Decoration Day - Memorial Day

For as long as I remember Decoration Day weekend was a very special time for our family. First of all my brother Willard's birthday wa
s on the 30th so we could get together with family to celebrate. The Memorial Day holiday is a time to honor those who gave their lives in the service of our country. In our family we also had special remembrances of all our family members and friends who had passed before. The week before the holiday we would go to the nursery and pick op potted plants like geraniums, zinnias and and iris, sometimes even small rose bushes and other bedding plants if they were available. Back then, we were able to actually plant the flowers on the graves around the headstones. The grounds keepers actually kept them watered throughout the summer. During the week my parents would make plans for visiting the cemeteries at Sterling, and Otis Colorado.

Usually dad would work until noon on Saturday's and ,when we lived close to Sterling, we would go to Riverside cemetery in the afternoon to visit the graves of my dad's side of the family, the Dunn's. Riverside is a beautiful old cemetery with huge trees that were fully grown when I was small. We have old family pictures of my father's family visiting Riverside when there were only small trees and no shade.

There was almost a ritual to prepare the graves for planting. We would take all the plants out of the car and carry them to each location. Dad would then unload the planting soil, canvas tarp, garden tools, hand broom, rags and water. First, any weeds, stray grass or dead plant material was trimmed, pulled and removed. Then, the planting area was prepared and the potted plants were carefully removed from the pots and laid on their side on the canvas. Then the plants were placed in the hole that had been prepared with potting soil and water. After everything was planted, any debris was removed and the stones were lovingly cleaned and polished. Finally, everyone would reverently tell each resting loved one their private thoughts. After the tears. The trip home would be filled with stories and family memories.

NARRATIVE BY ELDRED BENNETT TREZISE, Part 2: The Johnny Mines

This is a narrative that covers the history of the family of Edward John Tresize and their immigration to America from England. It was originally posted on http://www.usgw.org/co/lake/trezise.htm but is not avail. May have been posted by his children.

My father, Edward, and Johnny dug a hole they called the "little Johnny" but no gold was found. They sunk another one nearby and called it the "Big Johnny Mine." They found silver but no gold. The same can be said of other miners in the area. No gold was found. The only gold that was found was in H. A. W. Taybor's mine, the Matchless Mine. He would invite famous people to Leadville because he was a senator. He would feed them a big banquet then take them into the mine and show them gold nuggets laying around. He was trying to get them to invest in his mine. One day, he had a group of investors in the mind and they were about to sign papers to buy the mine when a man came running up and said, "Looky, looky," his eyes were bulging out and he was excited. He had a gold nugget in his hand the size of a walnut. The men asked him where he found it and he replied,"right over there, and it wasn't there yesterday!" Tabor looked startled as the men turned and walked away and did not sign

Tabor's first wife did not like all of his crooked ways and divorced him. My stepmother, Helen, knew Baby Doe McCourt back in Glen Burnie, Maryland. They were girl friends at that time. They moved west together and lived in Davenport, Iowa. Helen married Macon while she lived there. They later followed the gold seekers to Colorado. First, they moved to Central City, then Breckenridge, and finally to Leadville where Macon went into the grocery business. My oldest sister, Polly, married a widower, Fred Wahl. He had a small son, Johnny. Polly and Fred opened a bakery business a few blocks away from Macon and his grocery store. When gold became the money standard in place of silver and the big bust came, they all went broke, along with everyone else. Horace Tabor married the good looking blonde McCourt woman.

Photo of Baby Doe's Home by Mo & Terry Smedley

http://tsmedley.net/images/colorado/colo8-25.jpg

Narrative By Eldred Bennett Trezise:Part 1 Coming to America

As promised I am posting this story in a serial format. The story is a collection of memories written by my Grandmother Pricilla's brother Eldred. When I was growing up my parents and I visited him on numerous occasions. He had a very impressive train set up that seemed to fill his basement and had multiple trains running at the same time. He also was an accomplished painter. For my mother and father's 40th wedding anniversary he presented them a beautiful painting of the Rocky Mountains during aspen. The painting still hangs in our home. I want to give credit to the web site this is published on as it looks like one of Uncle Eldred's children originally posted it. The credit follows the post. Please respect the copyright of this material in this and all further portions of the letters.

NARRATIVE BY ELDRED BENNETT TREZISE: cogenweb.com/lake/trezise.htm

The Trezise family originally came from Cornwall England and settled in Ishpeming, Michigan. My father, Edward John came over to the United States with a brother. He left his wife, Grace and four children in England while he searched for work and established himself in this country. The children left in England were: Elizabeth Mary (Polly) who was born 6/8/1881; Edward John who was born 12/13/1882 [should be 30 Aug 1883—SCM]; Priscilla Jane who was born 1/23/1885; and Charlotte Anne who was born 6/11/1886. A baby sister, Priscilla Anne was born on 9/2/1882 and died 12/13/1882. Edward worked for the Michigan Central Railroad. My father sent for my mother and brother and sisters and they came to Ishpeming. I was born in Ishpeming 11/23/1893. My brother, Lewis Henery was also born in Ishpeming on May 8, 1895.

Shortly after my brother Lewis was born, my father followed the Gold Rush to the Klondike in British Columbia. While there, he met a man named Johnny Brown and they became good friends. My father returned to Michigan and moved the family by covered wagon to Leadville, Colorado where it was rumored they had discovered vast veins of gold. Johnny Brown went to Leadville ahead of my father. The prospectors arrived in Leadville by the hundreds, until it became a metropolis of 14,000 people. Many were living in tents, shacks, dugouts, and lean-tos built of wood and canvas. All of the stories about the vast wealth to be found there was only half the truth. Many of the people there starved to death and died of malnutrition.

My sister, Dora Ellen was born while we were living in Adlaide Park near Alma, Colorado on March 8, 1897. Heating was done with wood and lighting with candles and oil lamps. A huge fire took place and wiped out the whole mountain side. The mountains were covered with thick timber at the time and the tents, shacks, lean-tos, sheds and houses all were consumed. The only part left was the downtown section. We lived in a house near the Matchless Mine when my brother Thomas Wesley was born on December 21, 1898.

One has only to walk through any of the six cemeteries located there and note the dates on the markers to realize how very young the people were when they passed away in those days. There were a few stories going around about someone striking it rich, including the Tabor family. If the Tabors had diamonds, jewels, mansions, and fantastic wealth, I did not see it. Horace Tabor died when I was only six years old and I do not remember a lot about him.

Things to Come - A Pioneer Story

The last few weeks have been hectic at work with training and working late but the ancestors are no respecters of our short sighted understanding of time. Even though I come home exhausted, they keep prompting me to log on and take a stroll into their world. This week was so exciting, I got a message from an Ancestry.com member who had found a story written by my granduncle Eldred B. Trezise. This is a wonderful story of an adventurer and his family that starts in Cornwall England and ends up in Kansas, by way of Michigan, the Klondike, and gold and silver mines in Leadville Colorado.
Over the next few days I will share a piece of the story in each post so you can enjoy it. I hope by doing this we may find out who posted the narrative originally. Best guess right now is one of Eldred's children. So stay tuned for stories and pictures.
Until next post, I wish you peace and blessings.
Mary Ellen

Family Reflections and Thanks

I would like to start out my post by thanking my lovely and talented granddaughter Natasha Smith for her "remodeling project" on the "Quilt". I just love it, you can see her own creation at her Blog Melted & Merged: The Smiths.

Over the past few weeks I have reconnected with one of my father's cousins, Robert Dunn. We had lost touch after my father passed about 10 years ago. We reconnected on Ancestry.com and found we each had pieces of our family story that the other did not have.

He is a very creative photographer and had put together a photo retrospective of Ben Dunn's time in the Army during WWI.

Ben was an uncle of both Robert and my father Maynard. Cousin "Bob" had also transcribed Ben's letters to his family during his time in service. These letters gave me an opportunity to get to know more about him and my great-grandparents.

I received another treasure as well, a framed marriage certificate for my great-grandparent's (Mary Ellen Ramsey and Wilbur Dunn) wedding in 1887.
As soon as I get a photo taken of it I will share it as well.

Reconnecting with long lost relatives is a great earthly reminder that our Families are Forever. Don't let procrastination and and the fear of rejection or awkwardness stop you from reaching out to others and enjoying those blessings.
Till next time....Mary Ellen

Ancestry Approved Award for Our Family Quilt

A few days ago I was awarded the "Ancestry Approved" award by another genealogy/family history blogger. I am excited and honored to be recognized and given this award. Leslie Ann Ballou of "Ancestors Live Here" is credited with creating this award. The award is given for blogs that are "full of tips and tricks as well as funny and heartwarming stories...." One of the requirements of the award is to list ten things that "surprised, humbled or enlightened them about their ancestors." So, here is my list in no particular order.

Humbling:
My paternal grandparents Manly O. Dunn and Priscilla Jane Trezise homesteaded in Northeastern Colorado and did so living in a tent during brutal winter blizzards.

My maternal grandparents Andrew Jackson Loy and Clara Jones also homesteaded outside of Otis Colorado with 3 small children. They came from Columbus Indiana because my grandfather wanted to be a "Cowboy."

My paternal 4th great grandfather Russell Shaw 1781-1864 was the founder of Russellville Ohio.

Surprising:
Russellville Ohio was a route on the Underground Railroad.

Russell and his brother's built paddle boats on the Ohio river and once transported the young Abe Lincoln down the Ohio.

We have ancestors from the "Hatfield and McCoy" families.

Enlightening:

A visiting dignatary was so impresed with my Grandmother Pricilla's work in the Methodist church in Sterling Colorado that he gave her a calf-skin robe that is now hanging in the Overland Trail Museum in Colorado.

My second great grand uncle Amberson Shaw, toured Europe with Buffalo Bill Cody's show.

Amberson and his wife Matola Bear Woman had a son who went on to become a minister on the Rosebud reservation.

Jacob Prickett, my fifth great grandfather knew George Washington and Prickett's Fort in Virginia was built around his home.

I hope this list inspires you to think about your own ancestor's stories.

First Home Memories - Week 4

The Merino "Chicken Pickers"

According to my parents, they lived in several little places in the Merino Colorado area when I was first born. They referred to them as "beet shacks" since I was born in '54 and went through the '60's, I thought that they were talking about "Beat Shacks" and those of you that remember that time period would probably think the same thing.....a place where Beat-nick's hung around. When I got older, they set me straight. In Northeastern Colorado one of the major crops were sugar beets. So during harvest, the area would fill up with people coming to work in the fields and any shack, shed or small building that could be rented was put into use. They usually had little or no heat and very rural plumbing. I know my brothers suffered through a lot of winter ailments growing up. When I came along, my mom said I was always sick and they took me into town to stay where it was warmer.

I think the old grocery store that they rented was a pretty big place compared to some of the previous locations.
It looks pretty scary in the picture but it didn't look that bad back then. There were 2 big plate glass windows in the front and two windows in the attic. My "room" was behind the window on the left. Under the window was a hand made cedar chest that my oldest brother Doug made for me in high school shop class. I still have it and it is one of my most treasured possessions. On top of the chest sat my prized stuffed animals. Most of these my brother Willard won for me at the fair's and carnivals. My favorite was a big yellow elephant.

We had a dog named "bootsie" she was a bull terrier mix and was pretty old by the time I came along. I loved to dress her up in my petty coats, scarfs and sunglasses and try and get her to dance with me. She was always very patient with me and sat still, but I think she secretly longed for the old days when she would run the fields and down to the river with my brothers. On one of the dress up days, someone snapped a color picture of us posing in front of the old Phillips console radio. Doug carried the picture in his wallet all through his time in the service and long after. By the time I saw it, it was so creased it was hard to see it.

Over the years we have driven through Merino on many occasions and taken photos of the changes. I will post some in my upcoming posts.