Old Things R New

My Take

DiVoran Lites

In the days before email and the Internet, my mother did a lot of letter writing to learn about our ancestors, and then she made a big round chart of what she had learned. I love that she added bits of information that interested her. She also gave me the materials she collected or knew from her own relatives. Perhaps someone will become a family historian like Mother and all this will pass on to them to get them started.

The outer edge of the chart edge represents the fifth generation before Mother and Dad. I started with Mother. The fifth generation of her line is empty. That could be a challenge to anyone who would like to know more and who now has the digital age and thousands of genealogists available to help.

In the fourth generation segment, Mother wrote, “Dora Bell Dice Morgan’s father fell from a horse and broke his neck. In those days even the best doctors had little knowledge of how to treat people. If you broke your neck, you died. We don’t have any other information about him. Dora Bell’s mother died from a burst artery in her leg when she was out tending the garden. The ways in which people died were a big topic of conversation in the old days and would be included in any family history. Poor Dora Bell. How old was she when she lost her parents?

Dora Bell herself was born on a farm in Warsaw, Missouri, June 4, 1888, She was of Scottish, Welsh, and Irish descent. She had twelve brothers and sisters. The only names we have are Joe, Dave, and Julia. Big families were common back then due to the lack of birth control and the need for lots of workers for the farm. A lot of children died, however of disease and accidents. They had home remedies, but they were ineffective against contagious disease and infection from wounds. In old cemetaries, you’ll see a lot of little graves. I’m sure parents grieved deeply for each child, and never got used to losing them.

Dora Bell apparently loved children and animals very much. She married Frank Samuel Morgan and had three children of her own, Charles, Vera, and Mabel.  I knew Auntie Vera into her old age. Mabel was my own grandmother.

When the children were small, Dora Bell and Frank lived in Breckenridge in the high mountains of Colorado. Frank was a miner and they must have lived in a drafty cabin and been quite poor. According to the customs of the time a poor woman with a family to rear did everything she could to feed them including taking in laundry and boarders. Dora probably did everything she could think of. She might have cooked for miners, maybe she had a summer vegetable garden and canned her tomatoes. Dora Bell was also an accomplished seamstress, so perhaps she made or repaired clothing. At any rate, I have heard a lot about Dora Bell. My mother was named for her and I know they were close. I liked the feeling of connection with family Mother has given me. After all, I’ll probably see them in Heaven. I hope so, anyhow.

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

 Our Grandtwins are 7-years-old, and are delightful.  They had been invited to be in the wedding party of their older cousin in July – Hannah as a flower girl, and Connor as the ring bearer.  The dress was purchased, and the schedule set.

Connor and Hannah

They, with our daughter and son-in-law, would drive to his mother’s house, about half-way to Chicago, then on to Chicago the following day, in time for the rehearsal.  All was in place until the Friday before their scheduled departure the next week.  Janet had been having some pains for the previous few weeks, but that day it was so unbearable that she went to a walk-in clinic.  They sent her to the ER at the local hospital, where they found that she had a bowel blockage – but the most important fact was that her appendix was “perforated!”  She was taken in for emergency surgery.  Because of that, she was unable to make the trip to Chicago as planned.  She stayed home to rest and recuperate.

Tom and the twins headed out as scheduled.  The wedding went off like clockwork and the twins were adorable and did their part beautifully.

The return trip was the reverse – they spent a few days at Tom’s mother’s house, to give Janet more time to regain her strength before they descended upon her.

While at Grandma’s house, the twins and Tom went fishing.  They were having a great time.  Connor was casting, but the line was caught on something, so he tugged on the pole to get it to let loose.  Unfortunately, it was caught….on the back of Hannah’s leg!  Ouch!!  It was a three-pronged hook.  They were able to get out two of the prongs, but couldn’t get the third one out.  Off to the ER they went.

As the doctor was working on Hannah, he began talking to her, asking questions.  He asked her how old she was – “seven.”  Do you have any brothers or sisters? “One brother.”  How old is he?  “Seven.”  Oh, so you are twins?  Are you identical twins?

Tom says that as soon as those words were out of his mouth, the doctor – continuing to work on Hannah’s leg – turned to Tom, grinned, and said, “I just realized what I said!”  Tom replied, “I’m glad – because I was about to ask for another doctor!”

In case you don’t “get it” – a brother and sister may be a twin, but they can NOT be an IDENTICAL twin!  But it’s amazing how many times we and they are asked that question!

A little comic relief in the situation!