For decades, George Wise reigned supreme as the family history enigma. He was the great-grandfather that I never met; the grandfather that my mother knew only by name; and the father that my grandmother had not seen since childhood. Grandma’s parents divorced when she was a child and her mother moved with her from Indiana to California. Her father and half brother disappeared to places unknown.

When pressed for information, Grandma could only tell us her father’s name was George, and his mother was Mary and she had a half-brother, also named George. My mother’s research and mailing efforts had led to only a census record that added to the mystery. Mary Wise, living with her husband, Richard Wise, with a son, George, but his surname was recorded as Harris. Was this actually our George? Did the enumerator record the name incorrectly? Was he in fact Richard’s son? The ages and location seemed correct, but… Years of searching yielded nothing more until research was suspended due to my youngest sister’s illness.

My sister, Heidi, was diagnosed with cancer while only in her late 20s. Her care and deteriorating health occupied much of my mother’s time and energy. After a four year struggle, it became apparent that the cancer was terminal and she had only a short time left on earth. Near the end of her earthly life and pondering over what life in the next realm might be like, she posed a question to our mother. If she could deliver a message to anyone on the other side what would it be? Mother’s answer, “Tell George that if we don’t get a little help down here, we need to move on to other family lines.” A short time after this conversation, Heidi passed away.

A few months later, my mother was discussing George with grandma (George’s daughter). My mother commented that, maybe George just did not want to be found and if he was going to be that difficult, it was time to move on. My Grandma answered, “Maybe there are others farther down the line who want to be found.” About the same time, I was thinking of George when I spoke out loud, “Are you out there? Do you care?” I was thinking only of George, so I was startled when the answer penetrated my mind, a chorus of voices saying, “Yes we do!” Step by step, the search began anew.

My mother felt prompted to send, once again, for George’s birth certificate. Previous efforts had failed, but this time, a copy arrived in the mail. It was a delayed filing for a birth certificate. It seemed to be correct- right name, date, and location, but it contained nothing we did not already know. My mother called me to voice her frustration. She said she felt strongly that there was something on that document that was important. I ask her to read it to me, word by word. Nothing new! I asked her to read it again, front and back. Only then did she notice, written faintly on the back, the note “Copy sent to Beckley, West Virginia.” It was something new, but we were not sure how it would help.

After the conversation with Mom, I commented to my wife that, with a name and birth date, we could at least do his temple work. My wife said that without a death record we could not do the work. His birth date was too recent. He could still be alive. That was likely not the case, but the thought occurred to me that someone in West Virginia wanted his birth certificate enough to provide records to have a delayed certificate issued. What if? I dialed West Virginia information and asked if there was a listing for George Wise. There was just one, George Ewing Wise in Beckley. My wife made the call.

 An older woman answered. She seemed a bit anxious about strangers who knew personal information about the family, but confirmed that she was the widow of, not George Wise Sr., but George Wise Jr., my grandmother’s long lost half-brother. He had passed away just two years prior to our call. She did not know much about the family but her son, Lyle Wise, who was living in Florida, did. She was reluctant to give us his phone number but promised to give our number to Lyle with our request that he contact us to share information. She obviously did because he called us the next day.

It was a joy to call my grandmother and tell her that, even though her half-brother had passed away, we had just spoken with her sister-in-law that she had never met. Her nephew, Lyle, was unable to shed any new light on George Sr. or Mary. He said both were very secretive and elusive about their past. He did mail an old photo of a house in New Jersey. George had told Lyle that his mother had taken him there on a number of occasions as a child to visit family. What family? What name? What city?

My sister, Kathie, while examining the photo, felt strongly that it contained a clue. We could not have come this far only to reach another dead end. The picture of the house included a mailbox in the front. There was lettering on the box. With the aid of a magnifying glass, she determined that it was the entire address, no name, just an address. She wrote a letter.

Her letter was in the form of “To whom it may concern.” She explained that she was searching for an ancestor who visited family who had lived in that house many years ago, and asked if they could shed any light on previous owners. She thought the current resident would probably think she was crazy and she would likely never receive an answer. She did get an answer, and it was astonishing!

An elderly gentleman wrote back. His name was Fred Smith. His parents were the previous home owners. He grew up there and he still lived there. He explained that he had boyhood memories of Mary and George’s visits. Mary and his mother were sisters. He and George were cousins. Included with Fred’s response was a lengthy, detailed, legal document. He said it was prepared by a family attorney and given to him decades ago with the instructions to, “Keep this! Someday someone will ask for it.” He explained that he was now in his 90s and Kathie was the only one who had ever asked for it, so she must be the one referred to. Fred passed away a short time after this correspondence.

The Document…

It contained George’s and Mary’s (maiden name Harris) lineage back many generations. It detailed birth, marriage and death dates as well as spouses’ maiden names and a list of their children. Their, and my, ancestors were participants in the Revolution and prominent in the early colonization of America, some arriving on American shores in the early 1600s. From the names, dates, and locations included in the list, we were able to trace lines to the British Isles and back several centuries.

With the Spirit guiding efforts on both sides of the veil, and the individual names enumerated in that document as a research guide, temple work has been completed for about 1500 individuals. It may still reveal more secrets as availability of records rapidly increases. –Larry Maloy

A hundred million miracles are happening every day,
And those who say they don’t agree
Are those who do not hear or see.
A hundred million miracles,
A hundred million miracles are happening every day,

From the Movie, “Flower Drum Song”