a mystery any longer.  Helena is photographed at Eleanor's wedding.  In-spite of the smiles in the photos, the rest of the story remains unknown. 

Bertram Canavan, Robert Fueston, Jacqueline Rollins, Josephine Salvemini

April 1953

                                                     

Marriage License for Robert Fueston and Jacqueline Rollins

More research into who Donald "Lefty" Canavan is.  One day ....

Stitching Together Another Family Story

Janurary 2025 

Barbara

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks; week 1 -2025