Does
anyone have documentation or knowledge of a story that after James Wanlass (1825
– 1895), emigrated from Scotland to America and became established in Utah, he received
a letter from relatives back in Scotland? He allegedly was so angry that he
tossed the letter into the fireplace, exclaiming that “They didn’t need me
then, so they don’t need me now!”
I first heard this story from distant
relatives. Then last year, my aunt (Audrey Bush), mentioned the story before
she died. I wonder who else knows the story and what it may mean. James knew he had been abandoned by his family. He didn't know who his parents were, but t here
have been rumors that he had a sister. Did he know about any siblings? Was he resentful that they might be contacting him after all those years of abandonment? Does anyone have information about siblings for James Wanlass?
October 12, 2025: I discovered a new statement about the burned letter from FamilySearch - Memories in a history about his youngest son, Joseph Wanlass:
If Joseph Wanlass was 11 or 12 when his father James Wanlass (Sr) received the letter, that would suggest it arrived about 1877 or 1878 when James (Sr) was about 52 or 53 years old. If the letter was a legal query from a lawyer in London, England regarding his ancestry, maybe there is still a record of the query at the law office in London. Was a law office in London handling the estate of a Wanlass family at that time? Hmmm.... How would we go about researching that possibility?
