Walch Sisters – Lost, Found & Persevered

I posted historic family group photographs about a month ago and asked if anyone could identify the family members. Grace Walch and her daughter Dorothy Benkendorf were the only people who were previously identified, (right side of the photo above). Recently, I took another look at the photograph and use Dorothy's approximate age to deduce which cousin is standing next to her. As it turns out, John Harold Mendenhall is the only male cousin of the right age to fit. The woman behind him therefore is most likely Jessie Walch as an adult.

As a genealogist I am sometimes asked what has struck me the most doing family research. My short answer is: perseverance. I am continuously amazed by the tragic and seemingly devastating events that some family members have experienced over their lives; and by their ability to adjust and get on with living.

Grace Walch appears to be a case in point. She was 27 years old when her first husband died. She then remarried but experienced a divorce. At age 51, she grieved the loss of her 27-year-old and only child, Dorothy. And, when she was age 78, her third husband died after 27 years of marriage.

Actually I don't have to go deep into history to uncover such tragedies. My own sisters have been widowed and one has experienced the death of a 29-year-old son. They too have shown resilience. I think that in some ways this knowledge of our family’s perseverance and resiliency serves to booster our own defense system. We will not be spared the pain of tragedy, but should feel less abandoned and hopeless in its wake.