A relative of Lavern J. Yettah has been located and soon will have the serviceman’s letters and photos that were found in the basement of State Farm Insurance agent, Bill Ballagh’s office at 110 E. Middle St.
Ballagh was recently discovered the WWI soldier’s hand-written letters to his family while he was stationed in France, and wanted them and several photos to Yettah’s family.
So, Ballagh contacted Chelsea Update for help.
Katherine R. Willson, a professional genealogist, read the story and reached out to Ballagh offering her help.
It was believed that Yettah lived in Chelsea. He and several other family members are buried in Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Lima Township.
She did a quick search and found that Lavern had sisters named Carrie and Lulu, and a brother named Raymond. Their parents were Titus Yettah and Minnie Picknell. If any of the siblings had children and grandchildren, Willson said it would be really easy for her to track them down.
Ballagh gave her the go-ahead, and Willson found a woman in Grass Lake, who was related to Lavern’s brother, Raymond. She discovered that this woman had uploaded many ancestral documents to her family tree on ancestry.com and the two made contact.
“It was an honor and a privilege to have the opportunity to do what I love most – using genealogy to connect folks,” Willson said via email.
Willson is a professional genealogical researcher, speaker, educator and author. If you are looking for help tracking down your relatives, check out her website: https://www.SocialMediaGenealogy.com.
