Family Traditions - Thanksgiving

I work in a library which results in my always knowing what 3 weeks from today is even though I rarely know what today is. 

Thinking about: Fun & Games, Family Traditions, Recreation ----
I began thinking about Thanksgiving which at the time was 3 weeks away. 

The memory that clearly presented itself was the annual Thanksgiving dinners at my maternal grandmother's house. 

Mom was the oldest of 6 children. When you add children, spouses & grandchildren managing to create a space for this dinner was tricky. 

Some families would choose to serve from the counters, but not my grandma. 

A full sit down dinner was required. 

I'm not sure where the old wooden doors and saw horses were stored the rest of the year, but at Thanksgiving they made their annual appearance.

They were placed together with the table in some sort of puzzle piece fitting that only grandma knew. Once the table was together then it was time for the table cloth also placed in some sort of puzzle fashion that only grandma knew. The result was a ginormous table that appeared to be one table & cloth as long as it wasn't jostled at all.

Miraculously enough chairs appeared for everyone to sit. Although I distinctly remember 4 of us kids sitting on a piece of wood supported by saw horses at least one year. 

Source: Clipart

Grandma made turkey and all the fixings. 

The chaos as the meal was cooking was incredible. 

The moment all the food was placed on the table left everyone speechless. 

One year grandma mistook icing sugar for flour which wasn't hard to do when all her cannisters were unlabeled glass jars. After adding more and more 'flour' while the gravy didn't thicken at all the mistake was realized.

That year's lack of gravy has been a family legend ever since. 

As a child who was easily overwhelmed by sensory things this annual tradition was hard for me. 

Looking back all I remember is the beauty of the table, the fun with my cousins, the love of my aunties & uncles, and most of all how beautiful my grandma was as she took the place of honour at the head of the table.

Memory is wonderful that way. 

As the years go by the parts that were hard for me have disappeared from my memory leaving behind only the love & family. 

My husband and I have combined our family of origin Thanksgiving traditions to create OUR family Thanksgiving traditions. 

His family never used canned cranberries. His family also had squash and sweet potatoes (or yams). Our table has always had fresh cranberries, and always includes squash & sweet potatoes (or yams). Much to my husband's disappointment anything with marshmallow had to go. 

I wonder what family traditions our 2 boys will keep, what they will change, and what they will remember of Thanksgivings of their childhood.

Remembering the family in the traditions!!!

This is why I search - 

Cause ... 

You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

________________________________________________________________

The Urban Farmer ~ From a Long Line Of Farmers

Farmer Chris' urban garden

There are so many farmers in our Bramble Bush it was pretty hard to choose just one. 

I decided to dig for a farmer in our tree who had a story to tell. 

I found my husband's 7th great grandparents, 
Christoffel & Anna Elizabeth (nee Habel) Zehrung.

Christoffel Zehrung
BIRTH 5 JUL 1657 • Ritzhausen, Hessen, Germany
DEATH 10 JAN 1714 • Ritzhausen, Hesse, Germany
&
Anna Elizabeth Habel
BIRTH 12 DEC 1675 • Unnau, Westerwald, Hessen, Germany
DEATH 24 JUN 1714 • Ritzhausen, Westerwald, Hessen, Germany

Christoffel & Anna were farmers. 

By the middle of June 1714 both Christoffel and Anna had died leaving behind 6 children ranging in age from 6 months to 14 years. 

While looking for information about what happened to the children I found a 'story' on Ancestry that had me fact checking where I was able to backtrack to the original source.

I found an 857 page pdf document written by Wilson Zaring titled The Descendants Ludwig Zehrung Mathia Zehrung Anna Elizabeth Zehrung and Philip Zehrung. The document is full of fact & conjecture. The authors voice is easy to read. He seems a born storyteller. If you have any connection to the various spellings of the Zehrung family I highly recommend this read. The index at the end of the documents lists each person included. The pdf document is linked in the sources below.

The first paragraph  of the original document I found was included on page 36 (page 45 of the pdf document). The remainder of the information is not in the original pdf document. I am not sure where this story found on Ancestry originated from, but I have no reason to doubt it is from the same author since the top paragraph is exactly the same & the author recorded at the bottom.

Document found on Ancestry, September 16th 2021

I felt sad for these children. They were separated into 6 different homes after losing both their parents in 6 months.  They each took a cow with them to their new home. 

I don't know what their parents died from because I haven't found their death registrations.

The oldest child, Anna Elizabeth, was 15 when her parents died. There is no mention of where she went to live. She was married 8 months later at the age of 16. 

2nd born, Johann Christ, went to a "farm that Johann Thönges keeps.” He was 13 years old. I was not able to find any further information.

3rd born was my husband's 6th great grandmother, Elsa Maria (Elizabeth), who was 9 at the time of her parents death. The document above notes her as 8. She was taken into the care of her godfather Martin Schmitt. I have been trying to find census records of Elizabeth living with the Schmitt family, but have not been successful.  She married Johannes Martin Buchner when she was 23 years old. Together they had 8 children. In 1753, aged 48, she immigrated to Philadelphia with her husband and children. Many of her descendants immigrated to Ontario, Canada. The pdf refenced & sourced has quite a bit about the Zehrung/Buchner descendants. 

4th born, Johannes, went to live with Johannes Reusch. He was 8 at the time. When he was 24 he married Anna Marie Crumb. The pdf document by Wilson Zaring referenced in this blog (and in the sources below) primarily focuses on Johannes and his descendants. 

5th born, Johann Tonges, I can find no record of. There are some trees on Ancestry that record his death in 1715. Without sources I can't say for certain that is true. There is no reference to where he went to live in the record above.

6th born was, Johann Bast, who went to live with Bastian Höbel who was likely a relative of his mother's he was listed as less than 6 months old in the document above. Several trees on Ancestry list him as dying a few weeks after his mother. None of them have sources so can't be taken as fact.

The document references Anna Elisabetha, age 4. Unless there was a second child named Anna Elisabetha this child was 15. A possible typo in the transcription. The other possibility is that the older child's name is Anna Maria If that is the case then I have a mistake for the oldest child.  I will definitely take a deeper look at the the possibility of 2 Annas. 

My husband's family has a long history in farming in his paternal line. 

As recorded in the reference (and sourced) book on the Zehrung family line. 

"THE FIRST GENERATION

The oldest known member of our family was identified simply as Zering "der alte". He was a farmer at Langenbach. The phrase "der alte" means "the old", "the old one" or perhaps "the elder". The oldest records on our ancestors do not include dates, but allowing 30 years per generation "der alte" was born about 1480. No record has been preserved of the wife of Zering "der alte". It is likely that there were several children, but we have the name of only one. Child: a. Michel. b. ca. 1510, Langenbach." 1

As a teenager my husband worked on his grandfather's tobacco farm in southern Ontario, Canada. 

His love of the land continues. 

He has been a paramedic for almost 30 years. After long days at work he finds personal healing digging in the dirt on his days off.  

As a healer who places life over limb he struggles with having to end life. 

It is my job to thin the baby seedlings that will interfere with the growth of the keeper plants.

He is just not able to end life regardless of where that life falls on the food chain.

He takes great pride in harvesting his bounty

When you have something in common with your ancestors!!!

Cause ... 




You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

This is why I search - 

***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

Footnotes:

1 Zaring, Wilson. The Descendants Ludwig Zehrung Mathia Zehrung Anna Elizabeth Zehrung and Philip Zehrung, April 1995. Held at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. Page 33 (document page 42), Retrieved September 17th 2021 from
http://wvancestry.com/ReferenceMaterial/Files/The_Descendants_of_Ludwig_Mathias_Elizabeth_and_Phillip_Zehrung-Zudwing.pdf

Sources:

Zaring, Wilson. The Descendants Ludwig Zehrung Mathia Zehrung Anna Elizabeth Zehrung and Philip Zehrung, April 1995. Held at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. Retrieved September 17th 2021 from
http://wvancestry.com/ReferenceMaterial/Files/The_Descendants_of_Ludwig_Mathias_Elizabeth_and_Phillip_Zehrung-Zudwing.pdf

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

________________________________________________________________

Census Records ~ Right Down the Rabbit Hole

 This week's prompt WORKING resulted in my going back over census records looking at the professions of the ancestors who make up this Bramble Bush. 

As a fulltime working woman I am often taken by surprise at how recent it was that women were listed with a dash or none to indicate they didn't work or that they were keeping house.

There were so few women working that it catches me by surprise when I find a relative of ours who was listed with a profession in a time that typically women weren't. 

As I was looking through the census records I discovered something a bit confusing.

In the 1901 census my husband's 3rd great grandmother, Henrietta (nee Scealey) Whitesell, was listed as head of household at age 47. She was residing with her mother, Jane M (nee Backhouse) Sealey aged 78. Henrietta's profession was listed as farmer. Henrietta was married, and yet husband Arthur was not living with her.  Mother, Jane, was widowed. They were in South Northfolk, Woodhouse Township.

I then went searching for where husband Arthur was during this census taking. I found Arthur living with their children: David (aged 23) and Cora (aged 17) in Elgin, Bayham Township. Arthur was listed as head of household, and he was a farmer.

As I dug some more for Henrietta I found her in the 1861 census.  Her mother Jane was listed as head of the household with daughters Hannah (aged 11) & Henrietta (aged 9). She was listed as married. Husband George was not on this census record.

I finally found George in the 1861 census living with his parents & younger brother Orlo (age 15) in Bayham Township, Elgin County.

As I continued to dig around I discovered a possible reason for why George was not to be found with his family. It seems he had been living apart from his wife over several years. 

George died in 1894 under mysterious circumstances. He may have been poisoned OR the poison may have been added to his body after death by natural causes. 

George died May 13th 1894. On October 20th 1893 he rewrote his will leaving everything to Sarah Jane Robbins. She is listed as his wife, but there appears to have been no divorce from Jane (who listed herself as a widow in the 1901 census). 

The new will replaced one that had been written in 1887. 

Soon after he died the rumours began that he had been poisoned and Sarah's brother had influence over George. Sarah & her brother were executrix & executor of George's approx $40,000 estate. Remember this was 1894, and that was a lot of money.

His daughter Henrietta contested the will. 

The  body was exhumed, but there appeared to be too much arsenic for the poison to have been added before death. How exactly did the arsenic get into his organs after death?

All the sordid details are In the news article linked here:
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/589338/vancouver-daily-world/

It appears as though Jane & George had been living apart for many years. I can not come up with a logical reason for why Henrietta & Arthur were living separately for the 1901 census which was where this research session began about 7 hours ago.  

And so ends a journey down the genealogical rabbit hole for today

When researching results in more questions than answers!!!

Cause ... 




You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

This is why I search - 

***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

________________________________________________________________

Getting Schooled ~ The Schooley Family

 My husband's 6th great grandparents were:

Johannes Martin Buchner
BIRTH 29 JAN 1704 • Unnau, Nassau (now), Westerwald, Germany
DEATH 1780 • Sussex County, New Jersey, United States of America
&
Elsa Maria (Elizabeth) Zehrung
BIRTH 14 OCT 1704 • Fehl-Ritzhausen, (now Marienberg), Nassau, (now) Westerwald, Germany
DEATH 1780 • Amwell, Sussex, New Jersey, USA

Ancestry DNA confirmed the traditional research one generation higher through the Buchner line through their son:

Johan Heinrich (Henry) Buchner
BIRTH 10 DECEMBER 1734 • Duitsland, Rheinland Pfalz
DEATH 2 DEC 1817 • Crowland Township, Welland, Niagara, Ontario, Canada
married 
Anna Eva Maria Dell
BIRTH ABT 1737 • Sussex, New Jersey, British Colonial America
DEATH ABT. 1803 • Welland Co., Ontario, Canada

Are you wondering what these relatives have to do with this week's prompt SCHOOL?

I'm so glad you asked!

Anna Eva Maria Dell had 3 brothers and a sister.

One sister and one brother married into the SCHOOLEY family.

Oldest brother Richard married Elizabeth Schooley.

Richard Dell (twin to Bassnet)
BIRTH 16 OCT 1726 • Sussex, New Jersey, British Colonial America
DEATH 3 AUG 1804 • Hanover Township, Morris, New Jersey, United States
married (February 28th 1754, Mendham, Morris, New Jersey, USA)
Elisabeth Schooley
BIRTH 20 JUL 1729 • Chesterfield, Burlington, New Jersey, British Colonial America
DEATH 20 NOV 1790 • New Jersey, United States

Older sister Elizabeth married William Schooley. 

Elizabeth Dell
BIRTH 1728 • Burlington County, New Jersey, USA
DEATH 27 JAN 1762 • Sussex County, New Jersey, USA
married (November 27th 1760, Woodbridge, Union, New Jersey, USA
)William Schooley
BIRTH 1727 • Burlington County, New Jersey, USA
DEATH 27 JAN 1767 • Sussex, New Jersey, United States

While working in this section of our Bramble Bush it can be challenging to get the generations correct. As an example. our William above married an Elizabeth. His parents were William and Elizabeth. At one point I had children assigned to the junior couple that were born when they were 11 & 12.  Definitely need to be more careful while adding folks and facts. 

Getting schooled on the Schooleys!

I found quite a bit of interesting information during my internet searching for this Quaker family. There is a lot of information out there for descendants looking for more information.

Using this week's prompt to be schooled on the Schooley portion of this Bramble Bush!!!

Cause ... 




You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

This is why I search - 

***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

________________________________________________________________