From the Heart 2

Vanderbilt Beach in Naples, Florida did not yield any genealogical finds this year. Here is a heartfelt repost of a from 27 April 2012.

Under the Beach Umbrella

 Captiva Island’s beach umbrella yielded yet another genealogical surprise! My smart phone did make more than one appearance on the beach. Tucked safely away in my beach bag, I heard that familiar tone . . . I had a message. This message came from my cousin, Sharon, reporting that she had found a family photograph and was sharing her discovery.

My family tree research leans toward my maternal side due to the simple fact, I knew very little about my mother’s side of the family. I remember finding her paternal grandmother, Anna Mae Dollen nee Paul, and wondering would I ever know what she looked like.  I also wondered about Mom’s paternal great grandmother, Emma Dollen nee Strong. What did she look like?  As luck would have it, I was able to locate photographs of both ladies and now I know their appearance.

On 12 June 1849 Emma Dollen nee Strong came to the United States with her widowed mother, Elizabeth, and two sisters: Fanny and Sarah Caroline Strong. The family settled in the Finger Lake regions of New York. I often wondered if I would ever get to see what Fanny or Sarah Caroline looked like. I thought my chances were slim to none until I phone beeped. There was Sarah Caroline’s photograph attached to Cousin Sharon’s email.  

Right before my eyes where John Dalton (husband to Sarah Caroline), Caroline Dalton and son, Henry Dalton. It takes my breath away each time I find one more piece of the puzzle especially when the prize comes through the generosity of others.

I am always in awe of Sharon for her Grandmother and Aunt had such vision to preserve the familial treasures for future generations. Sharon gladly shares the treasures she is blessed with and I am a lucky recipient. Building a family tree is truly a collaborative effort.

With Gratitude to my Cousin Sharon Small Mitchell, Eva Small and Evalyn Small Mikes.

Linda

From the Heart 1

Here is a repost from 12 January 2012. Love my grandmothers!

From the Heart,

Linda

Grandmotherly Love

Yesterday’s Wordless Wednesday post was a family photograph. I chuckle when I see this photograph because it speaks volumes about my grandmothers.

The subject of the photograph is my maternal grandmother, Henrietta Evelina Danker Dollen Haskins. As you can see, my grandmother loved to have a good time! She was a flapper. She was engaged twice prior to marrying at the age of seventeen.

So, there she is, my mischievous, maternal grandmother with streamers around her neck and party poppers inserted in her nostrils and ears! It must be New Year’s Eve as she is raising a glass in a toasting gesture. Grandma Haskins is thoroughly enjoying her moment. She is the life of the party!

Let your eyes wander to the back of the photograph and you will see my paternal grandmother, Olga Bertha Louise Schumann Meyer. This grandmother is cradling my brother, Jeff, in her arms.  Jeff is about six months of age. Grandma Meyer is completely in love with the little boy in her arms and thoroughly enjoying her moment.

Those grandmothers of mine are radically different people! They are both beautiful, loving women who lived life in the own unique style.  Watching each of my grandmothers in action makes me treasure this photograph.

The boy with the patch on his eye is my brother, Dick. He had lazy eye and needed to wear the patch to correct his vision. His left arm did not get into the picture. If it did, you would have seen his arm in a cast.

 

That is me on the left. I am that half a girl watching my silly grandmother!

From the Heart

Telling beautiful stories about beautiful ancestors has been my goal. Some posts have met my goal and others not so much. Those posts that fell short of my goals didn’t come from the heart.

As long as there is life, a heart will beat. The same can be said of love. Isn’t that what life is about? Love.

Some lives are long drawn out affairs filled with all the trials and tribulations of the world and how it affects beating hearts. Some hearts are destined to beat for just a short while. 

Those who came before once had hearts that beat with love, fear, success, failure, poverty, disease and on and on. Their heartfelt tales are as relevant today as then. Though circumstances may change, human reaction is not unique.  It is our common thread.
Past meets present...

Linda

Connecting and Collaberating Through Ancestry is a Beautiful Thing

You bet, I shared the photograph of Paul Max Walter Radde and Frieda Radde nee Hanke. 

I also shared my Grandmother's Tale.

Long ago and far away in a time when Adolph HItler and his Nazi's ruled Germany with an iron fist, there was a little girl and her family. This little girl had a disability of some type and was taken away by the Nazis. The family never saw her again.

Had she heard the same story?

No, she told me Ursula had polio and was in the hospital when it was bombed.

It was a terribly sad time for the family.

For now, this is where my research and Grandma's tale ends. 

My next research question: How is Frieda connected to my Hanke ancestors?

Until my next discovery,

Linda

Is It Possible???

Ancestry.com was my first stop in the search for Frieda Radde. I searched Frieda Radde and Frieda Hanke. In both attempts I found possibilities, but nothing jumped out at me.

In my next attempt, I searched for the name Radde with a spouse named Frieda Hanke. It appeared I had found that unwanted "negative information." I clicked through the different categories and finally clicked on link to Family Trees. It was then I got my first clue.

There was an Ancestry.com family tree in which a Paul Max Walter Radde was married to a Frieda Hanke. This unsourced tree reported three children complete with photographs.

1.  One male child reported as "private" meaning living.

2.  Johannes Hanschen Radde, b. about 1922, d. about 1944 on the Russian front

3.  Ursula Radde, b. about 1926 in Kreis Stolp, Pommern, Germany, d. 1940-42 in Stettin, Germany. Ursula was reported to have had polio.

Is it possible? Could Ursula Radde be the little disabled girl from my Grandmother's tale (April 4th post)? She had a handicap and was from Stolp and Stettin the home of my German ancestors. The connection was possible but not yet proven.

I made contact with the tree's owner. I had a photograph that I wished to share with her. I explained the photo and the writing on its back. After the review of the photograph she concluded that, yes indeed, the Frieda in my photograph matched the Frieda in her tree. 

You see following World War II, the tree owner's grandmother sent shoes to Frieda Radde at the address (15 Richard Wagner Strasse) on the back of my photo. How lucky that her grandmother kept record of Frieda's address! My grandmother also sent clothes to her German relatives but sadly did not keep a record of whom she shipped clothing to. Thank goodness for the information on the back of the photo!

How does Frieda's connect to my Hanke ancestors? Only time will tell.

Linda

Grandmother's Tale Continues

It has been decades since my Grandmother told me the tale of her relatives in Germany.

Yet I remember the story of this little German girl disappearing as if it was yesterday. 

While perusing through Grandma's photographs, I stumbled upon this photo....

So, what do I know about these two people?

1.  The woman is Mrs. Frieda Radde of Stolp. Her maiden name was most likely Hanke.

2.  The gentleman was probably her husband, Mr. Radde of Stolp.

3.  Stolp was located in Pomerania.

4.  Schlawester, 97 may have been an address.

5.  Gutenberg - 15 Richard Wagner Str. was an address. 

6.  The couple lived in "The Russian Zone." I believe this means that Herr und Frau Radde 

     lived in the section of Germany given to Stalin at the end of WWII.

7.  Frieda shares the same maiden name as my Great Grandmother, Albertina Hanke.

Who was Frieda Radde (Hanke)? 

I can tell you with certainty that Frieda was related to my Grandmother. While I cannot yet determine her exact kinship, I can say she is related somehow. She bears a resemblance Grandmother's sister, Anna Walters nee Schumann. 

Anna Walters nee Schumann

More to follow...

Linda

Grandmother's Tale

Long ago and far away in a time when Adolph HItler and his Nazi's ruled Germany with an iron fist, there was a little girl and her family. This little girl had a disability of some type and was taken away by the Nazis. The family never saw her again.

This is a story that my paternal grandmother told me when I was a young girl. I have remembered it over the years. I took my grandmother at her word and never asked a question because I trusted grandmother would tell me all she knew. If only I had asked for the little girl's name or how they were related? Where did they live?