Mildred Huffman Russell

My friend and my cousin, she convinced me that Greene Co., PA would be nice to an outsider.
So I was preparing to go east and meet all these people my Grandfather had talked about when he was alive.

 My last visit 1958, with him he, Cecil Lee Hoffman, asked, if I got a chance for me to go to Greene Co. PA and meet the family his family left behind when they moved to Iowa.  His father my Great Grandfather Frank took him to Greene Co. just before he started school so he could meet his father's family. He was about 5 years old he said.  Now at this time, 1958, lived in Wheatland, Wyoming in town giving up the farm due to age and healthy a few years before.  He left Iowa to go to Wyoming because of his lungs where he had kin living before MOM was born pre 1920.

His father  Frank, walked the cattle and animals behind the wagon when they left Pennsylvania to come to Iowa.  Frank's father, Sanford Hoffman,  had been in this area during the Civil War and after the war they moved to Iowa from Greene Co. PA.  He had a brother who was learning to be a Dr and he also had a brother in law, Thomas Neal, badly injured and needed more treatment so they moved to Iowa. So there were at least 3 wagons in this trip and I think it was about 12 wagons or so. Still trying to track whom all came with them.

Anyway, I had written to the Library for assistance on locating kin and they put me in touch with Mildred Russell.  What a treasure she was.  Alas she got the flu then pneumonia and died so I postponed my trip for another year, in hopes of developing a friendship with other kin.   I talked to her when she went to hospital because she called to let me know if I couldn't reach her where she would be.

So the next year after contacting her sister and other cousins, I flew east to meet the family.

I was sad she wasn't there but the family was awesome.  I understood why Grandad Hoffman wanted me to make contact with them. He tried but was limited on how to find them.

So Dear Mildred, Thank You so much for all you helped to start and complete.

I will write more on family I met while there and some I still hear from and one I especially work with.  Blessings All.