52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: William George Woolsey - A Tale of Lost and Found Connections
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to start your life over, leaving behind everything and everyone you've ever known? That's exactly what my 2x great-grandfather, William George Woolsey, did. Born on December 15, 1865, in Iowa, William's story is one of lost connections and new beginnings, set against the backdrop of America's westward expansion in the late 19th century. A Tumultuous Beginning Imagine being the youngest child in a blended family with six older half-siblings from your father's first marriage and three from your mother's. That was William's reality. His father, Richard W. Woolsey (1822-1908), was a restless soul after loosing his first wife, always chasing the next big thing. His mother, Charlotte Ann (Beck) Nolan Woolsey Kenneday (1838-1876), had already known loss, having lost her first husband in the Civil War before marrying Richard. But the tumult in William's life started early. Within five years of his birth, his parent
