| Notes |
- Obituary:
Published Date: 1952-09-21
Newspaper: Springfield Union
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http://staugustine.com/stories/041001/nei_0410010002.shtml
We have all heard of the mysteries of families losing touch and being separated or in some instances never meeting one another. When I was given this information, I felt it had to be shared with you as it involved so many of our neighbors. The story goes as follows:
It seems that Beaven Hoar was stationed in England during the 1950's and was killed there in a civilian accident. His American family had never met his new English family, including a daughter. The daughter, Lynn, eventually decided to come to the states with her mother, Sheila, to search for clues to her late father's family, since they had never had contact with one another.
She found his obituary in the Springfield, Mass., newspaper archives, and they traveled to her father's grave and then returned to England where she hired a detective to pick up the trail.
He contacted a David Hoar in Massachusetts, and the mystery began to unravel. When confirmed that Lynn was actually David's niece she sent a letter which David forwarded to his brothers and sisters. Calls were immediately made across the great Atlantic, and then David, wife Barbara, and Lawrence flew to Dartmouth, S. Devon, England, for a brief visit. It was arranged that Lynn, her husband Keith, and their son, Tommy, would visit the states.
What a reunion this was! Elaine Stover, Lawrence and Marion Hoar of St. Augustine, Edward Hill and daughter Audrey of California and Richard Shoar of Melbourne, plus their family members were all here to meet and greet the long-lost English family. Everyone's homes were visited, and time was spent with the visitors on a one-on-one basis, so they could get to know one another. Of course, they were well entertained by touring the Ancient City, riding the trolley and, of course, visiting the alligator farm. The Stovers treated them to the unique tour of the city seeing things that tourists oft times miss.
The group gathered at the Cracker Barrel, Richard Shoar and Marion Hoar hosted a party at the Radisson, Lawrence and Rita Hoar hosted a total family get together (25) at The Shores, and a cousin of Lynn's, Cindy Hopfe, owner of a restaurant in Bunnell, hosted yet another event.
A highlight of the trip was touring the St. Augustine Chief of Police David Shoar's office, as Tommy received a T-shirt, badge and other goodies from David, who is of course a relative.
The visitors continued on to Orlando on their own to visit Mickey and The Gang, Universal and Sea World.
Elaine Stover, speaking on behalf of the family says, ''Sheila and Lynn are real gems, and we are glad to have found these members of the family. We thought our family was full, but we now realize it is more complete after this mystery was solved.''
The next visit for the families will be to Cape Cod home of David, who was first contacted and ironically was unable to attend the visit due to medical problems. Upon returning home Lynn suggested this was the best holiday she has ever experienced.
Note that the spelling of Hoar and Shoar denotes the name has been changed by some of the family members.
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The H600 Project Genealogy DB
1929 - 1952 (23 years)