Billie was my uncle and he is in part responsible for my genealogy habit. He always wanted to know about the family but didn't have the skill or patience to look up info. That's what he had his English major niece for!
He had a difficult start in life. His parents were not married and nobody let him forget it. I think I speak for my brothers and sisters as well as myself when I say that we each have loving memories of our only uncle and we didn't care about the circumstances of his birth. We were just happy to have him in our life.
Billie's mother, my grandmother, died early in his life. Billie was 7. At the time, my grandmother was married to Peter Dumas Treme and Billie had two younger siblings, my aunt, Joy Treme, and my father, James Treme.
After his mother's death, Billie was placed with his grandmother (Mary Agnes (Leemon) Luke). She raised Billie. Much to my dismay, I found out that my uncle worked as a child...trying to make his way in the world even as a small child.
When Mary Agnes died in 1943, Billie joined the Navy. In many ways, the Navy was a defining time for my uncle. He spoke about his service-related experiences very often. His medals and citations were a great source of pride to him. He hardly ever spoke of the work he did in the aircraft industry.
My uncle could play the guitar and sang. It was a hobby at which he made money. I was never sure how close he came to being a professional. All I know is that he always traveled with his guitar. He occassionally spoke of doing studio work, which I assume means he was a backup player. His favorite tunes were country and western numbers.
My uncle did look for his birth father. He found family members (Benskin is the family name). His father had searched for Billie before his death. My uncle never provided anymore details.
I'm still trying to track down all of my uncle's marriages. There were rumors that there were a lot of them. Billie himself only admitted to two. Whatever the truth is through all of his marriages, he had no children of his own.
In the 1960's or so, he married a lady--his last marriage--who had 8 children. He helped her raise the children. At the end of his life, I would like to hope that although he didn't have children of his own that he understood he had the love of many children--myself included--his niece who is still trying to track down everybody in the family. I like to think that Uncle Billie is looking over my shoulder as I dig through yet another huge stack of records.
S1 US NAVY
WORLD WAR II
He had a difficult start in life. His parents were not married and nobody let him forget it. I think I speak for my brothers and sisters as well as myself when I say that we each have loving memories of our only uncle and we didn't care about the circumstances of his birth. We were just happy to have him in our life.
Billie's mother, my grandmother, died early in his life. Billie was 7. At the time, my grandmother was married to Peter Dumas Treme and Billie had two younger siblings, my aunt, Joy Treme, and my father, James Treme.
After his mother's death, Billie was placed with his grandmother (Mary Agnes (Leemon) Luke). She raised Billie. Much to my dismay, I found out that my uncle worked as a child...trying to make his way in the world even as a small child.
When Mary Agnes died in 1943, Billie joined the Navy. In many ways, the Navy was a defining time for my uncle. He spoke about his service-related experiences very often. His medals and citations were a great source of pride to him. He hardly ever spoke of the work he did in the aircraft industry.
My uncle could play the guitar and sang. It was a hobby at which he made money. I was never sure how close he came to being a professional. All I know is that he always traveled with his guitar. He occassionally spoke of doing studio work, which I assume means he was a backup player. His favorite tunes were country and western numbers.
My uncle did look for his birth father. He found family members (Benskin is the family name). His father had searched for Billie before his death. My uncle never provided anymore details.
I'm still trying to track down all of my uncle's marriages. There were rumors that there were a lot of them. Billie himself only admitted to two. Whatever the truth is through all of his marriages, he had no children of his own.
In the 1960's or so, he married a lady--his last marriage--who had 8 children. He helped her raise the children. At the end of his life, I would like to hope that although he didn't have children of his own that he understood he had the love of many children--myself included--his niece who is still trying to track down everybody in the family. I like to think that Uncle Billie is looking over my shoulder as I dig through yet another huge stack of records.
S1 US NAVY
WORLD WAR II
Billie was my uncle and he is in part responsible for my genealogy habit. He always wanted to know about the family but didn't have the skill or patience to look up info. That's what he had his English major niece for!
He had a difficult start in life. His parents were not married and nobody let him forget it. I think I speak for my brothers and sisters as well as myself when I say that we each have loving memories of our only uncle and we didn't care about the circumstances of his birth. We were just happy to have him in our life.
Billie's mother, my grandmother, died early in his life. Billie was 7. At the time, my grandmother was married to Peter Dumas Treme and Billie had two younger siblings, my aunt, Joy Treme, and my father, James Treme.
After his mother's death, Billie was placed with his grandmother (Mary Agnes (Leemon) Luke). She raised Billie. Much to my dismay, I found out that my uncle worked as a child...trying to make his way in the world even as a small child.
When Mary Agnes died in 1943, Billie joined the Navy. In many ways, the Navy was a defining time for my uncle. He spoke about his service-related experiences very often. His medals and citations were a great source of pride to him. He hardly ever spoke of the work he did in the aircraft industry.
My uncle could play the guitar and sang. It was a hobby at which he made money. I was never sure how close he came to being a professional. All I know is that he always traveled with his guitar. He occassionally spoke of doing studio work, which I assume means he was a backup player. His favorite tunes were country and western numbers.
My uncle did look for his birth father. He found family members (Benskin is the family name). His father had searched for Billie before his death. My uncle never provided anymore details.
I'm still trying to track down all of my uncle's marriages. There were rumors that there were a lot of them. Billie himself only admitted to two. Whatever the truth is through all of his marriages, he had no children of his own.
In the 1960's or so, he married a lady--his last marriage--who had 8 children. He helped her raise the children. At the end of his life, I would like to hope that although he didn't have children of his own that he understood he had the love of many children--myself included--his niece who is still trying to track down everybody in the family. I like to think that Uncle Billie is looking over my shoulder as I dig through yet another huge stack of records.
S1 US NAVY
WORLD WAR II
He had a difficult start in life. His parents were not married and nobody let him forget it. I think I speak for my brothers and sisters as well as myself when I say that we each have loving memories of our only uncle and we didn't care about the circumstances of his birth. We were just happy to have him in our life.
Billie's mother, my grandmother, died early in his life. Billie was 7. At the time, my grandmother was married to Peter Dumas Treme and Billie had two younger siblings, my aunt, Joy Treme, and my father, James Treme.
After his mother's death, Billie was placed with his grandmother (Mary Agnes (Leemon) Luke). She raised Billie. Much to my dismay, I found out that my uncle worked as a child...trying to make his way in the world even as a small child.
When Mary Agnes died in 1943, Billie joined the Navy. In many ways, the Navy was a defining time for my uncle. He spoke about his service-related experiences very often. His medals and citations were a great source of pride to him. He hardly ever spoke of the work he did in the aircraft industry.
My uncle could play the guitar and sang. It was a hobby at which he made money. I was never sure how close he came to being a professional. All I know is that he always traveled with his guitar. He occassionally spoke of doing studio work, which I assume means he was a backup player. His favorite tunes were country and western numbers.
My uncle did look for his birth father. He found family members (Benskin is the family name). His father had searched for Billie before his death. My uncle never provided anymore details.
I'm still trying to track down all of my uncle's marriages. There were rumors that there were a lot of them. Billie himself only admitted to two. Whatever the truth is through all of his marriages, he had no children of his own.
In the 1960's or so, he married a lady--his last marriage--who had 8 children. He helped her raise the children. At the end of his life, I would like to hope that although he didn't have children of his own that he understood he had the love of many children--myself included--his niece who is still trying to track down everybody in the family. I like to think that Uncle Billie is looking over my shoulder as I dig through yet another huge stack of records.
S1 US NAVY
WORLD WAR II
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
