52 ANCESTORS

I'm late in starting this but will give it a go.  I will start with my ABBOTT family.  My maternal grandmother was Ariel Bayne ABBOTT and she was born in Annapolis, Maryland to William Robert & Ariel Elizabeth (PARLETT) ABBOTT on 27 September 1891. Ariel married Edward Francis FARLEY on 14 August 1913 at the Second Baptist Church in Washington, DC.  I am not sure how long they knew each other but I don't think it was long.  When Ariel met Edward she was engaged to a midshipman from the US Naval Academy.  Needless to say her family was not happy when she broke off the engagement to the young man.  Long ago I had his name but that was before I was doing any genealogy. 

I don't believe there were many good feelings from the ABBOTT family to the new son-in-law and he really didn't care much for them from what I gather.  I know when my mother was born she was named after one of Ariel's sisters and my grandfather would never call her by her birth name.  That is a very long story I will go into at a later date.  Edward & Ariel (ABBOTT) Farley had 5 children.

Ariel's father William Robert worked at the Government Printing Office in DC.  He was born 19 February 1866 also in Annapolis, Maryland.  He was the eldest son of William Robert & Frances (Fannie)Virginia (WILKINSON/WILKISON). I was pleasantly surprised when I requested his work records that I not only received the records but a great photo of him with his signature from them.

Quite a handsome gentleman I believe.  William Robert & Ariel Elizabeth PARLETT were married 19 June 1888.  Theirs was a very large family, my grandmother Ariel was the eldest daughter of 11 children.

It is believed that this photo was taken not long before William Robert  passed.  My grandmother, Ariel is all the way to the right in this photo. William Robert ABBOTT also worked for his father William Martin ABBOTT at the EVENING CAPITAL & GAZETTE NEWSPAPER. 

William Martin ABBOTT was the founder and editor of that newspaper on 14 May 1884 in Annapolis, Maryland.  He ran the newspaper until the time of his death when his eldest daughter Emma (ABBOTT) GAGE took over.  William Martin & Frances (Fannie) Virginia WILKINSON/WILKISON were married on 11 July 1861 in Baltimore, Maryland.  At the time of his marriage William Martin was working at the Baltimore Sun Newspaper.  William Martin ABBOTT died of acute Brights Disease on 7 March 1912 at the age of 72.  He is buried at St. Anne's Cemetery in Annapolis, MD.