Wordless Wednesday - Dad in Panama

Not Chicago, Illinois - taken in Panama during World War II. Dad is in the back row, left.

Wordless Wednesday - the John Bellinger Family

John Bellinger, Emma Landon Bellinger
Son Harry Bellinger
Fremont, Nebraska circa 1882

Wordless Wednesday - Clifford and Sina Bellinger

Clifford Bellinger and Sina Bellinger (Kelly)
Children of John William Bellinger and Emma Harriet Landon
of Greenwood, Nebraska

Sina is my grandmother.

Wordless Wednesday - Jens Petersen's funeral

Members of the Petersen family gather at the funeral of Jens Petersen in Hardy, Nebraska in August 1948. Jens was my great grandfather.

Wordless Wednesday - Bill Kelly - my grandfather

Bill Kelly
Greenwood, Nebraska

Wordless Wednesday - My Great Grandmother Caroline Petersen

Caroline Hansen Petersen and Susan Petersen
circa 1953

Caroline Hansen Petersen is the only one of my great grandparents who was alive during my lifetime. Here we are at our home in Lincoln, Nebraska. She died in 1962 and I have no recollection of seeing her any other time than on the day this photo was taken.

Wordless Wednesday - Dan Kelly's barn

Daniel Kelly, Lower Right

Wordless Wednesday - Pillow Fight?

What were they doing with those pillows? Lower right, seated, is my grandmother, Sina Bellinger Kelly.

Wordless Wednesday - Separated at Birth?

Celebrity Lookalike?

John Fitzgerald - Rupert from Survivor

(Not So) Wordless Wednesday - my "cousins" The Beach Boys

Dennis Carl Wilson
Lincoln, Nebraska
July 1968

Little did I know when I first met The Beach Boys some 42 years ago that we were related! This is something I learned only recently while reading some information about famous descendants of one of my Mayflower ancestors, Francis Cooke. He and his wife are the common ancestors I share with the Wilson brothers - Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson and Carl Wilson.


Through the magic of Family Tree Maker, I discovered that our common ancestry makes us 10th cousins, once removed. No doubt, in my teen years, I would have brought that up in conversation when I met the group, and no doubt, they would have been less than impressed!

According to the Francis Cooke Society, other famous descendants include three U.S. Presidents: Franklin D. Roosevelt, George H. W. Bush, George Bush; artist Grandma Moses; actor and director Orson Welles; and actors Richard Gere and Dick Van Dyke.


If you're one of the many descendants of this Mayflower passenger, I recommend the Yahoo online discussion group for descendants of Francis Cooke.

Wordless Wednesday - Mary Kelly Fitzgerald

Mary Kelly Fitzgerald, wife of John Fitzgerald









From reading newspaper articles about the wedding of the couple's daughter, Lillian Fitzgerald, to Chauncy Abbott, this photo probably shows the dress that Mary wore to her daughter's wedding. 1900.

Wordless Wednesday - the Kelly gals

(Not So) Wordless Wednesday - Cousin David Doyle

Actor David Doyle (1929 - 1997), known for Charlie's Angels, Bridget Loves Bernie and a host of other film, television and theater roles















David Fitzgerald Doyle and I are both descended from William D Kelly and Mary Casey. They are the great-great grandparents to both of us, making David and me third cousins. I met David once during the height of the Charlie's Angels show on tv. It was great to hear him say in that gravelly voice of his, "Hi, Cuz!"

Not so wordless, but that's okay!