I suppose a good place to start is at our parents, or possibly our grandparents. We share two sets of grandparents. Lewis and Maudie (Swimm) Ryan, and Uriah and Melvina (Kelly) Hadley. Joe, my Cousin Brother, was born to Elmer and Hazel (Hadley) Ryan. My parents are Earl and Dorothy (Hadley) Ryan.
Our maternal and paternal grandparents lived about a mile and half apart. Our grandma Hadley used to tell her kids not to play too close to the county road, because those crazy Ryan boys drive like they live. So, instead of being killed by one of the crazy Ryan boys, two of the girls decided to marry them. I guess they thought it would be better than being run over by one.
Joe's father, Elmer Ryan was the eldest son of Lewis and Maudie Ryan. My father, Earl Ryan, was the second youngest son of Lewis and Maudie Ryan. My father was about 20 years younger than his older brother Elmer. My Dad and his older brother were tighter than bark on a tree. I think my Dad was convinced that Elmer hung the moon, and possibly kept it shining each night. My Uncle Elmer was an awesome guy, I must admit. I always thought the world of him, and would always listen intently to anything he had to say, since there was always a gem of wisdom built into his conversations. He and Aunt Hazel went through some really tough times, and they did their dead level best to make sure we didn't have to. Now back to my Cousin Brother.
Joe's mother, Hazel (Hadley) Ryan, was the oldest daughter of Uriah and Melvina Hadley. My mother, Dorothy (Hadley) Ryan, was the youngest daughter of Uriah and Melvina Hadley. My mother was about 20 years younger than her older sister Hazel.
Joe's mother and father were married and had three children before my mother was born, so Joe has three siblings that are older than my mother, but Joe and I are the same age. My mother has one nephew and two nieces that are older than she is. Since there was such an age difference, I used to call Arthur, my oldest double cousin, Uncle Arthur, and he never corrected me. After all, he was a few years older than my Mom. I was probably 10-12 years old before I finally managed to drop the Uncle and just call him Art.
Are you confused yet? That's okay, so am I and I've lived with this knowledge for 61 years.
When Joe and I were in school, in the very small town of Wann, everyone assumed we were twins. In many ways, we probably were. We both enjoyed fishing, hunting, and playing at whatever was in season until it was too dark to play outside. When it got dark, we would play Monopoly until Joe decided to call it quits and go to bed at around 8:30 or 9:00. Joe always got up in time to do his chores before school, so he didn't stay up late for anyone. You could have told Joe that the Worlds Fair was coming to town, and he would say that's great, as long as he didn't have to stay up past 8:30 to see it. I guess waking up around 4:30 or 5:00 to milk a couple of cows, feed the pigs and chickens would do that to you. Joe was always a hard working guy, but that's just the way he wanted it.
Joe and I were inseparable until my family moved from Wann to Pawnee, Oklahoma in 1968. I was 14 years old, and I must say that was one of the toughest times in my life. I just imagine twins have the same separation issues when they finally have to go their separate ways.
Having a Cousin Brother is a unique experience. One that I wouldn't trade for a million dollars. I was lucky enough to have five Cousin Brothers and six Cousin Sisters, and so very fortunate to have an Aunt Mom, but that might be another story. My Aunt Hazel always treated me and my siblings (my Mom too, for that matter) like we were her own children. Even though she had eleven children of her own, she always had time for a few more.
In the photo, our grandparents, from left to right.
Uriah Hadley, Melvina (Kelly) Hadley, Maudie (Swim) Ryan, Lewis Ryan
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