Now, how are we related?

I'm My Own Grandpa

by Dwight Latham and Moe Jaffe

Many, many years ago when I was twenty-three,

I got married to a widow who was pretty as could be.

This widow had a grown-up daughter who had hair of red.

My father fell in love with her, and soon the two were wed.

This made my dad my son-in-law and changed my very life.

My daughter was my mother, for she was my father's wife.

To complicate the matters worse, although it brought me joy,

I soon became the father of a bouncing baby boy.

My little baby then became a brother-in-law to Dad.

And so became my uncle, though it made me very sad.

For if he was my uncle, then that also made him brother

to the widow's grown-up daughter who, of course, was my stepmother.

Father's wife then had  son who kept them on the run.

And he became my grandson, for he was my daughter's son.

My wife is now my mother's mother and it makes me blue.

Because, although she is my wife, she is my grandma too.

If my wife is my grandmother, then I am her grandchild.

And every time I think of it it simply drives me wild.

For now I have become the strangest case you ever saw.

As the husband of my grandmother, I am my own grandpa.

[Don't] Keep your comments to yourself!

Cute cousins - 1968
Cindy Butler (Delbert) - Beth Butler (Charles)

After journaling my comings and goings and plans to return to blogging in this post of August 7, I got a comment that has thrilled me beyond words.  Some of you may have read the comment - if you're nosy like me, you often click to a comment to see what others are saying even if you don't want to add your own remark.  But just in case you didn't click through, here is what has me so excited:

"I felt compelled to comment when you said nobody else may be reading. I am Delbert Butler's oldest grandson; I have a brother, sister, and one female cousin on the Butler side. I found your blog while Googling my grandfather's name in an attempt to find out more about him. What a gold-mine of history and photos you have shared! I deeply appreciate it. I had never seen my grandparents' wedding picture, nor many of the photos of my grandfather in his youth, and of his parents and brothers. I was able to flesh out my Ancestry.com tree using the family pedigrees you made available, and I uploaded a few of your photos to my tree (which I hope you don't mind.)  

"I saw my grandfather only once in the last 3-5 years of his life, when I was a young teenager. I saw him a bit more in the late 80s and met Great-Grandma Mable one time at his house. Since we did not maintain contact with the Butler family, being able to learn about them through this blog has been a real gift." 

Can you believe that?  Because of this comment, I was able to make contact with a branch of the family tree that we had lost track of.  We have corresponded several times, and I recently sent a number of Delbert's family pictures to Andy who is now sharing them his mom and her sisters - Delbert's daughters.  I feel like those pictures have finally made it home!

Isn't the internet wonderful?  I find it amazing that just a simple search for a name has created a new family connection and added leaves on the family tree.  

So, stand up and be counted!  If you're reading, feel free to add your thoughts.  What do you remember about any of the people or events that I've recorded here?  This history belongs to all of us, and I hope you'll add to it.

Thanks for speaking up, Andy!

Corresponding with the past

In the process of sorting this week - yes, I still have a bookcase that is almost full of notebooks - I came across a collection of letters written to and from Lou.  None of them was particularly remarkable, and it was a hodgepodge group of authors and dates.  Most of them contained nothing more than a summary of daily activities, highlights of trips taken, or thanks for a gift received, but I was drawn to them in spite of, or maybe because of, their ordinary contents.

A hand written letter is becoming a memory of the past.  In this era of email, instant messages, webcams, and cell phones with unlimited minutes, the idea of writing ones thoughts on paper and mailing it to another person is all but obsolete.  But letters offer an insight to family history that is different from more formal writings.  Sharing routine details about daily life, personal letters allow us to vicariously experience life in a different time and place.  It's hard to imagine a time when a radio would have been an exciting purchase, but it 1941 it was certainly newsworthy.

"Did I ever write and tell you we traded in our old Radio and paid in the money Harker gave me on a new R.C.A. Victor?  Well I did and we do enjoy it so much and it makes a nice remembrance of him, too.  He said what was left to use for something for myself and the children that were home and we decided we would rather have a radio than anything else for our old one was completely worn out and we enjoy a radio so much.  I wanted you to know what we used it for."

 to Mable and family

from Aunt Lorena (Harker's half sister)

January 5, 1941

I've posted before about the Davis family Round Robin letters and recently got this information from Donna Mae Bagby (Lou's cousin) about its origin.

"You asked when the Robin was started.  Uncle Norman started it in the l940's sometime to go to his brothers and sisters (13 of them).  It has gotten lost quite a few times and we have had to restart it but hopefully it will continue.  All of the siblings are gone now so is a cousins' round robin and many, like you had not read it until after their parent passed away so is quite new to many but thankful so many are interested and willing to keep it going.  Thanks to my mother - she laboriously typed off the letters on a manual typewriter starting with Don and My marriage in 1951 and I have all those copies and am trying to get them bound in booklets for our daughter Pamela who will keep them."

So this year I'm going to focus on letters, posting excerpts from Lou's large collection.  His grandparents, brothers, sons, and other assorted family members are represented in the letters, and I'm hoping we can get a glimpse into history as well as the not so distant past.

Still here - still researching

Obviously, I've been taking a break from this blog.  Although the hiatus wasn't planned, regular blog posting got lost in the midst of Christmas plans, preparations and celebrations!  But don't worry, I haven't abandoned this project and am planning what to post in 2011.  I hope you'll be patient with me.

On a high note, as usual, January brings me a renewed energy and passion for family history.  During the past week, I've spent many hours entering family names into a new genealogy program for my computer.  I'm entering each name with its accompanying details individually, rather than importing all the data from another source.  As I enter the names, I also enter any sources, references, or vital records I have that document or prove the names and dates.  It's painstakingly slow, but also very rewarding as I become more familiar with family names and places.  I'd love to put together a timeline or migration map. . . .   I easily get drawn into more and different projects.

And just because I find it fascinating, here is a treasure I've happened on during my research. 

Michigan Birth Record of Cora Melvina Wisemiller

 It's hard to read on the screen (click on the image to get a bigger picture), but the last entry is for July 3, 1872 - Cora Melvina Wisemiller.  Moving right across the columns it states that she was born in Brooks, Newago County, to parent Wm. H. Wisemiller - born in Ohio and Martha A.  Wisemiller - born in Michigan. 

 I love to see family names on old documents - it's a great reminder that all these names are real people and have a story to tell.  And I plan to keep telling it.

Puzzling over Pieces

 Puzzle pieces waiting to be fit into place

As I've mentioned in recent posts, I'm back into discovery mode.  As Mom/Leona goes through file drawers and papers and passes things on to me, I'm gaining more treasures.  Then as I file and combine the new discoveries with the things I already have organized, I come across other bits and pieces that are fascinating to me and worthy of a blog post.

It's as if I'm working on a puzzle, but still looking for all the pieces.  Some pieces have been dropped on the floor, others may be lost between the couch cushions, and some have even been put away in the wrong box.  As I find new pieces and rediscover old ones, I will share those seemingly unrelated bits and pieces here in an effort to discover where they fit in the puzzle.

Several members of the Davis family were record keepers, and we have the histories that they recorded over the years.  I will be posting excerpts from those accounts in chronological order so we can get a sense of the family's story line.  Many of the people I write about we don't know, but their journals and written memories give us great insight into daily life in a different era and teach us more about our ancestral family.

I don't have nearly as much information on the Butler family, but I'm looking.  In August I am taking a trip to Michigan and will visit some of the little towns where some of the Butler ancestors  were born and buried and hopefully will find some more to share about them.

 So don't give up on me if these posts seem somewhat random and unrelated!  These are people and events that Dad knew and loved, and as a result have meaning to us as his posterity.  I have confidence that eventually we will have a complete puzzle that looks even better than the picture on the box!