Pepper-Tooth Raw

A FAMILY FULL OF SECRETS

On June 6th of 2025 I received a message from a stranger, however I didn't see the message until the 20th. The stranger, a lady named Jennifer said, "Hi, my father was adopted. I seen you uploaded photos of a lady whom I believe is his mother. Georgianna Cote. Would you be interested in speaking with me?" This message was sent to me through the genealogy website Ancestry. Of course my response was "Absolutely."

What was this all about, I'm so confused. I knew growing up that my Grandma's family (Malone/Cote) was a family full of secrets, (as I'm sure a lot of families were back in the day), but could she have given up a baby for adoption? The only reason I saw this message was because I was on the Ancestry site to purchase DNA test kits for my husband, Steve, and I? What are the chances?

Jennifer and I started talking everyday, putting together clues we had found. She asked me how I was related to this lady, Georgianna Elizabeth Malone nee Cote? I told her that, "She is my Mother's Mother, so if she was indeed your Dad's Mother too, that would make your Dad and my Mom siblings."

I know that Georgianna Elizabeth Cote (Beth to a lot of people), had a complicated and difficult life. She was born on the 29th of October, 1916 in Manchester, New Hampshire, USA. Her parents were Joseph Nester Cote and Marie Aurora Cote nee Hubert. Within a few years of her life, her and her family were living in Dauphin, Manitoba, Canada.

As an adult, three sisters were to marry three brothers, one of which was Beth. The story goes, that on the 8th of April, 1935 when Beth was 19 years old and 7 months pregnant with her first child, James Edward Stainthorpe who had impregnated her, left her at the church and moved back to England. Not a very nice thing to do, and to add to the drama, he ended up passing away on the 2nd of March, 1937. --- The other two brothers and Beth's two sisters stayed married the rest of their lives. --- On 11th of June, 1935 Beth's baby boy, Robert Vernon, was born in Saskatchewan.

We know being a single parent is hard enough, but in this era it would have been frowned upon. How difficult it also would have been to find a new spouse? As far as the rumours go, John Harrison Lionell Malone, a farmer on the Canadian Prairies, put an add in the paper for a farm maid, Grandma applied, but mentioned she had a son. John was okay with that. (The other version is that Beth was a mail order bride and John was willing to adopt her son as his own).

John and Beth married in 1940 and also welcomed their first daughter, Molly Yvonne, on 16th November of that same year. Their son Daniel John Lorence was born the 4th of December, 1941. Their daughter Joan Marie was born 28th of June, 1943 but she unfortunately passed away on the 18th, January, 1945. She was ill and (as it has been told), the Doctor said not to sit Joan up; yet, he himself did just that, which led to her passing away. (We don't quite understand what happened). The family was then told to never talk about Joan; (How sad for everyone). On the 30th of March, 1946, Beth gave birth to twins, one being their son, Ronald Lee, the other being not fully formed, with no sign of life. Their daughter Dale Anna was born on the 9th of December, 1947. Just over a year later, back in Dauphin, Manitoba, on the 17th of January, 1949, Beth's Father, Nester, passed away. Even sadder yet, a few months later, on 19th of April, 1949, while Beth was newly pregnant, her beloved John would pass away. He had suffered with colitis for years and now colon cancer had taken his life. --- On the 17th of December, 1949, Beth welcomed their daughter Marie Anne. -- Beth found herself alone again, now with 6 children to care for.

--- When Marie was in her 50s, (after Beth had already passed away), she was told by Dale and then confirmed by Bob, that John Malone was not her biological father. John probably would have been quite ill at the time of her conception). This has not been proven true or false, but Marie and her brother Ron are going to be getting their DNA tested and we will know for sure. If she does indeed have another bio father, we can not judge because again, we do not know the circumstances. ---

It was a hard existence, raising children alone, working outside the home, (Georgianna had been a cleaner at the hospital in North Battleford, Saskatchewan) and still trying to run the farm. With Bob (Robert) being nearly 14, he was dropped into the role of Man of the House.

Soon after John's passing, the family moved to a farm near Bonnyville, Alberta, trying to live off of family allowance.

This is where our story takes us to Jennifer's father. What we know is that a baby boy, Louis Malone, was born on the 6th of January, 1955 in Elk Point, Alberta and was given up for adoption. We have a description of the mother and father. We can only speculate to the reasons or circumstances that surround the decision to have given up a baby. Louis was adopted into a loving home, given the name Joseph and raised with his sister Mary, (who was also adopted). --- Jennifer and Joe have, through DNA, identified Joe's biological father and have been in contact with family members.---

So, let us go back to Georgianna... 8 months after baby Louis was born, while walking to the next farm to collect eggs, Dale (age 7) and Marie (age 5) were hit by a drunk driver in a truck. Marie was seriously injured and was in a coma for a month. She woke up on Halloween, because she remembers, while looking out the window, all the kids in Halloween costumes walking around. She had to learn to walk and talk again.

After the accident, the family moved to St. Paul, Alberta. Georgianna worked at a restaurant and cleaned in the hospital there.

In October, 1967 when Marie was 17, her friend was going on a date and because he had a friend, she invited Marie for a blind date. The second boy, also 17, named Lloyd fell for Marie right away. On the 3rd of February of 1968, they were engaged and on the 10th of August, 1968, they were married. They made their way to Edmonton, Alberta, because a city would give them more opportunities to build a future.

Georgianna carried on with life, having a few boyfriends along the way. On the 28th of December, 1976, her Mother, Aurora passed away, back in Dauphin, Manitoba.

When Georgianna was 63, in 1980, she suffered her second stroke, (her first one had been minor). She lost a great deal of use on her right side, which was very frustrating for her, not only because this was her dominant side, but also because she would no longer be able to drive. She was now also confined to using a wheelchair most of the time, with a walker as an aid to walk short distances. She moved in with Marie and Lloyd right after.

Life was as good as it could be from here on out. She was happy and didn't need to worry for anything. Family was always welcome to stop by and visit. As well as many times her children and Grandchildren would take her to stay at theirs. She watched Marie's children grow (myself being one of them) and lived a simple life. She loved playing cards, watching TV and reclining in her lazy boy chair. In the early 90s, as she was aging, it was just getting harder for her to get her needs met at home. So it was decided she would move into an assisted living facility. She was there for a few years before she suffered 7 heart attacks, (1 massive, 6 minor)... but that didn't take her down. She would say that she didn't think she'd live till she was 80. So for her 79th birthday, she was given a massive birthday party.

On the 29th of October, 1996 Georgianna turned 80... however on the 12th of November, 1996... she passed away, peacefully. And to be honest, all I could think was 'finally, she gets to rest.' Her life was not an easy one, but she was an amazing, kind, gentle lady with a heart as big as could be. I am so blessed to have had her as my Grandma and to get to have her live with us while us kids grew up.

On July 14th of this year, (2025), the results were in. Jennifer had a notification that she had another DNA match on Ancestry... it was confirmed. We are half cousins and Joe is my Uncle! I can not wait for myself and all the Malone side to welcome in our new family as well as share our memories of Georgianna Elizabeth "Beth" with them.

Joe is happily married. Not only do him and his wife, Sue, have Jennifer, they also have two more daughters, Sara and Jessica as well as 5 grandchildren.

Here is to happy families and DNA answering long unanswered questions. And to a future full of secrets revealed!

Today’s art lesson… still learning about glazing. (Wet on dry) Watercolour. With Art Teacher…