Lies and deceit
Gary David Hinds was given to his adoptive parents by Lydia Gaulthair. With her were two small children, Rickie and Frances. She told Pat and Bill Hinds that she couldn't care for three children.
Gary was 13 when his parents told him that he was not their biological child. He was given three small photos. Gary had seen them before because he had always thought he was the small boy in the picture with the little girl. Pat and Bill told him that the boy was his brother Rickie and the girl. his sister Francie.
They told him that his father was Ramon Montoya and his mother Lydia Gaulthair. A somewhat garbled version of his parents history was shared with the confused 13-yr-old. Apparently Lydia had given him to them because they couldn't have children of their own. They had tried for 10 years to have a baby. They told him that they loved him more than he could imagine.
According to their story, Ramon Montoya grabbed the kids and disappeared into Mexico. He had a nickname and was called Stumpy. They implied that he was a one-legged. Mexican man. Pat shared with Gary that she had lost track of Lydia and didn't have any more information. This was a well-rehearsed lie that she used until the day she died.
Gary doesn't ask for much so after his mother passed away, he asked if I could find his brother and sister. it became my mission. How do you find a one-legged Mexican with two children in Mexico? The odds were overwhelming. Although I had documented a lot of the family information on Ancestry.com, there were many missing pieces.
In January 2012, I added a new family line on Ancestry.com. It listed Gary as a Montoya and was tied into Lydia Gaulthair and Ramon Montoya. While Ancestry.com is a popular site, the odds of someone finding this one small family line was slim. However, In April 2012, there was a message in my in-box. It was from Esther Saulque. She had found the link and wanted to know if we had any information on Lydia for her cousins Enrique and Frances. Imagine the shock when you realize that the brother and sister you had been searching for has found you. We planned a meeting in July 2012.
The search had not been stagnant. While looking for Lydia Gaulthair, four names had popped up. Gerold and Karolene Rickman kept coming up on another website listing their mother as Lida Gaulthair. Patricia Powell was found on the same site. There was information on Patricia Powell and we tried to contact her cousin. She would not respond. Patricia Powell died in 2011 and her obituary listed a friend. We tried to contact her too but no response from her either. Since we were unable to verify that the Rickman kids were Gaulthair, no attempt was made to contact them. I did find a birth certificate for David Gaulthair listing his mother as Gaulthair. We sent him a letter but it came back as undeliverable.
When we met Enrique and Frances, we shared what information we had. The meeting was unreal and for Gary, thrilling. While Frances had a different father, Rick and Gary had the same parents. Esther sent pictures before the meeting and Gary was shocked to find that he was the spitting image of his grandmother Aurora. When you grow up not looking like anyone in your family, it is amazing to find where you belong. He found a history. Everything he had been told about his parents was a lie. Ramon Montoya was not Mexican. There is a very proud Basque heritage with the family living in New Mexico since the 1600's. His grandmother was Kewa (Santo Domingo Pueblo). Ramon was not missing a leg and was never called Stumpy.
Coming home from the meeting, we marveled at the new family. If we had found no one else, it would have been fine but there was another message on Ancestry.com waiting for us. It was from a lady named Darla who said that she thought that she was another of the Gaulthair children. What a shock! We didn't know about her but she was the key to finding David.
She said that her father was Thomas Stump. We had discovered the "Stumpy". While he is not David's father, he did raise him. With Darla, we had found two more children. The pictures of the man and boy now made sense and we knew who they were.
Unable to afford a trip to Wisconsin to search the records, we turned to the Richland County and Vernon County libraries for help. Both offer research services for a reasonable price. The were able to confirm the Rickmans' and Patricia Powell as Gaulthair. They did talk to Patricia's cousin who emphatically stated that she would not talk to us but provided the tidbit about Patricia being left at 15 months. We contacted Gerold. Yes, his mother was Lida. He was cordial but was not interested in talking to us. He is dealing with illness in his family and we understand the importance of taking care of family. We didn't contact Karolene because we were unable to find an address or a phone number. However, Gerold called Karolene and she called us. As the second oldest child, she had lots of information that we are in the process of collecting. She and Gerold had a relationship with Lydia all their lives.
None of the other children knew Lydia. In fact, Darla was the only one who had pictures of her. Gary, Enrique, and Frances never knew what their mother looked like. Ramon Montoya refused to talk to his children about Lydia. Thomas Stump told his children that he would tell them when they were older but now has Alzheimer's. Finding the missing siblings had helped them all fill in the other missing pieces. The story does not end here. The new family spend a lot of time on the phone sharing their lives. Every time they talk, another piece of the puzzle falls into place.
Gary was 13 when his parents told him that he was not their biological child. He was given three small photos. Gary had seen them before because he had always thought he was the small boy in the picture with the little girl. Pat and Bill told him that the boy was his brother Rickie and the girl. his sister Francie.
They told him that his father was Ramon Montoya and his mother Lydia Gaulthair. A somewhat garbled version of his parents history was shared with the confused 13-yr-old. Apparently Lydia had given him to them because they couldn't have children of their own. They had tried for 10 years to have a baby. They told him that they loved him more than he could imagine.
According to their story, Ramon Montoya grabbed the kids and disappeared into Mexico. He had a nickname and was called Stumpy. They implied that he was a one-legged. Mexican man. Pat shared with Gary that she had lost track of Lydia and didn't have any more information. This was a well-rehearsed lie that she used until the day she died.
Gary doesn't ask for much so after his mother passed away, he asked if I could find his brother and sister. it became my mission. How do you find a one-legged Mexican with two children in Mexico? The odds were overwhelming. Although I had documented a lot of the family information on Ancestry.com, there were many missing pieces.
In January 2012, I added a new family line on Ancestry.com. It listed Gary as a Montoya and was tied into Lydia Gaulthair and Ramon Montoya. While Ancestry.com is a popular site, the odds of someone finding this one small family line was slim. However, In April 2012, there was a message in my in-box. It was from Esther Saulque. She had found the link and wanted to know if we had any information on Lydia for her cousins Enrique and Frances. Imagine the shock when you realize that the brother and sister you had been searching for has found you. We planned a meeting in July 2012.
The search had not been stagnant. While looking for Lydia Gaulthair, four names had popped up. Gerold and Karolene Rickman kept coming up on another website listing their mother as Lida Gaulthair. Patricia Powell was found on the same site. There was information on Patricia Powell and we tried to contact her cousin. She would not respond. Patricia Powell died in 2011 and her obituary listed a friend. We tried to contact her too but no response from her either. Since we were unable to verify that the Rickman kids were Gaulthair, no attempt was made to contact them. I did find a birth certificate for David Gaulthair listing his mother as Gaulthair. We sent him a letter but it came back as undeliverable.
When we met Enrique and Frances, we shared what information we had. The meeting was unreal and for Gary, thrilling. While Frances had a different father, Rick and Gary had the same parents. Esther sent pictures before the meeting and Gary was shocked to find that he was the spitting image of his grandmother Aurora. When you grow up not looking like anyone in your family, it is amazing to find where you belong. He found a history. Everything he had been told about his parents was a lie. Ramon Montoya was not Mexican. There is a very proud Basque heritage with the family living in New Mexico since the 1600's. His grandmother was Kewa (Santo Domingo Pueblo). Ramon was not missing a leg and was never called Stumpy.
Coming home from the meeting, we marveled at the new family. If we had found no one else, it would have been fine but there was another message on Ancestry.com waiting for us. It was from a lady named Darla who said that she thought that she was another of the Gaulthair children. What a shock! We didn't know about her but she was the key to finding David.
She said that her father was Thomas Stump. We had discovered the "Stumpy". While he is not David's father, he did raise him. With Darla, we had found two more children. The pictures of the man and boy now made sense and we knew who they were.
Unable to afford a trip to Wisconsin to search the records, we turned to the Richland County and Vernon County libraries for help. Both offer research services for a reasonable price. The were able to confirm the Rickmans' and Patricia Powell as Gaulthair. They did talk to Patricia's cousin who emphatically stated that she would not talk to us but provided the tidbit about Patricia being left at 15 months. We contacted Gerold. Yes, his mother was Lida. He was cordial but was not interested in talking to us. He is dealing with illness in his family and we understand the importance of taking care of family. We didn't contact Karolene because we were unable to find an address or a phone number. However, Gerold called Karolene and she called us. As the second oldest child, she had lots of information that we are in the process of collecting. She and Gerold had a relationship with Lydia all their lives.
None of the other children knew Lydia. In fact, Darla was the only one who had pictures of her. Gary, Enrique, and Frances never knew what their mother looked like. Ramon Montoya refused to talk to his children about Lydia. Thomas Stump told his children that he would tell them when they were older but now has Alzheimer's. Finding the missing siblings had helped them all fill in the other missing pieces. The story does not end here. The new family spend a lot of time on the phone sharing their lives. Every time they talk, another piece of the puzzle falls into place.