Frates Genealogy

Molly and Jerry

Bill (Jr), Alice, Peggy, Bill, Dorothy, and Cindy.

We spent the afternoon and evening poring over books and lists and charts of Frates and Lawrence ancestors. My 2nd cousin, Cindy, came from Paradise to Bill and Dorothy's in Auburn, CA. Alice, Cindy's aunt, was there from Grass Valley. Bill (Jr) was there from Seattle.
Bill, Dorothy, and Alice are Frates great grandchildren. Cindy, Bill Jr, Jerry, and I are Frates 2nd cousins. Molly is Jerry's daughter and our 2nd cousin once removed. Genealogy can be so mysterious and so much fun. We think we pieced together the relationship of those 5 Bettencourt boys who were raised by Tom and Mary Lawrence Frates. They were really Cardoza children of Mary Lawrence Frates' sister, Nellie Lawrence, and her first husband, Mr. Cardoza. Maybe you had to be there to see how the puzzle came together. We had a lot of laughs; plenty of entertaining stories; and a delicious chicken dinner that Bill Jr made and Dorothy topped off with her lemon meringue pies. Oh, such a happy day! It was terrific to meet Cindy--after several months of exchanging email. Now that Cindy has the Nellie connection figured out she's starting on Annie Lawrence. She just doesn't quit! Perseverance is an essential virtue for a genealogist!