jason.defay.org | you're grounded, chicken!

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This is my first attempt to write down and organize all the little tidbits of DeFay genealogy I've been told over the years. Please feel free to add comments & fill in any details you might have. My father was Paul Edward DeFay and he married Joyce Marilyn Bailey. My dad was born in Jamaica New York, and his father Don DeFay was an orphan who married my grandmother whose name I can't recall. My grandfather was in the Navy during World War II and, although I've only met him twice, he always had interesting naval stories to tell.

I recently learned from my aunt Kim that my grandfather Donald was raised in an orphanage with his brother Frances and his mother Nettie Pierce-DeFay. They ended up living in an orphanage because my great grandfather Richard DeFay apparently got himself arrested for bigamy. My grandfather and grandmother had four children, Paul, Donald, Jeff and Carolyn. Sadly, my grandmother died shortly after Carolyn was born due to a mistyped blood transfusion done by the Naval Hospital where she delivered.

After my grandmother died, my grandfather remarried Ruth Vesey and they had seven more children (Sydney, Charles, Susan, Kimberley, Hillary, Stephanie and Sabrina). I've met some of them such as Charlie who I thought was so cool when I was a kid (he gave me a surf board!).

I was raised in both Santa Cruz and San Jose. Prior to settling in Santa Cruz, my father and mother lived in San Francisco where they met after my father dropped out of the University of San Francisco. They also traveled to Japan when my father was in the Navy. Ironically, I now live in San Diego, quite close to Coronado where my father, uncles and grandfather all lived for a time after my grandmother died.

As for my generation, I have two brothers, Chris and Eric. Eric has one daughter, Niccole. My uncle Donald had two children, Barret and Baird. Uncle Jeff has one child from his first marriage by the name of Daniel. He also has two children from his second wife by the names of Isaac and Jamie. My aunt Carolyn did not have children. If all goes well, my wife Amy and I will be having our first child sometime around April of 2007.

The saga of the DeFay's will continue as Amy and I have decided to give him/her my last name. My brother Chris just gave me a copy of his database of our family genealogy that he compiled using a free program called Legacy. I am willing to share this with anyone who might be interested. Send me an email for more information.