What I thought I knew

I believe the Hector side of the family were great story tellers. As I continue my research, I can see where some of these stories came from but not all.

Here is a picture of my father and grandmother. Probably the only picture I have of them together and both smiling. Although they were mother and son they hated each other.

This is what I was originally told.

• My father said he didn't have a true father. The first birth certificate I found after he died had no father listed. I understood what he meant by no true father.
• My father's middle name was William.
• My grandmother said she was the only one alive in her family. Besides her parents she only had one sister.
• They were Maliceet Indian. Heard this tidbit from my father. He also told us that she used to dance in Pow-Wows. He also said at one time we were such a small amount of Indian that it doesn't count.
• My grandmother was originally from Massachusetts then that changed to Canada.
• One story that I know is true, confirmed by relatives, is when my parents were dating they would walk into a restaurant and was told to leave because they don't serve my father's kind.

But why so angry to punch a hole in the wall?  

Back then times were so different that many things that happened in families were embarrassing and never talked about.  Now everything about peoples' lives are posted on Facebook.

I really want to know why it was such a taboo subject. It may be a story hidden away forever but right now I'm not giving up.

Yes, a hole in the wall.

He was angry, he punched a whole in the wall, and we never asked again. I will never forget it. He just walked into his bedroom and shut the door. My mother wouldn't tell us anything because he asked her not too.  With that moment burned into my memory, how could I not do the research!

That moment was when I was in high school (1978) but I didn't start my research until 2005. My parents died in 2004 and going through a box of their documents, I found birth certificates for my father, John Hector, and his mother, Eva Hector, plus a picture of a grave stone with names and birth/death dates of her father, mother and grandmother.

I opened an account with Ancestry.com and found quite a bit of information but slammed into a brick wall.  I wasn't sure if what I found was correct. At the same time my sister was researching online and found the break through I needed.  She found a book with tons of family information plus pictures. When she saw the picture on the cover, she ordered the book. The photo on the cover looked like a younger version of our father, John Hector.

Let me introduce you to my grandmother's brother, George Hector, The Whistling Banjoman.

This book is full of family names, dates, locations, and pictures. There is even a picture of my father and his mother in the book. My sister even contacted the author who sent us information and pictures of the Hector homestead.

I will stop here for now and give you more details in another post. If any family members and friends have information to share, please leave me a comment on a post or email me at the address listed under my photo.