Finding Cousins - Mary Anna Niehaus Hoskinson's Family

Have you ever met people that you immediately connect with?  One of those special events happened in September to my sister and I. But this connection was for real!  We had a visit from cousins we'd never had a chance to meet. What nice people!  Sally (Leonard) Redinger and Leo Leonard are our second cousins.  We share great grandparents, Joseph and Gertrude Niehaus.  Their grandmother, Mary Anna Niehaus Hoskinson, died when their mother, Ruth, was a very young child.  Ruth was raised by her father, John Hoskinson, and his sister, Ruby Henschen.  As life goes, Sally and Leo didn't have the opportunity to know their Niehaus family.  Although they were made aware enough of those family ties that they remained curious.  Then, in the past few years family history became more of a priority for them.  Voila! Leo and Sally found us on the Internet and here we are today. 
About 1 1/2 years ago Leo found this website while searching for his Niehaus family.  And there it was.  He found his grandfather, John Hoskinson, in a Niehaus reunion photo.  He emailed his sister across the country and they  began the email conversation with me.  While Leo was visiting Sally in eastern Indiana from his home in Washington State about two months ago they decided to make a trip to Indianapolis so that we could meet up.  And we're so happy that they did.  Our afternoon of sharing our heritage and becoming closer cousins was delightful.  This photo above is, left to right: Martha "Marti" (Niehaus) Fleetwood (my sister), Leo Leonard, Sally (Leonard) Redinger and me, Nancy (Niehaus) Hurley.  It was so nice to talk with them in person after sharing history and getting acquainted for a good while over the Internet.  I think that our grandparents would have been pleased at us making this family tie.
Sally shared photos of their mother, Ruth, through the years.  As well as other family photos that gave us a look inside all those years of our cousins' lives.  I'm very glad to get to know more about our grand aunt's family.  Below photos: 1.  Mary Anna Niehaus Hoskinson; followed by 2. Ruth Hoskinson, Mary Anna's daughter, at about 16; and 3. Ruth Hoskinson Leonard later in life. 


Of course, we all plan to keep in touch now and have more visits.  We hope that if there are others wondering about the families you find on this website, that you send a message.  These living family ties are really the best kind!

To learn more about these Niehaus connections:
Joseph Niehaus, Our Rug Weaver
Gertrude Elizabeth Wilmsen Niehaus


Thanks for visiting Indiana Ties,
Nancy
 
Copyright (c) 2015 Nancy Niehaus Hurley