My grandma, Geraldine Satterly, devoted her life to preserving our family story. There are several fond memories of her during this time.  As I would walk home from school, I would pass her car or my grandpa's car at the local library. I would go in to say hi, often finding her at the microfilm reader conducting research. My grandparents kitchen table often had letters of requests from people across the country, asking for her help in finding their relatives. We would drive to local and neighboring cemeteries, wandering the rows looking for specific people. 

After she passed, these treasures remained hidden in totes. Eventually they were passed on to me, with my desire to do something with them. Over time, pictures and papers have become brittle and discolored. It is a goal of mine to not only preserve HER work, but to continue on.

There was a box of letters within Grandma's belongings. They are correspondences between S.O. and Nellie Satterly and their children, Glenn, Dale, Virginia, and Mina Lou. There are many from Wayne Townsend. Wayne is the 1st cousin to Glenn, Dale, Virginia, and Mina Lou Satterly. His mother, Irene Satterly Townsend, and S.O. Satterly are brother and sister.

Navy Log and recollections from Dale Satterly. March 1942-December 1945

Uploaded documents, mainly copies from the newspaper, about Alva Satterly and family.

In 2020, while working through Ancestry, I came across Jacob Sax and his wife, Mary Rhys (My 5th great grandparents --> maternal-->paternal).  Mary Rhys (also Rys) caught my eye as my teenage son (at the time) is Rhyse. We were forever asked where the name came from. We saw Rhys, liked it, it was Welsh, and decided to add the 'e at the end. My name, Anne, had an 'e tacked onto the end. Why not? My heart skipped. Could 'Rhyse' have been a whisper in my ear upon his birth?

I researched many hours, days, and months to find any information on Jacob and Mary. There was nothing to verify their history, so I finally gathered the courage to reach out to a private researcher and paid $500 for 10 hours of research. It was a hefty amount, but my soul was calling to know. The researcher was a professional historian in the New York area. The conclusion of 10 hours did not complete the puzzle, but gave me enough pieces for a picture to come into view.

I then decided it was time to give Jacob and Mary a rest. Their story was not yet ready to be told.

Notes from ledger. William Carver 1822-1908

Letters to Ina Carver.

Many family members attended Sharon and are buried in the cemetery. I personallly have 5 sets of grandparents buried in this quaint country church. As I was sorting through documents, I came a historical description of the church origin. I am unsure who documented this history, but appreciate the need to preserve the story.