Long time since my last post but I actually have another story Milton wrote. It’s from the very early years when June and Milton lived in Beppu. Both Mom and Dad chronicled it in their autobiographies, so I know it was significant to them. But interestingly, Dad made this story a whole separate chapter. The … More The Story of a Coat
Continuing the story of the move to Tokyo. For a little timeline context, the move from Kobe took place late in the summer of 1968. Last post Milton went into great humorous detail about the house we moved into. In contrast to Kobe, it was a tiny box with three feet of backyard. A big … More A new chapter in Tokyo
June’s mother’s side of the family was a little bit of a mystery to even June. Her mother Elsie May Guest lived in Geelong, Victoria when she married Warren Furner. Then she moved to Goulburn, New South Wales where the extended Furner family lived. Goulburn is where June was born and based on stories she … More Geelong to Goulburn
The last post about June and Milton’s story ended with Dad driving us to our new school in Tokyo and we all arrived late. At that point, we were renting a house right next to a railway line that shook every time a train went by. Soon after, they bought a house in Tanashi a … More Our Tanashi – Tokyo House
There are still a few more Japan missionary stories from Milton’s brief autobiography in Japan, and some interesting ancestry deep dives on both the Furner and Whan side. However, for this short post, in a blatant attempt to grow readership (lol), I am going to reveal one of the little scandals that ancestry research has … More Scandal aka shenanigans in Scotland
With today’s technology, from anywhere in the world, we can stay in touch with our relatives with a steady flow of text messages and Facetime calls. It is hard to fathom the length of time it took to communicate in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the timeframe for the letters between the Whan brothers … More Letters to Canadian Andrew
I have gone down a rabbit hole of posts about Milton’s grand-uncle, James Whan in this blog devoted to June and Milton Wayne; so forgive me. But, we have such a fascinating record of life in the late 1800s via James’ letters. I am compelled to spend one more short post about James. To recap … More Granduncle James
The previous blog post showcased the text of a letter from James Whan (1846-1934) to his wife Elizabeth during his journey back to Scotland. The letter was mailed from Port Said, Egypt as the SS John Elder exited the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean Sea. Thankfully, after he sent off that letter, James kept on … More James Whan’s Diary
Whan stories continue. I probably confused readers of my last post, with the many multiple first names in the Whan family tree. The abbreviated lineage chart below, I hope will help as the Whan letters and stories continue. These letters and diaries are only available because of the remarkable research Milton’s cousin John Wilson accomplished. … More Whan dive – Part 2
This post is a little subtopic from June and Milton’s experiences in Japan. There are some interesting (to family history fans) stories that I would like to share over a few posts. As you read on, it is easy to get confused with who is who due to Scottish naming traditions. The Whan family repeated … More Whan Deep Dive – Part 1
Mary: The events in this post take place around August of 1968. It didn’t dawn on me until recently that 1968 marked twenty years since June and Milton first arrived in Japan. Tokyo at that time had practically been leveled by the bombs of World War 2. They arrive with baby Stan barely a year … More From Kobe to Tokyo (where it all began)
Milton: I had been introduced to churches in the USA by Dr. Chuck Corwin. As the division chaplain at the army base years ago back in Kokura had urged me, I was given to opportunity to go to the US and share our story. Pastors kindly asked me to return for Spiritual Emphasis week conferences. … More Exceedingly abundantly
Mary: For the first story, I didn’t do a deep dive into the history of arranged marriages in Japan (called “Omiai”). But, I believe that now in 2022, arranged marriages are much more of a rarity than they were 50 years ago. With that said, the story June tells isn’t quite an arranged marriage in … More Two unrelated short stories
Mary: The story Milton describes about the interesting set of events that took place in getting our first car probably dates mid- 1962. He mentions the work with youth camps highlighted the need for a car. In the very first camp he borrowed another missionary’s truck after quickly renewing his license. The next summer camp was … More Coincidences, camp and a car
Milton and June first arrived in Japan in December of 1948. Their first furlough back to Australia was in December of 1953 with their two (at the time) children and they stayed until February 1955. This was chronicled briefly by both June and Milton, especially because it was on that furlough that Dave was born … More The last family furlough
From the Land Down Under to the Rising Sun 