Wisteria

Life is funny sometimes, wouldn’t you agree? I sit here this evening checking out my blogger dashboard and find Jasia’s post about reading for the Carnival Of Genealogy . Ah, reading! One of my absolute favorite pastimes. And Jasia wants to know my family’s history of reading? How ironic that on the third anniversary of my father’s death, I am asked that question, for he was influential in the development of my love of reading. Furthermore, I was in a training at work today and we were asked to discuss characteristics about our fathers that we would like to keep, toss, or add in reference to their values, beliefs, etc. One of the items I listed in the “keep” column was his emphasis on the importance of reading and education. My mother tells the story that my father had heard that reading to your child was a good thing, so he instructed my mother to read to me every night. (Until I was about eight, he was often away because of his Navy service.) He purchased several books for me, ...

Originally published in the Ellicottville Post, May 1926

I wrote the following six years ago after a local Memorial Day celebration that my children and I participated in: In Thomas Moore's book, Care of the Soul, he writes that our goal should be "a richly elaborated life connected to society ... woven into the culture of family, nation and globe ... profoundly connected in the heart to ancestors and to living brothers and sisters in all the many communities that claim our hearts." The Memorial Day celebration this past Monday presented just such an opportunity to be connected. As a history lover, I often have viewed myself as a bridge between the past of my ancestors and the future of my children. In my role as bridge, I've nurtured the children in activities that allow them to participate in community events such as the local parade. And so there I was watching the future walk down Main Street. But before they got too far, we stopped at the town gazebo where the local American Legion Post Commander talked o...

Stedum, Groningen, Netherlands Hendrik Timmer born 27 August 1845, died 7 May 1899.  His wife Frouke Westerhof born 2 August 1840, died 19 November 1909.

I ran across a new book at my local library a few weeks ago. It’s an anthology entitled Women Writing On Family: Tips on Writing, Teaching and Publishing . It’s edited by Carol Smallwood and Suzann Holland and published by The Key Publishing House, Inc. of Toronto, Canada ( www.thekeypublish.com ). There are fifty-five chapters in eight parts including Personal and Legal Issues about Family Topics; Making the Most of Your Family Experience; Exploring Family in a Variety of Genres; and Publishing, Marketing & Promoting. In the introduction, the editors quote a Proust passage from The Remembrance of Things Past which says: “When nothing else subsists from the past, after the people are dead, after the things are broken and scattered, the smell and taste of things remain poised a long time, like souls bearing resiliently, on tiny and almost impalpable drops of their essence, the immense edifice of memory.” The editors remark that for many women, their memory essentially is thro...

"Index cards with names of people from the opposition" from the Netherlands Archives  I promised to write more about my Netherlands cousin who was a member of the Dutch Resistance Movement during WWII. Harm Molenkamp was the oldest child and only son of Jan Molenkamp and Frouke Olthof (Frouke’s mother was Jantje Timmer, my great-grandfather’s sister).  Harm had two sisters, Siep and Jantje. As mentioned in my previous post about the subject , I first heard about cousin Harm from another cousin who lived in the Netherlands about twenty years ago but we lost track of each other. I didn’t get much information to begin with. I’ve always been curious to learn more and have been fascinated to have such a close tie to the historical events that took place during that time. I included the photocopy of the photo I have of Harm when I did a photo history presentation for one of my daughter’s classes a few years ago. For the presentation, I started with a tintype photograph fro...

Back in 1989, I sent my aunt and uncle a letter to inquire about what they knew about our Timmer family, who had came to the U.S. from the Netherlands. The story (which was true) was that my great-grandparents, John and Martha (Bolhuis) Timmer came over in 1906 on their honeymoon and never went back. Aunt Jeannette was gracious enough to send me what they had and also provided me with the name of a family friend who lived in the Netherlands. Aunt Jeanette and Uncle Fred (John and Martha's youngest son) had taken a trip to the Netherlands around 1980 and shared with me some postcards from the province of Groningen where she said the Timmers came from among other tidbits of information and some photographs. I explored the world of international postage and return replies and wrote to this family friend. It turns out he was part of a family that one of my great-grandfather's aunts had married into. He, in turn, gave me the name and address of the daughter of my great-grandfather...

In keeping up with my O’Brien research I’ve been posting lately, the will of Delia Lyons certainly yielded a treasure trove of information on her family. I suspect that Daniel O'Brien's wife, Teresa, was Bridget’s sister, who apparently had died by the time Delia wrote her will in Humphrey, Cattaraugus County, New York on 29 January 1879. (If this is indeed the case, this narrows Teresa’s death to the year 1878.) This is based on the fact that Daniel O’Brien was not listed as an heir in Delia’s probate records but his son William O’Brien was listed as her nephew. The 1893 Cattaraugus county history indicates that Teresa’s maiden name was Devereux. Delia/Bridget gave her husband Peter her “farm of 45 acres” in the town of Humphrey. Other heirs named included her sister Jane Edwards (age 62) of the town of Moate, County Westmeath, Ireland and her sister Mary King (age 74) of Humphrey, New York. Also named as next of kin (no relationship stated unless otherwise noted) were Joh...

"In Memory of Ann O'Brien, born in Co Westmeath, Ireland, Feb. 2, 1834, Died June 9, 1902" From the St. Pacificus Roman Catholic Churchyard, town of Humphrey, Cattaraugus County, New York: "Bridget, wife of Peter Lyons, Died Feb 5, 1879, Ae 58 Years" "Daniel O'Brien, Died Nov. 16, 1883, Aged 82 Y S, Native of Co. Westmeath, Ireland" "Teresa, wife of..." Tombstone was found broken in March of 2012, but an online inscription found here  indicates that she was the wife of Daniel O'Brien, and died Aug. 27, 187- , age 50 years 9 months. Daniel listed her as an executor when he wrote his will in  December 1876, so she must have died between 1877-1879. These four tombstones are found to the immediate left of the front of the churchyard in a row. They are posted in the row order from left to right.