Emmy Lou Thomas was born Emma Marie Aust in June 1887 in Ellis, Kansas to Jacob and Regina (Sabolka) Ast. (Note - the name Ast was later changed to Aust, because nobody pronounced Ast properly.)
Jacob, Regina, and their son Frank had arrived in Ellis, KS the previous year, coming from Illischestie, Bukovina, Austria. Shortly after Emma was born, the family moved to Pe Ell, Washington. There, Jake and Regina had two more daughters, Ella and Minnie. Tragically, in December 1892, Regina was accidentally crushed to death against the side of a stall, by a frightened horse. The next year, Jake remarried, to Margaretta Koerber. Together, Jake and Maggie had 8 more children.
Around 1904 or 1905, once she was grown up, Emma moved on her own to Seattle, and lost touch with her family. She lived there working as a secretary for several years.
In 1920, Emma married John Samuel Maris. A year later, they had a son, John Samuel Maris, Jr. (who later changed his name to James ("Jimmy") Jolley Thomas). Emma and Samuel divorced in 1925, and later the same year, Emma re-married, to Leon Ellsworth Thomas. They lived in Longview, WA. until the mid-1940's, when the moved to Santa Cruz County, CA.
Through DNA testing and comparison of family stories/pictures, Emmy Lou's granddaughter Bettye Nemanic, and John Aust Losee, grandson of Emma's half-brother William John Aust, confirmed that Bettye's grandmother and John's grandfather's half-sister were indeed one and the same person!
Jacob, Regina, and their son Frank had arrived in Ellis, KS the previous year, coming from Illischestie, Bukovina, Austria. Shortly after Emma was born, the family moved to Pe Ell, Washington. There, Jake and Regina had two more daughters, Ella and Minnie. Tragically, in December 1892, Regina was accidentally crushed to death against the side of a stall, by a frightened horse. The next year, Jake remarried, to Margaretta Koerber. Together, Jake and Maggie had 8 more children.
Around 1904 or 1905, once she was grown up, Emma moved on her own to Seattle, and lost touch with her family. She lived there working as a secretary for several years.
In 1920, Emma married John Samuel Maris. A year later, they had a son, John Samuel Maris, Jr. (who later changed his name to James ("Jimmy") Jolley Thomas). Emma and Samuel divorced in 1925, and later the same year, Emma re-married, to Leon Ellsworth Thomas. They lived in Longview, WA. until the mid-1940's, when the moved to Santa Cruz County, CA.
Through DNA testing and comparison of family stories/pictures, Emmy Lou's granddaughter Bettye Nemanic, and John Aust Losee, grandson of Emma's half-brother William John Aust, confirmed that Bettye's grandmother and John's grandfather's half-sister were indeed one and the same person!
Emmy Lou Thomas was born Emma Marie Aust in June 1887 in Ellis, Kansas to Jacob and Regina (Sabolka) Ast. (Note - the name Ast was later changed to Aust, because nobody pronounced Ast properly.)
Jacob, Regina, and their son Frank had arrived in Ellis, KS the previous year, coming from Illischestie, Bukovina, Austria. Shortly after Emma was born, the family moved to Pe Ell, Washington. There, Jake and Regina had two more daughters, Ella and Minnie. Tragically, in December 1892, Regina was accidentally crushed to death against the side of a stall, by a frightened horse. The next year, Jake remarried, to Margaretta Koerber. Together, Jake and Maggie had 8 more children.
Around 1904 or 1905, once she was grown up, Emma moved on her own to Seattle, and lost touch with her family. She lived there working as a secretary for several years.
In 1920, Emma married John Samuel Maris. A year later, they had a son, John Samuel Maris, Jr. (who later changed his name to James ("Jimmy") Jolley Thomas). Emma and Samuel divorced in 1925, and later the same year, Emma re-married, to Leon Ellsworth Thomas. They lived in Longview, WA. until the mid-1940's, when the moved to Santa Cruz County, CA.
Through DNA testing and comparison of family stories/pictures, Emmy Lou's granddaughter Bettye Nemanic, and John Aust Losee, grandson of Emma's half-brother William John Aust, confirmed that Bettye's grandmother and John's grandfather's half-sister were indeed one and the same person!
Jacob, Regina, and their son Frank had arrived in Ellis, KS the previous year, coming from Illischestie, Bukovina, Austria. Shortly after Emma was born, the family moved to Pe Ell, Washington. There, Jake and Regina had two more daughters, Ella and Minnie. Tragically, in December 1892, Regina was accidentally crushed to death against the side of a stall, by a frightened horse. The next year, Jake remarried, to Margaretta Koerber. Together, Jake and Maggie had 8 more children.
Around 1904 or 1905, once she was grown up, Emma moved on her own to Seattle, and lost touch with her family. She lived there working as a secretary for several years.
In 1920, Emma married John Samuel Maris. A year later, they had a son, John Samuel Maris, Jr. (who later changed his name to James ("Jimmy") Jolley Thomas). Emma and Samuel divorced in 1925, and later the same year, Emma re-married, to Leon Ellsworth Thomas. They lived in Longview, WA. until the mid-1940's, when the moved to Santa Cruz County, CA.
Through DNA testing and comparison of family stories/pictures, Emmy Lou's granddaughter Bettye Nemanic, and John Aust Losee, grandson of Emma's half-brother William John Aust, confirmed that Bettye's grandmother and John's grandfather's half-sister were indeed one and the same person!
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