From Axer to Ziegler

What am I giving thanks for this year?  So many things! Among them are:

• My family ~ My husband, children, grandchildren, brother, sister, mother and extended family, far and near.  I don’t tell them often enough how thankful I am for them, but I am.  I am thankful for who they are and what they mean to me.

• My friends ~ They encourage me, they validate me, they laugh with me and are there for me.  They are  an extended family to me.

• Liberty ~ So many people in other parts of the world are oppressed and have nothing to look forward to.  We are blessed to live in a part of the world that we have the liberty to be all we can be.

• A Roof over my head and more than enough to eat ~ I think of all those who have lost homes, whether to floods, fires or loss of jobs.  I think of those who have never had a roof over their head or never had enough to eat, and I know I am blessed.

• Good health ~ although I have my share of medical problems, I can still walk, talk, see, hear and enjoy the life I’ve been given.  There are others who only dream of the days that they could do what I can do today.

• The ability to travel and see my family ~ So many can’t see their families due to military assignments, incarceration, illness, the inability to travel or a number of other reasons.  If only I choose, I can travel and see mother, son, daughter, or grandchildren.  It may be a little inconvenience or an added expense, but I can do it.  Some can’t, whether they can afford to or not.

• I’m thankful for the inclusiveness of a nation that accepts all, regardless of race, creed or color.  How far we’ve come, just in my lifetime.

• and since this is a Genealogy Blog, I’m thankful for my ancestors who endured hardships and traveled across the waters to search for a better life.  I am thankful they chose the routes they did and endured the adverse conditions they did so I could enjoy the life I live today.

• As I sit down to a plate full of turkey and all the trimmings and I bow my head in gratefulness, you, as a reader, are in my prayer of thankfulness. You are a part of what I am thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving!

My Great-Grandfather, Edwin A. Niess and his three grandsons, “Buddy,” (my father, William F. Sherman), and his younger brothers, Raymond C., and Vincent E..  This was taken in Washington D.C. about 1925 or 1926.

Here we go again!  . . . and I’ve been tagged by Becky over at kinexxions.

Rules to play by:

• Each player starts with eight random fact/habits about themselves.
• Write a blog post about the eight things and post these rules.
• At the end of your blog post, list eight people to get tagged.
• Leave a comment on their blogs telling them they’re tagged.

Eight things about me:

1. I’m not a TV “watcher.”  I’m a TV “listener.”  I hate to waste time, so I’m always doing something while watching TV with my husband.
2. There are not enough hours in the day for me to do everything I want to do!
3. “I’m just a girl who can’t say no.”  Sound familiar?  Sound like a song?  It’s my theme.  My husband has to say NO for me!
4. I was born in Hawaii and grew up there and on Guam!  That’s right, me and Obama, Hawaiians!
5. I love the look of neat and organized and follow behind my husband putting things away. . . .
6. I love auctions and garage sales!  It’s the thrill of the hunt, not necessarily the prize at the end!
7. My oldest grandchild is 24; my youngest is 3!
8. I’m a “techie!”  Any new tech gadget. . . . I gotta have it!

Eight people I’m tagging (in no special order):

1. Mel at The Research Journal
2. Sarah, the Graveyard Rabbit of Central PA
3. Amy at We Tree
4. Janet the Researcher
5. Msteri at Heritage Happens
6. Lisa at the Small-leaved Shamrock
7. Elyse at Elyse’s Genealogy Blog
8. . . . and not to beforgotten, Looking for Ancestors

Circa 1945

This is my husband as a child and his parents, standing on their front porch in Hull, Iowa.

Where were their sweaters???  That’s snow on the porch!!

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t give with the expectation of getting.  You see, I’m a volunteer, and I don’t volunteer for just anything, I’m a Genealogy Volunteer!

I first discovered Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness many years ago.  I lived in the Mountains of California and all of my ancestors were from mid-state Pennsylvania.  I had a real problem, didn’t I?  Although, we took yearly trips to the area, I could not possibly do all the research necessary in a couple of days a year.  Think mid to late 1990′s were there were not the number of genealogy sites on the internet!

We had come back from a vacation on the East Coast, and I had found information about my g-g-g-g-grandmother who had died in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  I wrote every conceivable site asking somebody, just anybody, if they would look for an obituary for me.  I had the exact place and date of death.  Absolutely, no response from any list whatsoever!  The next year, that was the first thing I looked for . . . .and found.  No problem!

Then I found RAOGK and immediately put my name in to volunteer.  I used the service ocassionally to get a record or two, but my first experience taught me the importance of another willing to be the eyes and/or legs of somebody many miles away.  

I then discovered Find A Grave and whenever I get a few extra minutes upload headstones. I love going to cemeteries and looking for others as well. I find myself in cemeteries I would not ordinarily go to. I’ve been in a Friends Cemetery, a Mennonite Cemetery, and a Catholic Cemetery, just to name a few denominations. I’ve been in overgrown, deserted cemeteries, and well-manicured and beautifully maintained cemeteries. Some headstones I’ve found and some I haven’t. But I know, deep inside, that I’ve tried. I’ve disappointed a few people and made the day for others.

Last summer a genealogy friend in Chicago told me about indexing for Family Search and I’ve been doing that ever since.  Since I am not a stare-at-the-TV type of person, I must be doing something while I’m watching TV.  I used to play FreeCell, Cross-Craze, or type obituaries into my database.  Now I index for Family Search.  While I haven’t indexed as many records as a lot of people, I have indexed over 5K names and I’m delighted I’m giving back to the community.

Since we recently moved into The City and it took awhile to get settled, things slowed down a bit.  I no longer volunteered at my Church (Lititz Moravian) and no longer volunteered at the Historical Society in a neighboring community because of the distance.  My New Year’s Resolution was to volunteer somewhere and I picked Lancaster County Historical Society.  I can walk there since it is less than a mile away and they can always use volunteers.  I now volunteer in the Library every Friday and one Saturday a month.

That is what I give.  What do I get in return?

• RAOGK:  I’ve been able to get obituaries and in one case every conceivable record on my ancestor on the County level because the volunteer worked for the County!  I’ve had people I’ve helped ask me if there was anything they could do for me in return and by golly she found baptismal and death records for me!
• Find-A-Grave:  Death dates!  After volunteers have posted the pictures, I found death dates!
• Family Search Indexing:  I thought my g-g-g-g-grandfather’s sister had died after she was baptized.  Last record I could find for her.  Nope, she had married (I don’t know where) and moved to Ohio.  I found her name on her son’s death certificate!
• LCHS:  Not only to I have the satisfaction of helping others, I’ve had the opportunity to find out just exactly what records and/or books there are in this awesome facility!  Has that helped my genealogy?  You bet it has!  Besides I work alongside of some of the neatest and most knowledgeable people!

Ever planned on volunteering and not got around to it?  Do it!  You’ll be a better person for it and glad you did.  It doesn’t take that much time and the rewards far outweigh the time and work (if you call it that!) involved.

Taken in my grandparent’s driveway, Hilo Hawaii, June 1949

Linda (Yours truly on the right) and Priscilla (my sister on the left) Sherman

Military Service is a tradition in my family.  I am proud to say the tradition is carried on today by my grandson as it was by his 7th great-grandfather, Joseph Britton. My salute on Veterans Day, 2008 goes to the following family members, past and present, who have served their country.

Mike Foster, Grandson, United States Coast Guard, Presently

William B. Bowman, Son, United States Air Force

Scott L.H. Fisher, Step-Son, United States Army, Retired

Timothy C. Fisher, Step-Son, United States Army, Deceased

James Stienstra, Husband, United States Army

Wm. F. Sherman, Father, United States Army, deceased

Wm. F. Sherman, Grandfather, United States Army Corps of Engineers, deceased
(No Service Picture Available)

Ephraim H. Niess, G-G-Grandfather, PA Inf, 122nd, Co. E, deceased
(No Service Picture Available)

Jeremiah M. Carvell, G-G-Grandfather, PA Inf, 133rd, Co. I & 9th PA Vet Cav., deceased

Joseph Britton, 6th G-Grandfather, Rev. War Service, deceased
(No Service Picture Available)

A folder full of unmarked pictures from my great grandfather gave me these two wonderful pictures for the 7th Edition of “Oh Baby!” Smile for the Camera!  I have absolutely no idea who these people are, but they must have been important to my great-grandfather, otherwise he would not have saved them ~ right?

Unknown Woman and Baby, obviously not smiling!

Is this a happy pair?  I wish my great grandfather had labeled the pictures ~ especially this one!!  They were obviously not well off, by the dress this woman is wearing, and obviously not happy!

I would like to think this young lady really enjoyed having her picture taken. It looks like a very little smile on her face, doesn’t it?

My entry for the 50th COG, dealing with Alzheimer’s Disease, is a tribute to one of the sweetest, caring and most talented women in my life.  She is still in my life since I have pictures of her, postcards from her, and many, many items she created at one point in her life.  I have notes attached to various items in her handwriting, noting “This is for Linda from Grandma Nellie.”  I treasure each thing I have from her and write this in loving memory of her.

Nellie Viola Niess Sherman was my father’s mother.  She had been born into Washington DC society, with “a silver spoon in her mouth” as the saying goes and was throughout his life, My great-grandfather’s pride and joy.  She could do no wrong in his estimation and wanted for nothing.

Nellie V. Niess as a young girl, early 1900's

She was a talented lady and had been an Art Teacher in the Washington DC school system in her early life.   She crocheted and sewed beautifully.  I am the proud caretaker of several of her tablecloths, dresses and a variety of other linens.  Several pieces of her artwork hang on my wall today.

She married in 1914 and by 1921 had three sons who she raised into successful men.  She was the grandmother of seven and the great-grandmother of the same number.  Her father and her husband both died in 1948, months apart.  After their deaths, she traveled and finally settled in San Francisco, a city she had lived in earlier.

My memories of her start in the 2nd grade.  She came to visit us when we were living in Hawaii.  I had met her briefly before that, but I was too young to remember.  On this visit she shared my bedroom and took time to teach me to crochet.  She always reminded me to write down my memories.  I never did, and of course, regret that today.  The picture below was taken on the visit that I don’t remember.  My mother is on the left, she is in the middle and my mother’s mother, Bertha Lindgren is on the right.  Wish I’d been in the picture!

Mother, Grandma Nellie, Grandmother Lindgren, Hawaii

I remember visiting her in the 1950′s and early 1960′s.   I loved her tiny apartment with a Murphy Bed and a view of the city from her corner windows.  Memories of her kitchette with cheery curtains and a matching tablecloth pop up in my mind every now and then.  The excitement of that cosmopolitan city in mid-century was something I always looked forward to.

Her visits to our home were a highlight in my life.    She was a sweet, caring person and I miss the person she was.

Probably taken in the late 1920's. From my great-grandfather's collection

As the 1950′s turned into the 1960′s, Grandma Nellie’s memory became somewhat distorted.  She had crocheted an afghan for my wedding and I had written the obligatory thank you note.  Five months later she chastised me in a letter for not writing a thank you note.  (I still have the afghan!) Not too long after that she gave her TV to her newspaper boy.

Dad decided to take a trip to San Francisco to see what was going on.  She had gone from bad to worse and money was stuffed in books, her name was written in ballpoint pen on family heirlooms and initials scratched on silver plates and dishes. . . . . “so nobody would steal them like they did her Television set.”

It was time to move her closer to us.  Dad found a little cottage for her and the move was made.  After she took a walk and the police called him at work because she was lost, it was decided the cottage was not the best move and perhaps an establishment with around the clock care would be the better option.

We would go visit her and pick her up and bring her to our home.  We took her for rides and she thought she was in the Rocky Mountains when she was on the way to the beach in Southern California.  She told me about her daddy bringing her a handerchief she was holding.  It was actually a paper napkin from our picnic.

Taken by my father of his mother, 1950, Kailua, Hawaii,

Towards the end of her life we would visit her without my father.  He did not want to remember his mother that way.  She was strapped in a wheelchair so she wouldn’t fall out and didn’t remember us.  I would go anyway. She seemed to light up when she saw me coming with my toddler.  Perhaps it reminded her of something in her past.  We never knew.

On April 30, 1976, Grandma Forgetful joined her beloved Papa and Mother.

Grandma Nellie had died years earlier.

Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration for Henry A.W. and Bertha E. von Breyman Lindgren, June 1963, Sacramento, California (my grandparents)

L-R: Jack Lindgren, Pat Lindgren Kurtz, Catherine Lindgren Sherman (my mother), Henry Lindgren, Bertha Lindgren, Bettie Lindgren Adams, Dr. Henry Lindgren.  Missing: Bill Lindgren