52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - Hobbies

The online Merium-Webster dictionary gives the following definition as its first choice for hobby: ": a small Old World falcon (Falco subbuteo) that is dark blue above and white below with dark streaking on the breast." Huh. I don't think that's what is meant by this week's topic for 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History.

 Okay, then, they must mean the second definition: ": a pursuit outside one's regular occupation engaged in especially for relaxation." Everything I did as a child fell into one of three categories: school, chores, play. I'm going to assume that the intent for this topic is the activities that fell into the play category.

Image found on public domain.

I was a bit of a tomboy...while I didn't play sports, I did enjoy roller skating, playing catch, riding my bike, and climbing trees. I used to watch my sister play with dolls and thought it was really boring. And then I discovered Troll Dolls. Do you remember them? They were short and fat and really ugly which made them really cute. They had outrageous colored hair that was fuzzy and messy. I don't remember how many Troll dolls I had, but I saved my allowance and bought another as soon as I had enough to do so. I kept them all lined up on the window sill in my bedroom. 

Image found on public domain.

I didn't play with the dolls, I made clothes for them! My mother wouldn't let me use the sewing machine (I was still too young to operate heavy machinery) so I had to hand sew all their garments. She would give me scraps of felt and I would make little outfits for them. I had many happy hours of designing the outfits and plying the needle and thread. Hmmm, maybe my hobby was really fashion design and sewing. I might have been a contender for Project Runway! Who knew?


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Those Places Thursday - Payson Avenue, Rockland, Massachusetts

This is a postcard that was found in my great-grandmother's effects. It was probably taken between 1915 and 1930. We believe that one of the homes depicted here is either the home in which she lived with her first husband at 37 Payson Ave. (Harry Edward JACKSON and Oscara Francesca "Francis" BYE) or the one that her second husband (Alton or Allen William WENDERGREN) lived with his mother and step-father (John J. WESTMAN and Matilda Sofia ANDERSON) at 74 Payson Ave.

This is written on the back of the postcard:
To Mr. A. Ekhurg
8 Mill ot
Dorchester Mass
yug far dur aran att yratlubea Pa Augut dagen Westman

WESTMAN was the name of the family living at 74 Payson Ave. and they were all born in Sweden. Since that name appears on the postcard, I'm guessing it is written in Swedish. It is also more likely that the WESTMAN home at 74 Payson Ave. is in this photo not only because their name is in the postcard's message but also because there is a curve in the road on the photo and there is a curve in the road at that address in Google maps. Unfortunately, there is no street view available on Google maps but there are many houses in the areas of both addresses which makes me think that they are both still standing. If anyone is ever in the neighborhood, please let me know if the houses are still there.

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Wordless Wednesday - Dorothy Jackson (1913-1990)

"Grame and Dorothy Worcester Mass."

Sympathy Saturday - Jacob Heinz

Jacob and Christine (Schwartz) Heinz

It seems appropriate to write about my 3rd Great-Grandfather as his birthday was this week.  Jacob Heinz was born 14 September 1812 in Germany and died on 15 May 1904 at the age of 91 years, 8 months and 1 day (don't you love those calculators the genealogy programs give you?).

Jacob learned carpentry from his father, George, as a young boy. In February 1837, at the age of 24, he set off for the U.S. He arrived in New York on 15 April where he remained until the fall when he went to Mt. Vernon, Florida to work on the United States arsenal. Jacob worked there until April 1843. His friend, Erhart Beyer, told him of the "great opportunities and the fertile soil" found in Cook county, so he purchased one hundred and sixty acres in the town of Maine.

Jacob Heinz married Christine Schwartz, daughter of Peter Schwartz, on 13 June 1844. They had twelve children, eight of whom lived to adulthood.

Jacob and Christine are considered to be original settlers of the Grennan Heights area of Niles. He was elected Town Supervisor for one term, but refused any additional political appointments stating that "a man cannot well be a politician and be honest."

Jacob died of "senile gengrene of left leg" on 15 May 1904 in Niles Center.

Christine died on 27 October 1906 at the age of 82. They are both buried in the St. Peter Catholic cemetery in Skokie.

Both Jacob and Christine lived long and prosperous lives. They left many children to carry on their work. So, why are they the target of my sympathy, you ask? Well, they aren't. The targets of my sympathy are all of us that were born after they died because we didn't have the opportunity to get to know them personally. But I feel certain that I will meet them after I leave this world and will mean it when I thank them for their legacy.

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52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History - Earliest Memory

Each week GeneaBloggers and Amy Coffin publish a topic for genealogists to publish on their blogs or to record in their computers or journals. This week's topic (week #37) is "Earliest Memory".

Me and my sister not long before the Great Tragedy
of which I write.

They say that the memory of traumatic experiences stay with you for a lifetime. My earliest memory is of the first tragedy I experienced when I was only three years old. On this fateful night, my parents decided to go out on a date. This was unusual as I don't remember very many times that both my parents left us children with strangers at night. On this occasion, they took my sister and me to the nursery on the Air Force base where my dad was stationed. I had never been there before and was frightened, but I had to be brave for my younger sister so she wouldn't cry. That wasn't as difficult as it sounds because I had a secret weapon. You see, I had my Blankey! Blankey was my constant companion and I violently resisted all efforts made by my parents or anyone else to separate me from it.

I don't remember much about the nursery except that there was a room with a lot of beds (probably cots). I remember that my sister and I were put in beds/cots next to each other and we went to sleep. I know that I fell asleep tightly clutching Blankey in my little hands. The next thing I remember is my parents waking us up and carrying us out to the car. I was so relieved to see them and escape that awful scary place and settled blissfully into my place in the car. Part way home, I realized Blankey was missing! I started to yell that it was gone and my parents immediately went back to the nursery to find it. Alas, it was nowhere to be found. I was devastated! I know that I must have grieved for the loss of Blankey because I still vividly remember the moment I realized it was gone forever. My mother says that I eventually learned to live without it, but my sleep was uneasy for a while until then.

At some point I started to suspect that my parents had left Blankey there on purpose to wean me from it. I'm not sure how long after the tragic loss that I came to that conclusion but it was probably some years later as a three year old doesn't usually have sophisticated reasoning skills. I kept my suspicions to myself until my rebellious teens when I confronted my mother. She emphatically denied the accusation then and continues to deny it today. But I still wonder...

Rest In Peace, my beloved Blankey. You are lost but not forgotten.

Thriller Thursday - Railroad Crossing Tragedy

The Springfield Daily Republican, Springfield, Mass.: Friday, February 24, 1939

The family were returning from a "happy day's work" remodeling an old house which they planned to move into in May. Julian never regained consciousness and died of his injuries on 24 February. The Springfield Daily Republican of 27 February said: "Mr. Tvedt was born at Kennebunk, Me., of Norwegian birth, the family having extraordinary musical ability. His grandfather was a band conductor of Norway and his mother a concert pianist. He graduated from the Washington missionary college at Washington, D.C., and studied the violin with his grandfather. He had taught violin several years. On August 17, 1932, he married Barbara Newton of Vernon. Besides his widow and five-year-old son, Carl, he leaves two uncles, Tersac [sic] Bye of Portland, Me., and Samuel Tvedt of Kennebunk, Me." 

The Atlantic Union Gleaner of March 29, 1939 reported that Barbara and Carl were still convalescing in the Brattleboro Memorial Hospital. Barbara died in 1984 and Carl died before 1983.

Julian Tvedt posing with his violin.

Julian Martine TVEDT was my 1st cousin twice removed. He  was raised with my great-grandmother Oscara Francesca BYE who was five months older than he. His mother, Clara Eugenie BYE, died of consumption when he was six and a half years old. His father, Hans Olaves TVEDT, was admitted to an insane asylum when Julian was eight years old (a topic for a future "Thriller Thursday"). He was brought up by his mother's younger sister, Hilda Sennove BYE, and her husband, Cornelius F. CROWLEY.

Julian Tvedt and Frances Bye, circa 1898.

Cornelius "Tom" Crowley and Hulda (Bye) Crowley, 1928.

Wordless Wednesday - Julianna Marie (Rasmusdatter, Christenson) Bye

Julianna Marie (Rasmusdatter, Christensen) Bye with daughter Oscara Francesca Bye and grandson Julian Martine Tvedt in Kennebunk, York county Maine about 1900