Tracking down generations
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Friday, September 13, 2013
The Black Sheep's Niece
Prompt 1
Who I am, still not sure but it’s taken me 72 years to get
here, I’ve been a daughter, a princess, a wife,
a mother, a nana, a queen, a mistress, a lover, a dreamer, a
winner and sometimes a failure. I never
did the things I meant to do write a book, set up a website or write a blog,
(oops am I doing that today) sing a song, stay up all night with a friend in
need, go to a candlelight vigil, send condolence cards, say a prayer for
someone every day, or write a letter to someone every week, nor have I ever put
flowers on my parents grave. I’m a certified snoop love the reading of old
newspapers, I’m always asking questions
many times it’s none of my business but I really, really want to know what
makes people tick. Maybe I’ll find out way I don’t tick like other people. I’m the eldest of 3 girls, poor pop.
Prompt 2
I was born in Grant Nebraska, I’ve always told people it was
4 blocks long and 4 blocks wide but I suspect it was a little larger, I was
born at home in the front bedroom or it could have been the bedroom next to
that, since there was only 2 bedrooms it had to be one or the other. Not for
sure who was there other than my mom and me, probably Dr Bell but I’m only assuming that since he signed my birth
certificate. I have a cool baby book with names of grandparents, aunts and
uncles, great aunts and uncles and lots of neighbors. I must have been precious they kept coming
back with more presents. Thank goodness for my Aunt Mary she started my baby
book and kept it up, because my mother never did do it for us 3 girls.
Alive, well and procrastinating at it's bestSunday, February 3, 2013
Black sheep Sunday
36 words summed
up the lives of two men
Shooting Affray
Ainsworth, Neb., May 25 - In a shooting affray between George
Crandall and Zack Alderman, Crandall was perhaps fatally wounded. No reason is
assigned, except that Alderman was drunk and having a good time generally.
There is strong talk of lynching.
There was no
necktie party for Mr. Alderman, in 1900 he was living in Garfield NE
The Bismarck
Tribune, June 1, 1883
Signed the niece of a Black Sheep
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Black Sheep Sunday
Black Sheep Sunday
I’ve never written a story about a real person, especially a
real person I never saw and one that my family would never speak. His sister,
my grandmother Granny Grace, when I questioned her about her family, always
retorted “their all dead, so leave sleeping dogs lay.” Was she hiding the Black
sheep from us or us from him?
When I looked on Ancesty.com for my John Howard Beswick
there is 6 family trees which he is included and with 6 pieces of
mis-informations.
I know John or Howard is his first name that is the name his
3rd to the oldest sister, Jean or Aunt Babe to us kids, gave me the names of
each child of Monroe and Emma. In the
1920 census he is residing at the grey bar hotel, yes the famous Alcatraz. In the 20’s Alcatraz
was a Military prison named the Pacific Beach Disciplinary Barracks. Then he was transferred to McNeil Island,
Washington, U.S. Penitentiary. A When John was a little boy his parents split
up, Emma took my grannie to South Dakota with her and John stayed in Nebraska
with Monroe his father. I understand
Monroe was an ugly, vicious man who made trouble for everyone he encountered
but especially his own family. I wonder if being abandoned by his mother and
the general rottenness of his father, poverty of the times or was he just born
the black sheep.
I have no idea where he went or when he died, I was told he
robbed a few banks. His brother in law,
Fred Jacobi was the deputy sheriff in Holdrege, Nebraska and by looking at the
census’s our family gravitied to live with them.
So for years since the invention of the computer I scroll
through many hours of websites, reading a lot of Nebraska newspapers, that
would tell about a bank robberies. And then holy-moley there was a booking picture
of him. Maybe now I can write the story.
Signing off,
Black Sheep’s niece
January 13, 2013
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