My earliest memory of Papa.

Some of you may recall Papa and Grandmother's home in Hermosa Beach, California referred to as the Beach. You only had to say, the Beach and any of the family and close friends, knew you were speaking of Grandmother and Papa's home. This small beach house with it's red brick front yard and oval shaped cut out in the center flower bed was filled with plants.  Just one step up, led you on to Papa's porch that often smelled of turpentine, warm sun and nestled with white wicker furniture. More often than not, you would be greeted by Ripper their Siamese cat, on a leash at the end of Papa's chaise lounge and of course, Papa.

By the time I was born, Papa was 81 years old and had been retired for a while. I think the front porch was his sanctuary away from all the women in the family. And here I was all of 3 years old maybe, sitting in the rocker next to Papa. I remember I was so tiny that my feet just hit the edge of the cushion, but I felt so grown up, because I was sitting with Papa. But really probably made me fell so grown up is that my younger sister, Kathy was crying in the house. We could hear her through the screen and Papa got up and said, into the screen, I don't hear anything now do I? This was his way of saying, you had better be quit, he had had enough. WOW! I was so glad it was not me.

The name Feland

The mystery behind the name Feland or Pheland or Foland, which is it really? Here is the story I remember hearing of the name Feland. The Feland brother's were in business together and there was a falling out between them. This led to at least one brother changing the spelling of the name to Pheland. Well that is what we heard. My mom mentioned it's like playing telephone through the generations and I think she is right. Only to find this week on Ancestry.com a tree connected to mine with the last name Foland. WHAT? Foland not Pheland? I messaged this man who says, several generations back there is a change in the spelling. I then started looking at other trees and found the spelling of Thomas Pheland who might just be the first Feland from Northern Ireland. Which way is the correct spelling and does our line of ancestry come from Thomas Pheland? This I want to find out more about? Do you?

Picture of Armstead Milner Feland

Armstead Milner/A.M. Feland my 3rd Great Grandfather. He is the father of William Butler/W.B. Butler with his second wife, Leanta Sandidge.

My first big discovery was an accident

My first big find was purely by accident and a surprise. While I was hunting down the meaning/origin of Leanta, I also Googled Feland. I came across the name Clark Feland, but did not read any of the articles on him. But several months later, while I was working for Talbots in Manhattan Beach, I took a credit card from Diane Feland. I'm not sure I'll ever forget this moment, because it was unbelievable! It's the kind of thing you see on a TV show. I said, something like, oh my Great Grandfather was a Feland.  I think we asked each other one or two questions and she had her cell phone out and said, to her husband, I think I am talking to a relative of yours, then she handed me her phone. What I remember after he introduced himself,  was Grandfather William Bond Feland was buried with his Great Grandmother Nannie Feland in Phoenix, Arizona. He also mentioned, visiting my Great Grandfather, Uncle Bob while he was living in Hermosa Beach and visiting Leta in Phoenix. I could hardly believe it! Not only was this the Clark Feland from the Google search, his Grandfather William and my Papa (Robert/Bob) were brothers. WOW! Of course, I called my Mom right away and she did not believe it. I total her how and what Clark had said, saying the name Leanta wrong, which happens to be a pet peeve of mine. I told her how everything he said, matched our family history. It had to be true!!!

The following day, my Mom called and asked if Clark had called Leanta, Leta? I said, yes that is what her called her. This was when I found out that my great Aunt Leanta went by her nickname Leta. This confirmed that Clark was family! Several weeks later, I met Clark and his wife while working at Talbots. The one thing I noticed about Clark was how tall was, yep those Feland folks are tall people! Yep, it runs in the family!

Five Branchs

Five generations back, I found Leanta Sandidge Feland, my 3rd Grand Grandmother. The branchs look like this:

Me: Ginger Leanta
      B: California

My Mom: Margaret (Margo) Leanta
     B: Phoenix, Arizona

Grandmothermaryln/Mar/Puddy: Lois Maryln Feland Steele
     B: May 23, 1922 Phoenix, Arizona
     D: March 29, 2002 Torrance, California
     Buried: Rose Hills Cemetery

Great Grandfather: Robert (Bob) Faris Feland, Sr.
     B: November 13, 1882  Lexington, Kentucky
     D: October 27, 1974 Hermosa Beach, California
     Buried: Rose Hills Cemetery

2nd Great Grandfather: William Butler (WB) Feland
 *   B: December 31, 1846 Stanford, Kentucky
      D: September 9, 1933 Nashville, Tennessee
      Buried: Confederate Cemetery, Franklin, Tennessee

3rd Grand Grandfather: Armstead Milner (AM) Feland
 *   B:Feb. 7, 1820 Stanford, Kentucky                                   
      D: June 22, 1906                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                                  
  MARRIED                                                                                                                                                                      

 3rd Great Grandmother: Leanta Sandidge Feland
  * B: Feb. 27, 1825 Boyle County, KY
   *D: May 28, 1848 Lincoln County, KY
The * means I have yet to find birth or marriage records. With Armstead M. Feland I have been able to find the other four wives marriage documents, accept for Leanta Sandidge. The only proof I have found is that Leanta is the daughter of John Sandidge in a newspaper article.

The beginning of my search for the origin of Leanta

So my search for my family ancestry really began, when I Googled my middle name Leanta about six years ago. I had always heard that the name Leanta was French and through the years, I would ask people if they had heard of the name before. No one had! What I learned from my Google search, that the name Leanta is Welsh and means well read. I also learned the origin of the name Feland is Irish. Yes, no matter how you spell Feland or Pheland it's Irish. This peaked my interest for sure! Oh and the French comes from Nancy Dabney Faris Feland. The origin of Dabney is French, which comes from Nancy's Grandmother the original, Nancy Dabney.

How it all began....

Growing up, I heard the story of the first Leanta that was filled with romance and wonder. You see, I carry her given name as my middle name, so I always wondered about her. The story goes something like this, my third great Grandfather Armstead Milner Feland was married fives times. His second wife was Leanta Sandidge Feland and as he got older, probably with dementia he called all women Leanta.  Leanta was the love of his life! I loved that story, but as an adult I think the reason I loved the story is because of my relationships with Great Grandparents: Robert Faris Feland, Sr., Lois Finis Reynolds Feland and their daughter, my great Aunt Leanta Dabney Feland Larsen Skloot. These three individuals created a loving environment for me and many others. This blog will be filled with memories, pictures and what I have learned about the Feland ancestors. If you have a story or a picture you would like to share on this blog, send me an e-mail and I will post it.