...Inspiration - Letter from 1814 Conclusion

Oltman Behrend Onnen, remains an unsolved mystery in my quest for family history. I do know that he was born about 1738 near Uttel, Germany, that he married Hille Catherine Badberg and that they had a least one child, Gralf Onnen who was born in 1819. At this point only his letter remains. The letter must have been a very special memento of my great grandmothers. My Father tells me that she kept the letter hidden in a small hole near the kitchen stove pipe. When she died, my grandfather retrieved the letter and it was later given to my Uncle, for safe keeping and now his sons are left to safeguard the only remaining record of this young man, who once fought against Napoleon.

And now the conclusion of the letter:

Early July 2, 1814

“The Frenchmen had blown up the bridges so we had to find some other way. The artillery fire lasted until late that night and on the 4rd the capitulated and all fighting stopped. The 4th, 5th and the 6th we stayed in our camp and on the 7th we had church services to thank the Lord that he so tenderly protected us. The theme of the sermon was: What would it prosper the people if they conquer the world and lost their soul. We sang the hymn: Praise and Thanks to God.

“We camped on the outskirts of Paris until the 10th, then we marched through Paris and beyond it, we ran into a little fort. We surrounded it from the 11th to the 15th when they flew the white flag and surrendered.

“That evening we remained in a little village between Paris and the fort. All the people had left their homes and we took quarters in them. We got plenty to eat and we lived as well as at home in Ostfriesland. Some say we are going to march toward the border of Holland or even to Ostfriesland, may God grant this to be so.

“Well, this is all I know to report now, and you dear parents, brothers and sisters and all friends and acquaintances, stay well.

“May the Lord protect you. I remain with high esteem, Your obedient son until death.
Oltman Behrend Onnen”

For most of us geneaholics it only takes that one look into the past to spark an interest in genealogy and the history of our families. This letter certainly provided that spark for me and continues to fuel the flame.

...Inspiration Continued – 1814 Letter Continued

General William Frederich Bülow
(This image is in the Public Domain
Because its copyright has expired)

“We bombarded Napoleon's Coach”

Oltman Behrend Onnen's letter to his family in Ostfriesland, Germany appears to have been written over the course of two months, beginning June 15th and ending around July 10, 1814. This is the second part of Oltman's letter and begins on June 19, 1814, somewhere near Beaumont, Belgium.

June 19, 1814
“On the 19th we again pursued the Frenchmen, at one point we bombarded Napoleon's coach which he deserted shortly before. We found a number of treasures in it. We marched the entire day until 11 o'clock and slept again under the sky being pretty hungry. The Frenchmen had everything pretty well consumed. On we went the next day the 20th all day and on through the night. The name of the town where we finally camped was, I think, Beaumont.

“On the 21st we surround the fortified city of Vienne, there was a strong resistance, but a lucky shot from our artillery hit the French powder magazine so that the fortification blew up and we had the fort in our hands.

“On the 22nd we marched on again until late at night. The 23rd was a day of rest, but there was not much rest since it rained all day, so that we were wet to the skin. At 10 in the morning of the 24th we went on and the next days to the 26th, we hardly encountered any enemies. The 27th we got to Compiegne here is where Bonaparte had his castle. When we got to this town the Frenchmen tried hard to throw us back, but they were unsuccessful. On the 28th we got to a town, where the enemy had hidden like snipers, but we pushed them on and our cavalry chased on and captured many of them, also two cannons which were drawn by mules.

“On the 29th we were only three hours away from Paris. On the 30th we rested until 10 o'clock that night, but then followed a 36 hour march to and around Paris. It was so hot we could hardly stand it.

“Early, July 2nd and again we were called to the weapons, and our general told us, “Boys, you had a bad day yesterday, but today we have to be especially brave. We have to take Paris or we are lost.”

Compiegne Castle

Join me tomorrow for the conclusion of Oltman Behrend Onnen's letter of 1814.

Where does your inspiration come from? Continued

“During the night we
slept among the dead”

Like a window suddenly blown open during a storm, these words written by my great great great grandfather 195 years ago, drew me in to the world of genealogy. My Uncle had discovered the letter in some papers that my Grandparents had. Of course, not being able to read German made the letter with a date of 1814 intriguing to say the least. A cousin was able to transcribe the letter. Behrend Oltman Onnen's letter revealed the horrors and sadness of the war with Napoleon's French Army. Behrend was 21 years old when he wrote this letter to his family in Ostfriesland, Germany.

1814
“Dear Parents, Brothers and Sisters,

"Now I want to tell you about our march from Wangrenie to Paris. On the morning of June 15th at seven o'clock we marched against the Frenchmen and there was artillery fire all around us and we could notice the Frenchmen coming closer to us and toward evening we were very close together, we had our quarters under the stars that night. This was the first day.”

“On the 16th of June in the morning at 5 o'clock we marched beyond the village where the battle took place, in the afternoon at 2 o'clock we marched to the village and got into fighting immediately and came so close to each other that we fought them by hand and took them prisoners.

“Bullets flew like hail from heaven and a person should think it impossible that anybody would survive, but the hands of the Almighty can protect and save you. Toward evening we were really in a mess, we were of the opinion reinforcements would move up, but instead they were Frenchmen. It was impossible to retreat, but fortunately we got out of the squeeze. We dispersed in groups of six and seven men. On the 17th we got together again and there were not too many missing.

“On the 18th the shooting began again and in the afternoon at three o'clock we got orders to march on, There was heavy artillery fire and it was toward evening when we reached the real battlefield.

“Here General Bülow got behind Bonaparte's army and soon all shooting stopped. We marched over battlefields which were a terrible sight, left and right there were wounded screaming and shouting, and dead ones not by the tens or twenties but by the hundreds and thousands.

“During the night we slept among the dead ones and I wondered whose heart was not touched, hearing and seeing such lamenting and sorrow. I have witnessed it and seen it with my own eyes.” (Letter to be continued in my next post.)

I wonder how many years it took him to forget the horrible things he witnessed or if he ever did.
Join me again when the letter continues on to the events of June 19, 1814.

Where does your inspiration come from?

I've often wondered what in the world would possess someone to want to dangle off the side of a rock cliff, relying solely on the strength of a skinny rope attached to hooks that have been pounded into solid rock to keep them safe. Just looking at photographs taken from those climbs makes my stomach do flip flops. What's their inspiration? Some say it's the adrenaline rush they get during the climb. For some it's conquering the mountain, as if they were slaying a dragon. For some it's just proving that they can do it.

I'm not “into” all that danger, maybe it's because I can remember how bad it hurt just falling off my bike as a kid, but I can relate to the adrenaline rush. Back in the '70's, when I was still young and dumb, I climbed one of the Flatiron Mountains behind our house in Boulder. The only reason I did it was to prove to my brothers, who had climbed it many times, that their little sister could do it too! These days I get woozy just climbing my step-stool!

We are all inspired by different people and things throughout our life time. My neighbor and I have been carrying on what we like to call "our midnight chats". Lately those conversations have been about the people that have inspired us to be so passionate about family history.

Was there one person or some artifact that inspired you to become passionate about genealogy?
There was for me. Come back and visit me when I share my first inspiration into the world of my ancestors.............

The Ties That Bind - Nominated in Family Tree Magazine for Top 40 Genealogy Blogs

Family Tree Magazine is running a contest for the top 40 Best Genealogy Blogs in 10 different categories. There are over 130 bloggers competing in the competition and they are all outstanding and well worth reading. Footnote Maven has done a wonderful job outlining all

the blogs and categories in the competition on her blog, so if you aren't familiar with all the nominated blogs, you'll find a very helpful list of all the nominees and links to them at footnoteMaven's blog.

I am honored to be one of the nominees in the "Personal/Family" category 10. To be nominated with so many fabulous writers is more than I could have ever hoped for when I began my blog last December! Thank you to all my readers for this honor - I'm on cloud nine!

You can vote as often as you like here and you'll notice that you can vote for more than one choice in eight out of the ten categories.

Saturday Night Fun with Randy - Favorite Music

"It's Saturday Night - time for some Genealogy, and Family History, Fun!Here is your assignment for the evening - if you wish to participate in the Fun (cue the Mission Impossible music):1. What is your all-time favorite song? Yep, number 1. It's hard to choose sometimes. If you made your favorite all-time Top 40 music selections, what would be #1?2. Tell us about it. Why is it a favorite? Do you have special memories attached to this song? 3. Write your own blog post about it, or make a comment on this post or on the Facebook entry." Here's mine:

Well Randy has come up with another idea to tax our brains! It's very difficult to pick my number one song of all time. There are so many categories that my favorites fall into - but this evening I choose one that brings back happy times from my childhood. Johnny Horton's - The Battle of New Orleans. I had a small turntable that was in a box much like a suitcase. I don't know what ever happened to it. I'm actually surprised that I don't still have it! ha ha - I was a silly little 7 year old when the song first came out in 1959. My girlfriends and I would sit on the stoop and play our 45 records all afternoon. Maybe some of you don't remember 45's? We must have played that recording a gazillion times. We thought it was so so funny when Johnny would sing - "we grabbed and alligator and powdered his behind" - of course at 7 we thought that meant they spanked the gator. I still have that old 45 - those were the days my friend - those were the days.

You can listen to the song by clicking on this link to YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxB42cjHTGg&feature=related

"Searching - The Habben/Ufkes Families"

The publisher has made all 320 pages of my family history book titled "Searching - The Habben/Ufkes Families" available for viewing. I hope you'll take a moment to glance at all the beautiful photographs of my ancestors from the 1800 and early 1900's. Just click on the "Searching" preview badge to the right on this page.

If you are wanting someone to put your family history and photo's into a quality bound book keep me in mind.

You Can't Get Rid of That - Continued

I also brought home a small box filled with goodies. Most of the things in the box were just little mementos of vacations that my folks had taken. A couple itineraries and hotel confirmations from the 1980s and'90's, and some post cards they picked up on their travels. But, there were also several old old pairs of glasses. Mom had always planned to make a shadow box to display the glasses. But, like all of us, there always are so many projects that we want to do that we just can't get them all done. (Maybe I'll have to do that now.) I thought of Footnote Maven when I was looking at the glasses as I know how much she loves the “ladies in glasses”.

One of the pairs was in a little wooden shipping box. The wires for the ear piece is so thin it's amazing that they lasted. The glasses were packed in tissue paper in the box and as I removed the paper here was an envelope marked Riggs Optical Company, Manufacturer's Jobbers Importers. Apparently the glasses had originally been shipped to a Dr. N. T. Johnston in Upland, Nebraska for my Great Grandmother. I tried to do a little research on both Dr. Johnston and the Riggs Optical Company but haven't found anything so far. Another pair is in, what I thought was a stiff cardboard or plastic type tube case. But, when my Hubby was examining it he seemed to think the case was made from dried leather. The third pair of glasses has round lenses and the frames appear to be made of sirocco.

There was my great grandpa's money purse – and yes I checked it to see if maybe my Great Grandpa had left any money in it – and there was! Don't get excited, it was just a penny – but the date on it was 1919. I'm not sure but it looks like this penny might fetch as much as 14 cents. It only took 90 years for it to be worth 14 times what it was when it was minted.
There was a small little envelope and in it was something only a Mother would keep. A note from me to her written when I was about 7 years old.

Oh dear, what drama!

And lastly a box filled with my Dad's Air Force uniform ribbons and pins. My Dad retired from the Air Force in 1962 with 21 years of service. I can still visualize his dress uniform with all the ribbons on it and the “U.S.” pins on the lapels. A little blue box held his World War 2 Victory Medal which I had never seen before. Oh dear, where did all those years go?

I brought home a lot of things that I probably didn't need and a few things that are part of my heritage. Someday, when my stepdaughters are cleaning out all the things I no longer need, I'm sure they will wonder, why in the world I've kept so many things. But, I'll bet they will haul them all home to their houses the same as me – and they will say – You can't get rid of that! – I'll take it home with me.............

You Can't Get Rid of That! I'll just take it home with me.

Last year my folks decided it was time to downsize. So the process began – and I do mean process! During the course of sixty-seven years of marriage you are bound to have quiet a collection of things. And believe me when I tell you my folks had a lot. The storage room shelves were filled with gadgets – some given by us kids at Christmas time as the latest and greatest new thing. Great if you can figure out how to use it! Ha ha! There was an array of cookware used only during the holiday – after all how often does one use a casserole bowl big enough for a 20 pound turkey or a salad bowl big enough to hold 6 heads of lettuce? But, when you need it, that stuff comes in real handy. Then there was the shelves filled with beautiful Christmas decorations and craft supplies. Oh my – what to keep? What to surrender?

Then there was my Dad's office where every drawer was filled with supplies. I'm telling you – enough to open his own office supply store. Boxes and boxes of pencils of all types, index cards and paper clips – oh my. I won't even try to tell you about his supply of tools – but does anyone need an electrical current detector manufactured somewhere around 1940?

Upstairs there were blankets and linens galore. Towels that I remember using when I lived at home 40 years ago – but, really still in good condition. Did I mention that my Mom is meticulous? I think it comes from being raised during the depression when what you had was so hard to come by – so it was treated very carefully. If something had a small tear it was repaired before it was ruined completely. Because you may not be able to get another.

Well Mom spent literally months sorting things. The things she wanted to keep were packed and the things that she intended to get rid of were sorted into various piles. Craft supplies to the Church, and some for friends that could use them in one pile. Blankets, towels and cookware to be donated to charity in another pile.

As the move to their new town home grew closer I started going over to help her pack. And that's when it happened. One look at the “get rid of piles” and my attitude of - “You can't get rid of that – I'll just take it home” kicked in. It all went kind of like this:

“Mom – you can't get rid of that pan! After all it's the pan you've made our traditional Christmas cookies in for the last 50 some years”. Oh I can just taste them now – a delectable maraschino cherry cookie bar with coconut – I'm telling you – just to die for. I remember my brother would find the jar of maraschino cherries in the fridge and scarf them all down, so she would have to hide them. The cookies are one of those things that unless you have them at Christmas time – well, it's just not Christmas! She kept the pan.

Then there were the blankets. “Mom – some of these blankets are brand new – and aren't those over there ones that are hand made?” And she would answer - “Yes, Terri, but I don't need them and I have no use for them.” To which I would respond - “Well we can't get rid of those – I'll just take them home with me. After all some of the hand made quilts have pieces of our pajamas in them – you know the ones – flannel with cowboys or ballerina's on them. Not only that but they were made by my Grandma – that makes it a heirloom. Towels? - Oh don't get rid

of all of those old towels – we can always use those when we wash the car. I'll just take those home with me. That big pile of throw rugs – well I could use some rugs – I'll just take those home with me. The boxes of mechanical pencils and other office supplies – Yep you guessed it – I took those home too!

Do you see the pattern that is emerging here? Every time I would bring another load of things home, my understanding hubby, would just shake his head and ask - “Now where are you going to put that? I really hadn't thought that far. My own store room is already bursting at the seams with stuff. There are boxes in there that I don't even remember having – but there's always the possibility that I will want to use again. Right? Come on, agree with me! Right? In 20 years or so the grand-kids will probably need it for their first place. Well – maybe?!

I also brought home a box full of special............

To be continued...

Saturday Night Fun with Randy - Trading Cards

It's Saturday Night - time for some Genealogy Fun! Each week, a number of devoted Genea-Musings readers accept a Mission Possible - if they choose to. We have had over 60 entries some weeks!For this weeks challenge, please go read Sheri Fenley's blog (The Educated Genealogist) post Trading Cards, Get Your Trading Cards and then:1) Make your own Trading Card(s) on http://bighugelabs.com/deck.php . It's easy to do, but you need a head shot photo of your subject.2) Post your Trading Card on your web site, your blog, or on your Facebook account (or some other account where you can upload a JPG file). 3) Can you think of other uses for these trading cards?

This was great fun!