The Musical Connection

One of the other advantages to the discoveries that came along after jumping into our genealogy rabbit hole was finding out that from the Gillette side of the family, there is a creditable line of musicians, both amateur and professional.

I studied the piano and organ for 12 years, and kept playing until a few years ago. My brother is a DJ at KX 93.5 FM in Laguna Beach, and regularly plays the guitar in bands around Orange County. I vaguely knew that my cousin Jack Forsha (second cousin) was a musician (more later). My grandmother Margaret Morris Gillette played the piano for silent movies. But what I didn’t know is that my grandmother’s brother Thomas Gillette was a big band leader in the Salt Lake City area.

Through Ancestry.com I have become e-acquainted with Thomas’ grandson Chris, who lives in Montana. He has shared several pictures of Thomas, who was a pretty handsome dude.

What stimulated my interest in this musical connection was Ancestry letting me know that Aunt Daisy Gillette (my great aunt) was born 141 years ago today, June 23. She was my grandmother’s older sister. They were close, moving with their family from Salt Lake City to Pasadena, CA in the 1920s. We grew up visiting Aunt Daisy who was shorter than my grandmother, and just the sweetest person. My sister and I loved her. She never left Pasadena, marrying her husband John Forsha. Their only son was John G. “Jack” Forsha.

So John G. or Jack, as we knew him, was he really a musician? Well, turns out he actually was pretty well known. He was a member of the New Christy Minstrels, and later the Stone Poneys, Linda Ronstadt’s band. If you read the information below this video on You Tube, there is more information about his musical career.

Which brings me to genealogy research…If the YouTube comments here are correct, Jack didn’t die until 2007. That’s not what my tree says…and so NOW I have some research to do. Find Jack’s actual death date and then correct my tree. The adventure continues!

It’s a good time to sign off, at least to correct my Forsha tree, if the information above is correct.

Addendum: There were three John “Jacks”! John Abel, Daisy’s husband, John Georges, their son, and John Taylor the musician! And now I know he died in 2008. Pays to keep digging!