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My second effort was to follow the Slye family line.
Around 1983 I came into possession of some old family
letters that contained a few clues to follow. Therein I found
the parents of Jessie Slye: Edwin Doyle Slye and Anne
Edwardina Queen. I followed their trail from St. Louis,
Missouri to Washington, D.C. and was at least closer to
Georgetown. The Slye trail next led to Maryland. In the
midst of the Slye research I found a notice of a certified
genealogist (George Ely Russell) who had researched the Slye
name in Maryland. He was willing to share his research for a
fee. I paid the fee. About 75% of the Slye family genealogy
reported in my family history is the original work of Mr.
Russell. The early Slye connections to the Gerard family, the
Brents and the Neales provided another fascinating journey,
this time through Colonial Maryland but did not lead to
Georgetown. Another tilted windmill.
The Queen family line was next. The Queen story
eventually brought in Bishop John Carroll, the first Catholic
Bishop in the newly formed United States. What was then
the Queen plantation is today the eastern third of
Washington, D.C. The current St. Francis de Sales Catholic
Church stands on the grounds of Queen’s Chapel,
bequeathed to Bishop Carroll by Richard Queen in 1794.
Bishop Carroll was the founder of Georgetown University.
Fascinating stories evolved. I was closer to Georgetown. But
the Queen line turned into just another tilted windmill.