JoAnn Brill was born Carol JoAnn Puffenbarger. Her mother was born Edith Della Donahoe. Both of these families were in the new world before the American Revolution. The Puffenbargers arrived in 1733 at the port of Philadelphia . The Donahoes were here by the early 1700s in Baltimore. The Puffenbargers came from the same area of Germany as the Brills with only about 80Kms between their home towns.
John Donahoe, Edith Donahoe Exline, Dale Donahoe, and Mary Donahoe Treharn - JoAnn's mother, uncles and aunt
Edith's older brothers Denvil and Dale
Edith Donahoe’s (sic) mother, Lucy Carpenter Donahue, died when Edith was 8 years old – shortly after Christmas 1926. Her father John Patrick Donahue was placed in Weston State Hospital early in 1927 where he died in July of 1929. Unfortunately it appears that no one in their two families was in a position or wanted to help in this terrible time. The 5 children were fostered to individual families - quite probably as workers in some cases. Edith Della lived with Weed and Gay Smith until she married in 1935 and kept a relationship with them until their end. Mary Elizabeth was taken by the Grant McCoy family and they may have adopted her as she used the name later on documents. Denvil lived with the John Burner family at least until 1930. He married in 1933 and died 2 years later. Dale lived with the Isaac Rogers family, again, at least until the 1930 census. From sometime after the 1930 census, John lived with Hattie Kidd and her mother Dora. He continued to live with “Miss Hattie” as we knew her until her death.
The children were not reconnected until Mary was able to track down her siblings and bring those still living together.
Weed and Gay Smith
DONAHUE FAMILY
Edith with "Miss Hattie" Kidd
