McMillin's, Wolbrueck's and Havel's
My name is Gina Marie Havel and this page is dedicated to my loving family. I've always believed that knowing your family line was important, but you won't see any drab family tree charts with just names and dates here. What you'll see are few pictures and STORIES about my family members, because it's the events and memories that make a person real. We tend not to really remember just dates, but what kind of person our mothers, fathers and grandparents were. So, more than just a genealogical study of my family, this is a collection of the HISTORY of the events, hardships, triumphs and neat things that are the most remembered memories of our ancestors.
The two major family groups for which I have information are the McMillin's and the Wolbrueck's. Each family line has their own feature page. A brief introduction, though, is necessary.
Michael and Carrie Havel, Czechoslovakian immigrants, adopted William Fox from an Orphan Train shortly after processing through Ellis Island, New York in 1922. Very little else is known about the Havel's. William "Bill" Havel (Fox) is my paternal grandfather. The Havel's settled in North Texas where Bill met and married my grandmother, P. Ruth "Pat" McMillin. Their only son, Larry E. Havel is my father.
My grandfather's biological parents, William Stanley Fox (1900-1954) and Lorraine Collista McCaffrey (1905-1933) married after William was born and attempted to retrieve him from the orphanage in Staten Island, New York. However, he had already been adopted. William and Lorraine stayed in Staten Island and had six other children between 1924 and 1932. The story goes that Lorraine would lock herself up in her room and cry on October 22nd, my grandfather's birthday, but would never tell her other children why. My grandfather went to New York in 1978 knowing only his mother's maiden name. He located and met his brother and five sisters. This was a miracle in itself. Only one nephew, a pilot of the Staten Island ferry, remained in New York with the McCaffrey name. Within a few years after this first meeting, Mr. McCaffrey and his wife retired and moved to Florida.
Bill and Pat Havel lived in Taylor, Texas. P. Ruth "Pat" McMillin Havel died December 27, 1995. William "Bill" Havel died October 24, 2001. I miss my grandparents very much but I am grateful that they are together, in peace.
I hope to be able to work very closely with our parents as there has already been extensive research done on several family lines, both maternal and paternal, extending back to the first American in each line in most cases.
If you happen to stumble in here and are a member of the
McMillin
orWolbrueck Families
PLEASE EMAIL ME HERE
I need family pictures and stories!
