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Nancy Kay Schultz and Leigh Rex Larson, December 31, 2023.

AZ Residence: LEIGH R LARSON, 40803 N BRANGUS RD, SCOTTSDALE AZ 85262-1602

WI Vacation Home: LEIGH R LARSON, N6865 SOUTH LN, PO BOX 308, JOHNSON CREEK WI 53038-0308

This website joins together the numerous descendants and cousins of Leigh Rex Larson's ancestors: Larson, Bickett, Abbey, Baker, Blake, and others. Leigh Rex Larson's grandmother, Emma Jane (Abbey) Larson, was inspired by the genealogy publication compiled by the niece of her first cousin, Irma Ruth (Mason) Anderson, who published the Blake/Ambrose Family History in 1970. Emma Jane (Abbey) Larson in her later years attempted, through letter writing, to discover her Abbey ancestors. It turned out that this was not a project she should have attempted at about age 85, especially since none of her surviving relatives knew anything beyond two generations back. After Emma Jane (Abbey) Larson passed away at age 101 her son, Wilbur Almo "Bill" Larson suggested that sometime this search might continue... so it did. 

The Abbey family has a long presence in colonial America, dating back to 1635, well before the Revolutionary War. However, even the very comprehensive Cleveland Abbey book on the Abbe/Abbey families published in the early 1900s contained some “unconnected lines.” One unconnected Abbey line went from the Colony of Connecticut to Upper Canada (Ontario) in 1798. After fifty years in Canada, about 1847 - 1860, some Abbey families left Canada West for the United States. The first Canadian-born Abbey was Orrin Abner Abbey (1815 - 1902) who arrived in the Territory of Wisconsin about 1847. Others who followed soon after were Charles Oliver Abbey (1825 - 1863) who went to the Town of Oak Grove, Dodge Co., WI; Isaac Abbey (1838 - 1865) who went to Wisconsin; Wellington Abbey (1840 - 1901) who went to Wisconsin; Sarah Ann Abbey (1844 - 1927) who went to Minnesota; Orrin Abner Abbey (1846 - 1905) who went to Kansas; Francis "Frank" Abbey (1848 - 1929) who went to Nebraska; and Abner Nathaniel Abbey (1849 - 1929) who went to the Dakota Territory (North Dakota).

To help tie families together, “snippets” of information are sometimes placed on a Web page, so they can revisited to try again and connect them to other relatives.

The Larson/Bickett ancestors immigrated to the United States from western Europe, including Sweden, England, Ireland and Germany. The family lineages were gleaned from numerous sources, including Ancestry, FamilySearch, and Family Tree Maker files, Blake/Ambrose Family History by Irma Ruth (Mason) Anderson, and the work of Helen Means (Bickett) Fiegel. Contributions from many others have also been much appreciated. A special "thank yous" to: Leslie Wilson of Canada for her excellent research on the early Abbey families in Canada, who were some of the pioneer settlers of Durham Co., Upper Canada (Ontario); Per Carlzon of Sweden, for his genealogical research of the Olaus Larsson ancestry; and a special "thank you" to Kay Koslan for discovering long-lost Abbey ancestors in Windham County, CT, during Colonial America and afterward.

Comments, additions and corrections are always welcome, and may be directed to Leigh Larson, shown above.