My interest in genealogy started in 2015 with the discovery of many family photos tucked away in shoeboxes, big boxes, and old chests, found in the back of closets and even a barn. During visits to family in Michigan and Florida, I've been slowly making progress scanning these photos and organizing them in Apple's Photo database for Macs. I've been fortunate to have the time to work on matching these photos with Find a Grave memorials.

Some notable photographers in our family include:

- George Bonnell (1855 to 1931), my great Aunt Merle's father-in-law: 'Uncle' George (who isn't actually a blood-relation) was one of Michigan's early professional photographers. He had a photo tent in the Grayling area in the 1890s, and a photo studio in Leslie circa 1890 and in Lansing from 1906 to 1931. His descendants understand that many of his photos of lumber camps are part of a collection held by Hartwick Pines State Park near Grayling, Michigan.

- Sarah (Sally) Mason nee Wilson (1898 to 1985), my maternal grandmother: Clearly she was an active photographer and I've enjoyed posting many of her photos on this web site. She and her younger sister Peggy posed for professional photographs in the 1910s, while teenagers in Belfast, Northern Ireland - several of these are fanciful, using kimonos, nurses uniforms, and other interesting props. I believe most of these professional photos were taken at Ashleigh Studio, at 112 Royal Avenue. Sally probably paid for them with part of her wages from a linen mill. Later, while in 1920s England, she must have bought a camera, as many snapshots of her life 'in service' have survived. In 1924 Sally emigrated from Belfast. Some of her best snaps were taken with fellow servants on their time off while in service for a family that summered in Northport, Michigan. And as a child in the 1960s, I clearly remember her ever present camera and also the excitement of her first Polaroid camera and its instant film/print.

- Van Phillips (1909 to 1977), my father's uncle: An accomplished amateur photographer, Uncle Van's portraits of the Phillips family in the Lansing area date back to the late 1920s. His work with photography continued during World War II, when he was drafted into the Army Air Force. He worked in airfields in England and later France, constructed behind the Allies' advancing front toward Germany. Uncle Van's job was to load film onto the wings of departing bombers and fighter planes and, upon their return, to develop this film for analysis of the success of bombing missions. After the war he returned to his job in an Oldsmobile factory in Lansing, but quit soon after to take a trip to Alaska. Subsequently, he ran a radio and TV repair business out of a workshop on his family's small farm in Wacousta.

Branches of ancestors that we're working on are listed below. In Michigan, we are still looking for missing photos of George Bonnell. Future cemeteries to visit include Thiepval (northern France) for Rifleman Andrew Wilson's grave on the Somme battlefield, and Lynn, Massachusetts for Hilliker graves.

Wendy Rose Phillips, Manhattan Beach, CA (updated July 2025)

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I'm a descendent of:

On the side of my father (Robert Rolfe Phillips):

- Phillips line in Michigan

- Rolfe line (including, although not blood-related, some of the Bonnell line) in Michigan

- Hubbard line in Michigan; and the earlier Hough and Johnson lines in New York.

On the side of my mother (Margaret Rose Phillips nÃe Mason):

- Mason and Burn lines in Newcastle, England

- Wilson and Lindsay lines in the Belfast area of Northern Ireland

My husband, David Clinton Hilliker, is a descendent of:

- On the side of his mother (Lois Hilliker nÃe Cook), the Cook and McMenomy lines in Canada and Northern Ireland

- On the side of his father (Clinton Roscoe Hilliker), the Hillikers of Lynn, Massachusetts and Hampsons (Martha Alice nÃe Hampson, born in Widnes, England)