Everingham Family History Public Record Reprint Autobiography of John Lyman Everingham I was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in October 1941. I was then taken to our home which was a fishing lodge, French River Lodge, on Ox Lake, where the French and Pickerel Rivers merge. The French River flows to the west out of Lake Nippissing and empties into the Georgian Bay which is part of Lake Huron. My Great Uncle Charles "Bud" W. West, his father Charles West and my father Lyman Earl Everingham built the lodge in the early 1900's. My dad, his sister Laura and brother Adolphus "Dolly" Charles, were sent to live with Bud West in Rochester, N.Y., when their mother, a West, died. Their father Adolphus Daniel went west to search for gold and apparently joined his father Lyman Adolphus out there because the picture on the everingham.com web page has them together. Dad's sister Laura lived with my great aunt Kate West (never married), who had a cottage at the end of the island where our lodge was located. She later moved across the lake when Uncle Bud (as he was known) sold the lodge to my dad and moved to the east part of Ox Lake. We were all very close to Uncle Bud and Aunt Kate. Laura married Richard Whitcomb and they had a daughter June who married George Ackerman. They all lived in Rochester, N.Y. Adolphus "Dolly" Charles apparently joined the navy and ended up in the San Diego, CA area where he worked with the Tuna fleets. He later started a live bait business which still exists today supplying both the tuna boats and sport fishing boats with live bait used to "chumb" for tuna and other game fish. "Dolly" also known as "Buck" (Adolphus Charles) had three children, Charles Daniel, who died July 1979 at the age of 57, Roy who is still living and we have visited each other, and Dolly Mae whom I met when I was quite young. My cousin Roy had two children and adopted two boys. His own children were Roy, Jr. "Buck", and Becky who is married to Terry Calen. Roy, Jr. is married to Arlene and they have a son Matthew Roy and a daughter Lisa. I have met both Roy Jr., his wife and Becky and Terry Calen. Also met my cousin Roy's mother, I believe her name is Gladys. My brother, who was born June 17, 1948 moved to British Columbia where he now lives in Armstrong, near Vernon, north of Kelona and south east of Kamloops. He married Linda Martin and they have two sons, Matthew, now in college and Tyson who is in H.S.. French River Lodge was very successful along with a hunting camp, located down river. My parents operated both and then used the winter to build boats, vacation or whatever. In the spring my dad cut ice for the lodge and cottages' ice houses around the area. He and Uncle Bud built most of the cottages including Tinnerman's camp which was owned by the founder of the "Speed Nut" used by many auto manufacturers in those days. The company is now known at the Eaton Companies. The Tinnerman's place was inherited by his daughter, a Butress, and they were trying to get a license to use it as a fishing lodge but instead donated it to the Boy Scouts in Ohio and that is what it is used for today. My dad got early information that a highway was to be built about 14 miles east of the lodge. Only way into the place at the time was by rail, then 4 miles down to the lodge by water, or float plane. So, dad bought land very close to where the highway was to cross the Pickerel River, built a marina and transportation service, and when it could support us, sold the lodge. We moved to Parry Sound, Ontario around the same time. I was sent to a private boys prep school, Crescent School, in Toronto at the early age of four going on five. I attended kindergarten through the seventh grade. I only returned to the "river" at Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and summer. My grandmother Alta May Pettie lived in the same area of Toronto that the school was in and I would go to her place on either a Sat. or Sunday each week. When my folks moved to Parry Sound, I attended the 8th. grade and High School there. Upon graduating from H.S., I joined the U.S.A.F. and attended basic training at Lackland A.F.B., San Antonio, TX, radio training at Keesler AFB Biloxi, MS, and was stationed at Sewart AFB south of Nashville, TN. I married Elizabeth Daves August 1964, had two boys, Shawn Lyman, born June 3, 1969, and Richard Darrell, born July 23, 1970. I divorced in Feb. 1974 and remarried to Barbara Jean Duke Oct. 1979. Barbara and I have two daughters, Jennifer Lynn age 16 and Julie Ann age 14 1/2. We live in Birmingham, AL. Previously lived in Nashville, TN, Pleasant View, TN, Watchung and Warren, NJ. My son Shawn married Christie Norman and have a son Jacob Scott who is three. They live just north of Nashville, TN in White House, TN. Richard remains unmarried and lives in Nashville, TN. John Lyman Everingham 1999 (c)1999-2000 Everingham Family History Archives