I work in library.
There is no funner fact than discovering my relationship to Dr. Seuss
I was super excited to see the connection when it was the featured connection on WikiTree a few months back.
Granted ... it's a stretch.
He's not a super close relative, but Dr. Seuss is in this Bramble Bush!
Theodor Seuss (Ted) Geisel is my husband's -
grandaunt of husband of 1st cousin 5x removed***
The actual connection is via his first wife:
Helen Marion Palmer
BIRTH 16 SEP 1898 • Brooklyn, Kings County (Brooklyn), New York, USA
DEATH 23 OCT 1967 • La Jolla, San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
This is the path between my husband and Helen:
George Howard Palmer 1862-1910
Father of Helen Marion Palmer
Father of George Howard Palmer
Benjamin
Palmer 1793-1857
Father of Adoniram Judson (Judson) Palmer
Jonathan
Palmer 1746-1808
Father of Benjamin Palmer
Elizabeth
Seaman
Mother of Jonathan Palmer
Father of Elizabeth Seaman
Jecaniah
Seaman 1720-1752
Son of Jonathan Seaman
Rachel
Secord , (twin of Peter) 1726-1759
Wife of Jecaniah Seaman
Father of Rachel Secord , (twin of Peter)
Marie (Mary) Secord
1736-1816
Daughter of Daniel Secord Jr.
Aden
I (Aden) Beebe , SGT 1761-1843
Son of Marie (Mary) Secord
Amasa
Beebe 1791-1850
Son of Aden I (Aden) Beebe , SGT
Rachel
Smith 1792-1862
Wife of Amasa Beebe
Esther
Smith 1756-1828
Mother of Rachel Smith
John
Smith 1715-1785
Father of Esther Smith
John (Little John)
Smith Judge 1747-1846
Son of John Smith
Isaac
Smith 1788-1869
Son of John (Little John) Smith Judge
Francis
Allen (Frank) Smith 1836-1921
Son of Isaac Smith
Martha
J Isabel (Mattie) Smith , twin to Ida 1873-1902
Daughter of Francis Allen (Frank) Smith
Clifton
Alexander (C.A.) (C. A.) (Cliff) Lee 1902-1979
Son of Martha J Isabel (Mattie) Smith , twin to Ida
Mary
Alice Lee 1951-2019
Daughter of Clifton Alexander (C.A.) (C. A.) (Cliff) Lee
& my mother-in-law
When I started researching Dr. Seuss & his wife Helen I was saddened to find the tragedy of their marriage. Dr. Seuss was unfaithful. Helen suffered medical issues. She committed suicide. She left behind a letter that suggested she knew about his affair. A tragic legacy.
BUT Helen is not strictly defined by her relationship & death.
She was an Oxford scholar, and a children's author herself.
"She graduated from Wellesley College with honors in 1920 and thrived in an environment where the curriculum was focused on languages, literature, and even economics. After graduation, she enrolled in Oxford University, an institution that awarded women degrees for the first time only four years prior to her arrival. Unbeknownst to either of them, Ted Geisel was to also attend Oxford after he graduated from Dartmouth." 1
It was at Oxford that Ted & Helen met.
Helen was instrumental in convincing Ted to become a children's author & illustrator instead of a teacher after she saw his doodling while taking notes in class.
Ted was on a path to be an English Professor.
Without Helen Dr. Seuss & the books he became famous for may never have existed.
Years later we had 2 boys of our own, and we read Suess books over and over again to them. We had stacks of them from our weekly library visits in addition to our home library collection built up by our own membership in the book-of-the-month club. My husband and I could recite the books without actually looking at the pages because we read them so often. Our boys knew them by heart as well, but still asked us to read them. There are several that we can still recite without even seeing the book.
Both our boys grew up to be readers.
They love books.
Dr. Seuss had a roll in that.
Every Halloween I dress up as the CAT IN THE HAT for my day at work!
I work in library --- how fun is it that Dr. Seuss is in our Bramble Bush!!!
Looking past the not so great details about the folks in your tree to find the legacies!!!
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***
Footnotes:
1 Meisenhold, Jana. The Complicated And Painful Legacy Of Dr. Seuss. The Establishment, Orginally published March 19th 2019. Retrieved July 19th 2022 from
https://medium.com/the-establishment/the-complicated-and-painful-legacy-of-dr-seuss-f1609121f000
Sources:
Cahn, Robert. The Wonderful World of Dr. Seuss. Originally published July 6th 1957. Republished February 28th 2016. Retrieved July 20th 2022 from https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2016/02/wonderful-world-dr-seuss/
Dr. Seuss. Wikipedia. Retrieved July 19th 2022 from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Seuss
Helen Palmer. Wikipedia. Retrieved July 19th 2022 from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Palmer_(writer
Meisenholder, Jana. The Complicated And Painful Legacy Of Dr. Seuss. Originally published March 19th 2019. Retrieved July 20th 2022 from
https://medium.com/the-establishment/the-complicated-and-painful-legacy-of-dr-seuss-f1609121f000
Vasquez, Jared. Helen Palmer. Originally published May 3rd 2020. Retrieved July 20th 2022 from
https://celebsindepth.com/helen-palmer/
Links:
Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/
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I have fond memories of reading Seuss books to my daughters, too. My favorite growing up was Yurtle the Turtle.
ReplyDeleteThey are such good books!
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