Young and older came from near and far for family's 120th island anniversary

Grace Eltinge was the youngest and Jackie Douglas Hubbard was the oldest family member at the Guard family reunion Saturday at San Juan Historical Museum.

Members of the Guard family gathered to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the arrival of the Paul Guard family on San Juan Island.

Family members came from near and far; one relative came from Abu Dhabi, another from Alabama, and a group of relatives came from Alberta, Canada.

Kathy Baker Crosby, granddaughter of Alice Guard and Joseph Jensen, shared research which has resulted in a two-volume family history. Her English-born great-grandparents, Paul and Elizabeth Milhuish Guard, settled in Clay County, Kan., in about 1870 with the Wakefield colonization program, which provided a way for landless immigrants to acquire land in the States.

Paul and Elizabeth Guard's three oldest children, Frank, Elizabeth and David, were born in England. Four younger children, Florence Wakefield, John Henry, Alice and Emily were born in Kansas; Florence was named after the program that brought the family to the United States.

The Guard family relocated to San Juan Island in 1889.

Robert P. "Bob" Guard, a former Friday Harbor teacher now living in Port Townsend, is a great-great-grandson of Paul and Elizabeth Guard. He estimates that his ancestors have about 300 descendants. Some of the names are familiar.

Alice and Emily married brothers Joseph and Frank Jensen, respectively, in a double-wedding. They are shipbuilder Nourdine Jensen's aunts and uncles.

Elizabeth married C.E. Hackett. Their son, Fred, is a namesake of the American Legion post in Friday Harbor; he was killed in action near Montdidier, France, May 1, 1918, during the Great War. His name is on the monument at Memorial Park.

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