Ruby Tuesday....our "adopted" cousin

You can read the "Kenney Record" from cover to cover and never come across the name, Garland Fish.
However, over the past couple years, I've come to find out, he is as close to the Kenney/Tilton family as any other cousin that is listed in Ruby's research.

Prior to 2009, I knew that our family was somehow connected and or related to Garland and Ann Fish, but I wasn't sure how.

It was during my first visit with Ruby in 2009, that I finally learned how Garland came to be known as part of the family.

Ruby was telling a story about her brother, Norman and Garland's name came up.

I asked how Garland was related to us.

Here's the story, according to Ruby:

Garland was the youngest child of his family. 

Apparently, after the older children had already left home, Garland's parents separated and/or divorced which was not very common back in those days.

Garland lived with his dad. He told me that he once counted up how many places he and his dad had lived in Lowell and the number was in the double digits. He said as soon as the rent would come due, they would have to move along to another place.

Ruby tells the story about Garland being over for dinner one night at their house.

Norman said to Uncle Keith and Aunt Phebe,

"you know it's sort of rough for Garland at home right now, do you think he could stay with us tonight?"

Uncle Keith and Aunt Phebe said yes, and according to Ruby, Garland never went back home.

He lived with them for the rest of his school years and became "like a second brother" to her.

So, he was unofficially adopted into the Dinwiddie/Tilton family.

It may not be recorded in the book, but if you know how to read between the lines of the official family record,  he is as close to us and our family as any other cousin.