Thanks to my cousin Joe White it turns out that Dashiell Hammett is indeed a relative. Following my post of earlier today Joe sent me the following explanation:
We are related to Dashiell Hammett as follows: His father Richard and Susan’s father Ignatius were brothers so she was the first cousin of Dashiell. Accordingly, Dashiell Hammett is your 1st cousin 3 times removed!! (He was also a red head). As a point of interest, when Dashiell died, Captain went to Washington to file a claim on his estate, but was turned down since he was a cousin “once removed” and not close enough to share in the estate.
The “Captain” Joe refers to is our Grandfather Clarence Ridgell whom Buzzy was named after.
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| Granddaddy Clarence Ridgell with my Mom Armed but Smiling |