When: December 25th
Where: Tennessee
Why: I have an unhealthy knack for remembering random celebrity trivia. Actually, just general useless information seeps into my brain and stays put for me to retrieve and astound my friends. Then there are really important pieces of information - dates of big events in the lives of people I care about, for example - that escape me. I just had lunch with my 90-year-old great-aunt and as my oldest relative, it amazes me that she can remember everything about everyone, and I realized I just needed to find ways to make the information meaningful to my brain and then it might stick. Celebrities are interesting in their own way and I can connect them to movies, songs, and each other, and that makes my brain remember stories. If I could create stories about my great-grandparents, I could remember them, too, which would put me far ahead of most of the population. Luckily for me, my mom has been avidly interested in my family's genealogy for most of my life and has records of all the information I needed to get acquainted with the lives of my great-grandparents.
Great-grandpa Cleo (born 1900; ancestors traced back to the 1700s in France) - This is the only great-grandparent I remember. He was alive until I was about four and I remember sitting in his big rocking chair with him. He was a farmer (pigs, corn, dairy cows) and loved working at the county fair. Great-grandma Bessie (born 1904; ancestors traced back to 1770s in Pennsylvania) - She worked in a tool & die plant making plane and tank parts during World War II.
Great-grandpa Charles - (born 1891; ancestry unknown) - He moved to Michigan with his family by horse and wagon! Worked in the winters for an ice company, cutting and storing ice off the nearby lake.Great-grandma Goldie - (born 1890; ancestors traced back to 1820s in Ohio) - Her first child was born when she was 20, and her last son was born when she was 42!
Great-grandpa Benjamin (born 1881 in England) - He was a brick-layer, and an actual 32nd degree Mason which seems very mysterious!Great-grandma Alice (born 1881 in England) - Came to the US a year after the Titanic, but returned in England after she saw her neighbor shoot and kill his wife. Decided to come back to the US again and eventually worked for the Hudson's store downtown.
Great-grandpa John (born 1878 in Illinois; siblings born in Germany) - He was the owner of two saloons in Illinois. Great-grandma Milda (born 1883 in Illinois; sibling born in Germany) - She ran the family turkey farm, and after that was sold, she ran the Dari-Castle ice cream shop.
I'd like to know more about who they were as people, so I'll be asking a lot more questions of my parents to see what they remember about their grandparents. Maybe I can get on the show "Who Do You Think You Are?" so that a TV crew can film me and make it all dramatic! :)
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