Mary was born on May 25, 1872 to Daniel Kaltrider and Margaret
K (Steffy) Kalrtrider in Olney, Richland County, Illinois. She married
Isaac Price Willhite on September 20, 1896 in Richland County, Illinois.
Their union was blessed with five children, Daniel Thomas, Ada Florence,
Raymond Henry, Bernice Aleen and Clarence Galan before moving to Home
Township, Brown County, Minnesota. This is where she died June 10, 1924.
OBITUARY
Price Willhite, operator of the Willhite Oil and Cabins on
the north edge of Humboldt, passed away Tuesday, January 30 at his home. He was
taken suddenly ill the Saturday night previous to his death and his death was
attributed to a blood clot. Funeral services will be at the Skaugstad funeral
home at t o’clock Friday afternoon and at the funeral parlors at New Ulm,
Minn., at 2 o’clock Saturday. He will be laid to rest in the cemetery at New
Ulm.
Mr. Willhite was born December 11, 1872 at Olney, Illinois. He was wed to Mary Kalrider in 1894 and five children were born to this union. Mrs. Willhite passed away in 1924. In 1931 Mr. Willhite and Carolyn Jacobson were wed. She preceded him in death March 11, 1944.
He leaves to
mourn his death his sons, Daniel and Raymond of Hector,
Minn., Clarence of New Ulm, Minn., and two daughters. Mrs. Adolph (Ada)
Mack of New Ulm and Mrs. Hugo (Bernice) Apitz of Hector, Minnesota;
three step children, twenty-four grandchildren, one great grandchild, two
brothers, Joe of Brookville, Ind. and Albert of Freeport, Illinois
and three sister(s), Mrs. Raymond (Grace) Riggs of Arthur, Ill., Mrs.
Lynn (Anna) Burnell of Holme, Ill., and Mrs. Wilmar (Alice) Bennett of
Dundas, Ill.
The Humboldt Republican ~ 2 Feb 1945 ~ Fri, Page 1 Price Willhite Obituary
Transcribed by RBH (with minor corrections)
Christina NAGEL was born to Johann Friedrich Wilhelm NAGEL and
Dorthea (THIERS) NAGEL in Russia where she would meet and marry Frederick
Fuhrmann on January 15, 1892.
In 1893 Christina, along with her new husband Frederick along
with their 5-month-old son, Frederick, boarded the steamship SS Dubbledam
in Rotterdam, Holland (Netherlands). Also sailing with Frederick and Christina
were several family members. They arrived in America at Ellis Island and soon
headed west to the Dakotas. Christina and Fredrick eventually settled on a
wheat farm and went on to have 12 more children who are listed here in
Christina and Fredrick’s profiles (see link below for WikiTree Profile). Copy of the SS Dubbledam Manifest can also be
seen here
Obituary for Christina Nagel Fuhrman
Our sister Christina Fuhrmann, née Nagel, was born on July
8th, 1873 in Dobrinka, Russia (today; Dobrinka, Poland). On January 15, 1892,
she entered into marriage with Friedrich Fuhrmann. This marriage gave birth to
13 children, 2 of which preceded it (them) into eternity.
In 1893 she came to America with her husband and settled in
Campbell County, North Dakota. After a short time, they moved into a home in
Bowden, North Dakota and about 14 years ago the family came to Cathay, North
Dakota which is where they made their home.
In 1900 she was converted, and by Priest Colling baptized,
and (became a) member of the parish of Fessenden, North Dakota. After the
family came to Cathay, North Dakota (they) she became a member of the church
here. Her loving, devoted Martha ministries bring her the highest respect and
love of the community, as well as from everyone else she knew. She fell ill
with inflammation of the spinal cord and died after four days. She leaves her
(gods?) husband, 11 children, 8 grandchildren, 1 sister and 2 brothers. (This
obituary was found at U.S., American Historical Society of Germans from Russia
Obituaries, 1899-2012 and translated by Jerry Lee Hall form German to
English.)
Funeral services for Fredrick Fuhrmann were held in the
Baptist Church in Cathay on Wednesday December 12th, 1956. Rev. D. Zimmerman
and Rev. M. DeBoer officiated. Burial was made at the Lakeview Cemetery at
Cathay in the family lot.
Fredrick FUHRMANN was born in Rohrbach, Russia on Feb. 14th
1865. On Jan. 15 1892 he was married to Christine NAGEL.
In 1893 Mr. Fuhrmann and his wife immigrated to the United States,
and made their home in Campbell County, South Dakota for a short time, after which
they homesteaded near Bowdon, Wells County, North Dakota. Here they joined the Cathay Baptist Church in
1918.
Mr. Fuhrmann passed away Dec. 8th, 1956 at the age of 91
years, 9 months and 24 days. He is survived by two brothers, Jake of
Bowdon, and George of Robinson; three sisters, Mrs. Gottfried (Karolina)
SCHELSKE of Portland, Ore., Mrs. J.A. (Elisabetha) WURM of Tuttle, and
Mrs. H.E. (Sophia) WURM of Bird Island, Minn.; ten children, Mrs. Henry (Freda)
HOLTE of Edmonds, Wash., Mrs. E.L. (Lydia) PERRY of Sawyer, Mrs. George
(Christine) O’LEARY of Backus, Minn., Mrs. Ewalt (Sophia) NIPOLDT, Fred of
Cathay, Mrs. Emma EDINGER of Fessenden, Mrs. B.H. (Florence) ROBERTS of
Minneapolis, Minn., Mrs. Elmer (Helen) ELLEFSON of Stanley, Mrs. Wm.
(Frances) HALL of Castana, Iowa, and Mrs. Alex (Selma) TAG of Cathay.
Twenty-six grandchildren and twenty-one great grandchildren. The pallbearers
were four grandsons, Murel and Ralph EDINGER, David and Larry TAG, and two
nephews Henry and Gust FUHRMANN.
FUHRMANN FAMILIES ON BOARD THE S.S. DUBBLEDAM FROM ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS TO NEW YORK, NEW YORK: Friedrich FUHRMANN 25; Christina FUHRMANN 19; Friedrich FUHRMANN 5 months; Johann FRIES 30; Elizabetha FRIES 23; Wilhelm NAGEL 39; Dorthea NAGEL 41; Wilhelm NAGEL 18; Magdalena NAGEL 20; Rosa NAGEL 1; Friedrich FUHRMANN 33; Margaretha FUHRMANN 49; Johannes FUHRMANN 20; Georg FUHRMANN 18; Karolina FUHRMANN 9; Elizabeth FUHRMANN 7; Sofia FUHRMANN 4.
Jerry Richard was one of nine children and also had five half brothers and sisters. He was born to John J. HALL and Sarah Jane (PALMER) HALL and grew up in Woodbury County, Iowa and Monona County, Iowa. He was a musician and according family members who lived in the area while he was there, he would play his fiddle for local dances and just about anyone who asked him to. He was known by several names, including Dick, J.R. and Richard when he was younger.
He was married twice, the first time to Seba Estella MEAD for a short time. He then married Hannah Shellenberger and had 13 children with
her, all listed in his obituary below.
Jerry Richard HALL Obituary as transcribed from the Onawa
Sentinel Onawa, Monona County, Iowa, Thursday, Dec. 30, 1954
Services Held Monday for Dick HALL
Jerry Richard “Dick” HALL, son of John and Sarah HALL was born June 9, 1882 at Smithland, Iowa and passed from this life at
Onawa, Iowa December 23rd, after several weeks of illness. He had been in the
Onawa hospital for the past five days.
Mr. HALL chose farming as his vocation and spent his
lifetime in Monona County. He retired from the farm about three years ago and
move to Onawa to make his home. He was united in marriage with Hannah SHELLENBERGER on February 21, 1907, at Onawa. Early
in life he accepted the Christ as his Savior and was united with the Methodist
church at Smithland.
Survivors are his wife, Hannah, four sons, Samuel R., William
J., and Clarence all of Castana, and James of Onawa; six daughters, Mrs.
William (Anna Mae) JENKINS, of Dexter, Minn., Mrs. Doris COLLETT and Mrs.
Kenneth (Nellie) RODGERS, both of Onawa, Mrs. Floyd (Betty Jean) RIDDLE of
Castana, Mrs. Ernest (June) SICK of Santa Ana, California and Miss Jane HALL of
Onawa. There are 15 grandchildren; one brother, Otto HALL of Springfield, Mo.,
and one sister, Mrs. Irma BARTELS of Moville, Ia. Along with a number of other
relatives and friends. Three children, Glen, Margaret and Junior (Jerry Eugene)
Hall preceded him in death.
Funeral services were held on Monday, December 27th at 2
p.m. at the First Christian church in Onawa. Rev. Everett EPPERSON conducted
the services. Evan DAVIES sang “Beyond the Sunset” and Rock of Ages”
accompanied at the organ by Mrs. Nancy LINDEN. Bearers were Christ SORENSON,
Oakum Rose, James BREED, Emil ROHDE, Maurice JENSEN and Emil SICK. Interment
was in the Graceland cemetery at Blencoe with arrangements by the Pearson
Funeral Home.
Hannah Mae (SHELLENBERGER) HALL, my Great Grandmother, was
born June 25, 1892 to Samuel Jefferson SHELLENBERGER and Christiana Anna (NEUSCHWANGER)
SHELLENBERGER in Blencoe, Monona County, Iowa. Hannah was born and raised as a
Mennonite before she was eventually baptized into the First Christian Church of
Onawa, Iowa.
On February 10, 1908 Hannah married Jerry Richard HALL in
Onawa, Monona County, Iowa. They were the parents of 13 children, 6 boys and 7
girls. Hannah died December 22, 1963, nine years after her husband, at the age
of 71 in Onawa, Monona County, Iowa.
Here is the obituary of Hannah (SHELLENBERGER) HALL, as
transcribed from The Onawa Weekly Democrat, Onawa, Monona County, Iowa, January
2, 1964.
Hannah (SHELLENBERGER) HALL was born June 25, 1892 at Blencoe
and passed from this life at Burgess Memorial hospital Sunday evening, December
22. Death came quietly. She had reached the age of 71 years, five months and 27
days. On February 21 1907, she was united in marriage with Jerry Richard HALL at Onawa. He preceded her in death December 23, 1954. For the past 13 years she
had been a resident of Onawa and prior to that had made her home in Castana.
She was a member of the Rebekah Lodge of Onawa. She accepted the Christ as her
savior and was baptized in the First Christian Church of Onawa on September 13,
1961. Mrs. HALL had been very faithful in the church since becoming a member.
Survivors include her four sons, Samuel R. and William J. of
Castana, Clarence of Hubbard, Neb., and James of Redlands, Calif.; six
daughters, Mrs. William (Anna Mae) JENKINS of Dexter, Minn., Mrs. Doris COLLETT and Mrs. Kenneth (Nellie) RODGERS of Onawa, Mrs. Floyd (Betty Jean) RIDDLE of
Mapleton, Mrs. Ernest (June) SICK and Mrs. Jay (Jane) FIELD of Onawa; 28
grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren; a brother, C. R. (Clarence David)
SHELLENBERGER of Turner, Ore.; a number of other relatives and a host of
friends. She was preceded in death by two sons, Glen and Junior (Jerry Eugene),
and a daughter, Margaret.
The funeral service was held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, December 24
at the First Christian Church. Rev. Wayne Hall sang "Rock of Ages"
and "Beyond the Sunset", accompanied at the organ by Miss Connie
JOHNSON. Casket bearers were Warren and Roger HALL, Ronald WENDTE, Emil ROHDE,
Charles RIDDLE and Chris SORENSON. Interment was in the Graceland Cemetery at
Blencoe with arrangements by the Pearson Funeral Home.
Gertrude was born to Fred RAUSCHKE and Bertha KUESTER in New Ulm, Brown County, Minnesota. She married Clarence WILLHITE on October 14, 1930 in New Ulm, Minnesota where they raised three children. Gertrude would spend her entire life in New Ulm, living and raising her family only a block away from her childhood home. Gertrude was a homemaker, working occasionally at Union Hospital and The Sportsman's Grill in downtown New Ulm, Minnesota. Gertrude was very active member of St John's Lutheran Church and St Paul's Lutheran Church prior to the organization of St John's Lutheran Church, both churches located in New Ulm, Minnesota. She belonged to St John's Ladies Aid for many years and was a Red Cross volunteer at the local hospitals and nursing homes for many years as well.
OBITUARY
Gertrude WILLHITE, 90, of New Ulm, died Saturday, Oct. 9,
1999, at New Ulm Medical Center. Services are 2 p.m. Tuesday at St. John's
Evangelical Lutheran Church in New Ulm with burial in the Lutheran Cemetery in
New Ulm.
Visitation is 5-7 p.m. today at Minnesota Valley Funeral
Home in New Ulm and continues for one hour prior to the time of the service
Tuesday at the church.
She is survived by her daughter (Living) of
New Ulm; her son Robert of Little Falls; five
grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; one-great great-grandchild; and
brother, Martin RAUSCHKE of Waukesha, Wis. She was preceded in death by her parents;
husband, Clarence WILLHITE on Sept. 24, 1982; brother, Armin RAUSCHKE;
sister, Edna KRAUSE;
grandsons Perry and Michael Ludlum; daughter-in-law, Carol (BUEGE) WILLHITE. (It should be
noted here that Gertrude was also preceded in death by her oldest daughter, Ruth Mary HALL, January 15, 1995.)
She was born Feb. 23, 1909, in New Ulm to Fred and Bertha RAUSCHKE.
She attended St. Paul's Lutheran School and graduated from the high school
department of Dr. Martin Luther College. She married Clarence WILLHITE on
Oct. 14, 1930, at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in New Ulm. She was a member of
St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in New Ulm. She was also a Red Cross
worker.
(Published in The Journal, New Ulm, MN; October 11, 1999)
Clarence Galan WILLHITE was born in Olney, Richland County,
Illinois to Isaac Price WILLHITE and Mary Elizabeth KALTRIDER.
Clarence lived on the family farm with his parents; two older
brothers, Dan and Raymond; and two older
sisters, Ada and Bernice. By 1920, the
family had relocated to Milford Township, Brown County, Minnesota. Clarence
would go on to marry Gertrude RAUSCHKE on October 14, 1930 in New Ulm, Minnesota where they would
live and raise three children.
Clarence worked for the City of New Ulm at the City Power
Plant. After his children were grown, he built a house in New Ulm, Minnesota.
Clarence and his friends put their skills together as they built the house
themselves. Being a knowledgeable electrician, Clarence installed the
electrical wiring in the house while his friends helped with the construction
and plumbing. This is the house that he and his wife would live in for the rest
of their lives.
Clarence enjoyed hunting and fishing along with horseback
riding and was known for the golden Labrador hunting dogs he raised. In the
early years he kept his horse stabled in the backyard and enjoyed riding. After
retirement, Clarence spent time fishing, hunting and horseback riding, although his horse was no longer kept in his backyard. Clarence died at home in the
house he built in New Ulm, Minnesota on September 24, 1982.
Below, I have shamelessly copied Bill Hall’s biography which
was written by his wife, Frances M (FURHMAN) HALL. She can tell his story better
than I could. Names of anyone still living have been removed out of respect for
their privacy, if I have missed anyone, I apologize. Otherwise this is unedited and exactly as Frances HALL wrote it
sometime after her son Ron HALL died in 1985 and before she died in 1987.
William Jonathan “Bill” Hall 1910-1989
Below, I have shamelessly copied Bill Hall’s biography which
was written by his wife, Frances M (FURHMAN) HALL She can tell his story better
than I could. Names of anyone still living have been removed out of respect for
their privacy otherwise this is unedited and exactly as Frances wrote it
sometime after Ron Hall died in 1985 and before she died in 1987.
William (Bill) J. Hall -- Frances M. Fuhrman - Wife
Bill was born in Onawa, Iowa, August 26, 1910, the second
son of J. Richard and Hannah Shellenberger. Bill's father, Richard, often
called Jerry or Dick, was born on a farm near Smithland, Iowa. Bill's mother
was born in the rural Blencoe area. His father worked in a lumber yard a few
years and went to farming near Castana when Bill was a small boy. Mr. Hall
played the violin and often played for country dances in family homes.
The first car they owned was a Model T. Ford. Bill's dad did not drive a car, horses
were to his liking, so Sam and Bill did the driving of the family car. In later
years when the older boys were gone form the home, Mrs. Hall did the driving.
Bill's parents farmed near Castana until 1952. They retired and moved to Onawa
in November of that year. Bill has seven sisters and five brothers: Anna (JENKINS)
of Austin, Minnesota; Margaret, died in infancy; Doris (COLLETT) of Onawa, died
in 1984; Nellie (RODGERS) of Onawa; Betty (GEORGIOUS) of Denison; Eileen (SICK)
of Onawa; STILL LIVING of Council Bluffs, Iowa; Samuel R. of Castana; Clarence
(Bud) of Venice, Florida; Glen, deceased; Richard Eugene Jr., died in early
childhood; James Calvin, of Amarillo, Texas. In the fall of 1932 (the lean
thirty years) Bill went to North Dakota for the harvest. He worked on a farm
that winter and next year. He met Francis and in April 1933, they were married.
In September 1933, they came to Iowa. Bill worked as a farm laborer on farms
near Turin and Castana. He worked for Bill Hussell of Turin for many years. He
started farming for himself in the early forties and rented a farm from Mr.
Hussell near Castana.
Bill and Frances had four children: Ronald William, deceased
March 20, 1985; STILL LIVING of Arvada, Colorado; Roger Gene, of Onawa, Iowa; STILL
LIVING of Elizabeth, Colorado. All four children graduated from the
Castana School. The boys were active in sports and STILL LIVING was active in
sports and vocal music. They attended the Castana Community Church. After
graduation from high school, the boys joined the Navy.
[Removed out of respect for privacy of the living. Bill HALL’s
biography is affected minimally by this removal.]
While raising the family, Bill had several jobs along with
and after his farming. He worked on construction, drove the Castana school bus,
and was custodian of Castana School for a few years. A farmer at heart, he quit
the job of custodian and went to work on a farm south of Castana for Thayer E.
Brown II of Turin. We have lived on this farm for about twenty-five years and
are semi-retired. As a hobby, Bill raises watermelons.
After the children were grown,
Francis worked at various jobs. Operated the Sweete Shoppe in Castana for a few
years, was cook at the Castana School for several years, was secretary of the
school for a couple of years, was a cook at Bennett Nursing Home in Turin for
several years, and a waitress at the Happy Chef in Onawa for several years,
retiring in December of 1984. In April 1983 we celebrated our 50th Wedding
Anniversary. All four of our children and their families were able to be there.
Our children hosted the reception and Castana Ladies Aid served. The reception
was in the Castana Community Church.
We have eight grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
by F.M.H.
Bill HALL died February 10, 1989 in Castana, Iowa. He was
buried at Center Cemetery, Castana, Monona County, Iowa on February 13, 1989.
Ruth attended St. Paul's Lutheran School in New Ulm, Minnesota. She continued her education in New Ulm, Minnesota at Martin Luther Academy and Dr Martin Luther College to become a teacher. Due to a teacher shortage at the time, she left college after two years to teach parochial school in Tucson, Arizona. Ruth married Ronald William HALL on May 19, 1956 in San Diego, California and continued to teach as a substitute parochial school teacher in many of the places she lived while moving with her husband, Ronald HALL and their son and daughter.
After Ruth and Ronald settled in New Ulm, Minnesota, Ruth
took up riding again and kept a horse on a farm near New Ulm for several years.
She also continued using her teaching skills and tutored several local students,
specializing in dyslexia.
Ruth and Ronald parted ways and were divorced on November 16,
1984 in Brown County, Minnesota. She never remarried and lived in New Ulm,
Minnesota until she died on January 15, 1995. She was cremated and her ashes
were buried with her parents in St Paul’s Lutheran Cemetery, New Ulm, Minnesota
on January 17, 1995.
Ronald HALL was my father and was born to Jonathan William
HALL and Frances Minnie FUHRMAN in Kennebec Township, Iowa. He grew up with his
parents, two brothers and a sister on a farm in Castana, Iowa where he
graduated from Castana High School in 1953.
On December 28, 1954, Ronald enlisted in the Navy. Most of his time in the Navy was spent being stationed on the west coast in California although he was also stationed in Minnesota, Tennessee and Illinois for a time. He also went on cruise twice as an electronics specialist, sailing to South America and around Cape Horn aboard the USS Ranger and to Asia aboard the USS Hornet.
On May 19, 1956, he married Ruth Mary WILHITE, the daughter of Clarence and Gertrude (RAUSCHKE) WILHITE, in San Diego, California. Ronald and Ruth had two children, a son and a daughter. Ronald moved his family to each place he was stationed until he retired from the Navy on September 22, 1975. Ronald and his family then settled in New Ulm, Minnesota, his wife Ruth’s hometown. Here he worked as a parts manager at a local car dealership for a number of years.
Ronald and Ruth would remain married for 28 years until they divorced November 16, 1984, in Brown County, Minnesota. On December 26, 1985, Ronald married Katherine (SEATON) WEBER in Elk Point, South Dakota. They made their home in Mapleton, Iowa but shortly after they were married, Ronald died. They had been married for just under 3 months before he had a heart attack and died on March 20, 1985. Ronald was buried March 23, 1985 at Center Cemetery, Castana Iowa.
ANCESTOR PROFILES
After careful consideration, I have decided to change the direction of this blog once more and I will be posting ancestral profiles. Now I realize some people do not find reading about their ancestors much less someone else's as interesting as I do. If that is the case, this blog may not be for you. I hope you will at least give it a chance because you never know who you will find in any family tree.
People I will not be doing profiles on here are any of my relatives who are still living out of respect for their privacy. I plan to start with my parents, continuing with my direct line of ancestors and eventually branching out to include aunts, uncles and cousins. Information you can expect to see here would be birth dates and locations, marriage dates and locations (including who married who) and death dates and locations along with burial locations if known.
Call this a labor of love and of trying to connect to my family's past in a meaningful way. I know that a lot of this information is quite easily accessible, some not so much but I still want to share what I have found with whoever is interested in seeing it.
Looking forward to sharing and as always,
Happy Hunting! Roni
DNA in genealogy is a very new concept for me.
The relationship between cousins (which I struggle with) can be very important
to DNA matches simply because they can connect you to distant ancestors for
several generations. As a result, I have struggled with this post and after
considering just passing over it and starting a new post, I decided to “power
through” and create the post as best I can. The first step was to understand
cousins a little better with a “cousin calculator” which I have included at the
end of this post. [1] I also want to say at this point that this post is based
on autosomal testing which pulls from both parents rather than one or the other.
While there are plenty of records out there, the
accuracy completely depends on someone putting the information into that record
and how that record is read and understood. All these records can prove
or disprove family stories and legends and DNA can be an excellent companion to
these records. Just remember that while the DNA might prove you are related to
a specific person, it doesn’t necessarily mean you are automatically related to
that match's entire tree. By understanding the degrees of cousins, you can get
an idea of where to look in a family tree for your match and see how are
related to them.
Just as important when comparing DNA matches is
whether or not the trees being compared are sourced well, whether the sources
are correct, whether there are any sources or a tree at all. There is a way
around this. Understand your DNA information. Learn what the numbers mean and
how they indicate what the relationship is. Most DNA matching sites have names
attached to your DNA matches. Sometimes if it is enough of a real name, you
only need to use DNA numbers as confirmation. If there is a less than complete
name or a nickname, you may be able to figure out the relationship they share
with you using the DNA. As I said before, DNA is a great companion for records
and I am not suggesting that you rely on only DNA as a source for you family
tree.
Most autosomal tests use percentages and centimorgans
to determine how closely your match is related to you. Percentages are pretty self explanatory. For example, you are 100% you. Your parents
will be a 50% match because you carry half the DNA of each parent. Your
grandparents would be a 25% match to you and a 50% match to your parents. As
you can see the percentage match halves itself in each generation.
Centimorgans or
cMs for short also measure how close or distant a match is related. The number of cMs shared indicate the degree by which each DNA match is related.. A child’s cMs are made up of one half of each parent’s
cMs and one quarter of their grandparents cMs. The cMs halve themselves over
each generation much like the percentages do but with a large range of specific
numbers. By this I mean that the cMs may not be exactly halved or quartered and
there may be more or less cMs depending on what was passed down to each match genetically. On average a person will carry approximately 7400 cMs. I have
included a link that explains cMs in more depth as well as containing a
downloadable chart. [2]
Both percentages and cMs go through the ancestral
line and the descendant line of your tree and halve themselves in each
generation. In the same way your parents carry 50% of your DNA, your children
will carry 50% of your DNA, grandchildren like grandparents will carry 25% and
on down the line.
Hope you find these links useful and as always,
Happy Hunting!
Roni
THE FLIP SIDE OF THE COIN; FINDING UNPLEASANT TRUTHS
And here is the flip side of the coin. You will find family
secrets that you may not, actually probably did not, know about. Trust me here,
everyone has skeletons in the proverbial family closet. In this digital day and
age we live in, everything is out
there somewhere just waiting to be found. From historic newspapers to handwritten family
Bible records, if you research long enough and deep enough, you are going to find one of these skeletons.
This does not mean you should go looking for them but you need to be prepared to find things that will probably surprise you. A word of caution here, as with family legends if you find something like this you cannot just ignore it. Depending on what it is, family members may ask you to continue covering these things up. You may want to cover them up as well, thinking this information “doesn’t matter” anymore. The problem with that thinking is that the information may or may not matter, you don’t know. Others will find this information as well and if this information was important enough to record in the first place, it is probably important enough to include in your family tree. You need to verify and source this information very carefully so you do not pass on false information and rumors.
Happy Hunting!
Roni
FAMILY PEARLS, YOU GET WHAT YOU GET
My great grandmother’s pearl necklace was borrowed to me to wear on my wedding day and later, after my mother’s
death, it became mine. I treasured those pearls. Then I ended up in a
situation in which I desperately needed money. After much soul searching, I
took my great grandmother’s pearls to a local jewelry store that dealt in fine
estate jewelry. Much to my surprise and disappointment, after checking the
pearls out, the dealer informed me that they were faux pearls. In other
words, fakes. I was disappointed on several different levels, on the other hand
I was relieved that I still had the pearls, real or not.
The point here is that preconceived notions while looking at family history can be disappointing. Every family has that “legend” that has never
been proven. You know, the stories that we grew up with and were told and re-told at every family get-together until they became real in our minds. While the legend may contain a grain of truth making it a good starting point for some family research, as a family genealogist your task at this point becomes providing proof of the legend’s authenticity.
Happy hunting!
