First of all your family has had many great storytellers.  They have told and retold the tales of how our family came to this country.

One of your early ancestors was a man named William Phelps of Tewksbury, England who migrated to America in 1630 and settled in Windsor, Connecticut.   He is written about in Trumball’s History of Connecticut as being one of the civil and religious fathers of the colony.

From this lineage came Anne Lorinda (1824-1903) who married Jacob Nelson Montle (1819-1904) on January 1, 1844 settling in West Bolton, Quebec on Range 3, Lot 4.  This property Munchkin is still owned by members of your family.

Anne and Jacob were the parents of your Grandma’s Great-Grandmother, Catherine Louisa, born January 6, 1870 and died 1954 who married G. (George) Warren Mizener on January 29, 1889, the service performed by Rev. W.F. Parley.

The Mizeners who number in the thousands have sometimes changed the spelling to Misener, Mizner, and Meisener can for the majority be traced to the descendants of Richard Misener and his wife Elizabeth who immigrated from the Palatinate district of Germany to the New World in 1720 and settled permanently in northern New Jersey.

The Phelps, Montles, Brills, and Mizeners have all been recorded in the numerous volumes of history written on Brome County.  All these families form part of your accessorial history.  If you visit the museum in Knowlton or what is now known as Lac de Brome you will find many stories of your early ancestors.

Your Grandma’s Mother's family descended from the Pettijohn (French for Little John) line and her Grandfather Admiral Hansel Pettijohn was born 1867 in Iowa.  He married Leona L. Hewitt born June 1877 of Missouri in 1891 and had eight children, four who lived one of which was my Grandma Jo.

Josephine Pauline Pettijohn Nelson was born  in 1899.  She married Harry Everett Nelson.  His father, John Nelson came with his parents from Stockholm, Sweden and settled in Tiblow, in the first house built in this city, which later was, renamed Bonner Springs, Kansas.  His house was on the banks of the Kaw River.  He attended the first school built and is listed in the history of this county as being as being one of the founding fathers.

This Munchkin is a little of your heritage and there are many stories that were told to me that I shared with your father and aunt.  I hope these stories will be retold to you so that you can carry on the tradition of passing down this part of your heritage to future generations.

                                     Cheryl C. Helynck

                                                  2002