My Cousin Trigger: The Power of Family Legends Cari A. Taplin, CG® • [email protected] • www.genealogypants.com

Most of us heard a story about our ancestors that got us interested in researching our family history. These legends usually hold a bit of truth to them. It is up to us to do the research and separate fact from fiction.

★ The Indian Princess ★ The Stowaway ★ The Three Brothers ★ The Ellis Island Name-Change

★ The Claim to Fame

Famous Legends Family legends are many but can fall into one of these categories:

Roy Rogers:

★ Born Leonard Franklin Slye, 5 November 1911 in Cincinnati, Ohio to Andrew E. and Mattie (Womack) Slye. ★ He moved to California in 1930 to pursue career in music. His first film appearances were in 1935 as “Leonard Slye” but he also went by “Dick Weston” before settling on “Roy Rogers.” ★ He married Arline Wilkins in 1936. By 1940 they hadn’t had any children so they adopted Cheryl Darlene from an orphanage Roy had visited. ★ In 1943 Arline gave birth to Linda Lou and in 1946 she gave birth to Roy Rogers Jr. “Dusty.” One week later Arline died unexpectedly. ★ Roy married Dale Evans 31 December 1947. ★ 1950 Dale gave birth to Robin Elizabeth, who had Down’s Syndrome and died shortly before her 2nd birthday. They became spokespeople for Down’s Syndrome children. ★ They began adopting children from orphanages in 1952. ★ He starred in over 100 films and recorded many albums.

Images used with permission from Roy Rogers Family www.genealogypants.com Page 1 © 2021 Cari A. Taplin, CG® Leonard Slye Family Tree Sanford Sly Family Tree

Leonard F. Slye Helen F. Sly 1911-1998 1914-1990 (Hamilton County, Ohio) (Wood County, Ohio) - - Andrew E. Slye Sanford L. Sly 1883-1972 1884-1962 (Scioto County, Ohio) (Wood County, Ohio) - - Alonzo Slye William J. Sly 1855-1943 1859-1931 (Scioto County, Ohio) (Wood County, Ohio) - - Termarchus “Tulley” C. Slye William Sly 1832-1913 1826-1894 (Mississippi) (England)

Steps for tracking down famous ancestors: 1. Start with yourself and work backward toward where the famous ancestor relationship is supposed to exist. 2. If that doesn’t work, locate genealogical research on that famous person and work forward to yourself. Most famous people have had some genealogy done and most are available online. Of course, you’ll want to double check the work.

WARNING: Handle family myths and legends with care. Family myths and legends are a valid part of your family’s identity. Include these myths in your family history, just be sure to mention which are proved, disproved, fact or legend. Even if they can’t be validated, they often contain clues so don’t write them off completely. These stories are important to the ones who told them. Be careful with how you tell your family what you find. Happy Trails! www.genealogypants.com Page 2 © 2021 Cari A. Taplin, CG®