John Robert Baylis, Sr.

He was one of David and Emily's maternal great-grandfathers, their maternal grandfather's father to be precise. He died (1963?) when Janet was just a little girl, long before I ever knew her family. An engineer who had worked on the Panama Canal, he helped design and construct the Chicago Water Works, which, apparently, recently constructed a memorial in his honor. Plans for the memorial were the subject of a brief radio report on Chicago Public Radio back in August.

Which I would have never known except that in my previous posting (Out and About in Southern California) I mentioned Janet's great-aunt Boo (her maternal grandmother's baby sister) and doing so prompted me to google other relations on her side of the family. In case you hadn't noticed, I LOVE the Internet!

David and Emily's other great-grandparents:

Pearl Ione Spencer Baylis, Janet's paternal grandmother (died October 1986)
Frank Johannes Ellicott, Janet's maternal grandfather (died before Janet was born)
Victoria Lyon Ellicott, Janet's maternal grandmother (died March 1987)

William Godbey Jasper, my paternal grandfather (died June 1984)
Grace Ewell Baker Jasper, my paternal grandmother (died before my 1st birthday)
Cecil Mann, my maternal grandfather (died when my mother was 4 years old)
Opal Grogan Mann Stewart, my maternal grandmother (died April 1981)