Here Goes Nothin...

I've seen it many times on amazing stories found on line, on the news, or just through the grape vine... Children who were orphaned later making connection to their long lost family years and years later.  Well, I'm hoping this message might find the eye of my long lost family... maybe it's you!

I am the daughter or Keith L. Purdy.  My Dad is the Son of Florence G. Lucas and Richard Purdy of Philadelphia P.A.  There is very little Evidence of who my Grandfather is since according to my Nana he left when my father was very young.  the Story my Nana shared about Richard Purdy was a short one.  I'm going to shorten it a little more in order to keep your attention in hopes you might read this entry to it's ending.  :)

Florence was young 17 years old to be exact when she found out she was pregnant.  Richard Purdy who was (her boyfriend at the time) was the Father of this child.  Florence's parents were very insistent that they get married and so on the 17th of February 1950 they traveled from Philadelphia PA to Elkton MD were married.  Richard was not around much due to being in the Army and by the time my Father was Three Richard was gone.  According to Florance the last time she talked to Richard she asked him "What about your Son?" to which according to her he replied "If he wants to find me he will".  There was very little that Florence recalls about Richard.  One think she knew was that he was an orphan in Philadelphia as a child and didn't have any family.  The other thing she knew was that he was in the Army.  Below are both the Marriage Application and the the only picture we have of Richard Purdy. 

According to the Marriage Application Richard was 24 at the time he married my Nana in February 1950. She was not 100% truthfull on the application stating that she was already 18 at the time of the application. In fact she would not turn 18 until November 2nd of 1950 almost 2 months after she would give birth to their Son Keith Leroy Purdy.  Since it was easy for Nana to fudg her age on the application we are not 100% positive that Richard didn't do the same.  Was he 24? was he a little younger? or maybe older...We are not 100% sure but for now we will asume that he was 24 in 1950 which would have put his birth year at about 1925 or 1926 depending on what month of the year he was born.

Richard Purdy around 1950

 

 

So, none of this information sounds familiar to you at all...that's ok, Richard was very young and this part of his life might have been a part he was ready to move on from.  Starting his life over with a new wife and new family could have been very appealing and wanting to keep his life as simple as possible could have been his goal.  Consider the possibilities

Are you a Purdy? Do you know one?

If you have found yourself reading this blog it's probably because you are a Purdy...or maybe you know a Purdy.  Maybe you are not a Purdy and don't know a Purdy but came across this blog by simply miss spelling Pretty.  No doubt the very fact that I would write about this odd event in your day causes you to feel a need to keep reading - well, that's ok - I welcome you!  My name is Rachelle, and I am a Purdy.  I don't carry the name since getting married but I absolutely love my maiden name.  The love I have for the name Purdy is a love that grew with much tribulation.  As a child it was a name that brought many social trials.  We all have been ten years old before so you know how mean kids can be.  "Rachelle's purdy dumb", "Rachelle's purdy ugly", yeah - there were some tough days on the school playground for sure.  Luckily the use of my name changed with the maturity level, and intent of those I came in contact with.  Yes, by the time I turned 14 Purdy had now become a very important piece of a pick up line.  Rachelle Purdy, so - Rachelle, has anyone ever told you how Purdy you are?  Oy!...they always seemed to think they were the first to use it.  But at least the use of my name was a little more friendly in nature so I will not complain further about that.  About a day after I married my husband I experienced the tinge of loss when I wrote my name for the first time and Purdy was no longer there...To this day I wonder why I didn't just move Purdy over to my middle name slot.  So sad that I would just let such a great name drop off!... oh well.. I don't need the Purdy name to know who I am.  I am a Purdy,  but what exactly does that mean? 

This brings me to the point of this Blog:  Sadly as much as I love my Purdy name I fear the knowledge of my purdy roots only run as deep as my Father Keith Leroy Purdy's biological dad, Richard Purdy. We know very little about Richard since my father has not seen him since he was 3 years old and living in Philadelphia P.A. in the 1950's.  The sole purpose of this blog is to help you help me and my family, (My father- Keith, Mother- Joan, and my six (yes, that's right 6) siblings) find the family we never knew.  Perhaps you are familiar with a person named Richard Joseph Purdy of PA, or Richard Leroy Purdy of TX, or maybe the Richard you know has no middle name at all.  I know it is very likely that my father may have half siblings out there, which means that me and my Sister's and Brother have cousins!  I don't expect that these possible family members are at all aware of our existence especially that of my Father... So if you are a Purdy, or know some Purdy's I ask that you keep an open mind and consider the information you will receive while reading my regular post in this Blog.  The information I have, though not extensive, has a lot of story behind them so please read on, learn more, and if you find that you might have some information that might help in even the smallest way please share.  Thank you for reading... and for being and important part of Purdy Family Connect.