I was looking for information on one of my 9th great-grandfathers - Thomas Fish who died in 1687 in Portsmouth RI - and ran across this work, which was apparently written by a descendant of Thomas Fish - a man named Williston Fish, who wrote it in 1898 for Harper's Monthly magazine. The work is online at http://jrm.phys.ksu.edu/Genealogy/Fish/GenealogyOfThomasFish.txt.
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A LAST WILL
I, Charles Lounsbury, being of sound and disposing mind and memory, do here-by make and publish this my last will and testament, in order, as justly as may be, to distribute my interest in the world among succeeding men.
That part of my interest which is known in law and recognized in the sheep-bound volumes as my property, being inconsiderable and of no account, I make no disposition of in this my last will. My right to live, being but a life estate, is not at my disposal, but these things excepted, all else in the world I now proceed to devise and bequeath.
Item; I give to good fathers and mothers, in trust for their children, all good little words of praise and encouragement, and all Quaint pet names and endearments, and I charge said parents to use them justly, but generously, as the needs of their children shall require.
Item; I leave to children exclusively, but only for the term of their childhood, all and every, the flowers of the field and the blossoms of the woods, with the right to play among them freely according to the customs of children, warning them at the same time against thistles and thorns. And I devise to children the banks of the brooks and the golden sands beneath the waters thereof, and the odors of the willows that dip therein, and the white clouds that float high over the giant trees. And I leave the children the long, long days to be merry in, in a thousand ways, and the nights and the train of the Milky Way to wonder at, but subject, nevertheless, to the rights hereinafter given to lovers.
Item; I devise to boys jointly, all the useful, idle fields and commons where ball may be played, all pleasant waters where one may swim, all snow-clad hills where one may coast, and all streams and ponds where one may fish, or where, when grim winter comes, one may skate, to hold the same for the period of their boyhood. And all meadows with the clover blossoms and butterflies thereof; and echoes and strange noises, and all distant places which may be visited, together with the adventures there found. And I give to said boys each his own place at the fireside at night, with all pictures that may be seen in the burning wood, to enjoy without let or hindrance and without any incumbrance of care.
Item; To lovers I devise their imaginary world, with whatever they may need, as the stars of the sky, the red roses by the wall, the bloom of the hawthorne, the sweet strains of music, and aught else by which they may desire to figure to each other the lastingness and beauty of their love.
Item; To young men jointly, I Bequeath and devise all boisterous, inspiring sports and rivalry and I give to them the disdain of weakness, and undaunted confidence in their own strength. Though they are rude, I leave to them the power to make lasting friendships and of possessing companions, and to them exclusively I give all merry songs and brave choruses to sing with lusty voices.
Item; And to those who are no longer children or youths or lovers, I leave memory; and bequeath to them the volumes of the poems of Burns and Shakespeare and of other poets, if there be others, to the end that they may live the old days over again, freely and fully without tithe or diminution.
Item; To our loved ones with snowy crowns, I bequeath the happiness of old age, the love and gratitude of their children until they fall asleep.
=========================
Isn't that beautiful? Although written in the fashion of the time, the words still convey their meanings.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Della's Journal - Week 22 (May 28 to June 4, 1929)
This is Installment 22 of the Journal of Della (Smith) Carringer, my great-grandmother, who resided at 2115 30th Street in San Diego in 1929.
The "players" and "setting" are described here. Pictures of some of the players are here. Last week's Journal entry is here.
Here is Week 22:
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Tuesday, May 28: Myrtle and Aunt L[ibbie] went home this A.M. We had a nice visit. Ma helped upstairs. A[ustin] & I cleaned all day.
Wednesday, May 29: A[ustin] painted stairs on North. Pd Mrs. Chapman 50 cents for washing two pads & 1 Table cloth. Cleaned up stairs.
Thursday, May 30: Lyle's went to country. We cleaned upstairs, ready for painting kitchen.
Friday, May 31: We cleaned. Have floors scrubbed.
Saturday, June 1 (pleasant): Ed over, mowed lawns. Emily took me out to Ma's house. Mr. Smith moved out. I brought in dirty clothes. Gave Ed $10.00.
Sunday, June 2 (pleasant, warmer): Lyle's worked at home. He trimmed hedge & trees. Took Ma out to her place this morning, she took her lunch, ate with Mrs. Snyder, then called on Mrs. Van Beeber. Lyle's brought her home. Ma met the man who has bought the place next to her. A[ustin] finished cleaning kitchen & Glewing (??).
Monday, June 3: Man came to paint kitchen, Mr. McClure. A & I worked at painting window sills & cleaning. A painted front steps.
Tuesday, June 4: Man varnished floor. A took treatment. I went to town, pd on Bldg & Loan $65, deposited $30.71 2nd Lyle gave us, 90 cents on my Accident Policy. Emily took Ma out to her house, she cleaned. Mr. Van Beeber brought her home. Zack called, is going East. Mrs. Garlock & his sister called.
---------------------------------------------
Well, it looks like spring cleaning and painting is done. There was no mention of Memorial Day on the 30th. However, Lyle had the day off because they went to the country. Austin's vacation is almost over - he is 75 at this time and is still painting, cleaning, etc. Abby (Vaux) Smith is 87 and is still cleaning house. Amazing.
The "players" and "setting" are described here. Pictures of some of the players are here. Last week's Journal entry is here.
Here is Week 22:
-------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, May 28: Myrtle and Aunt L[ibbie] went home this A.M. We had a nice visit. Ma helped upstairs. A[ustin] & I cleaned all day.
Wednesday, May 29: A[ustin] painted stairs on North. Pd Mrs. Chapman 50 cents for washing two pads & 1 Table cloth. Cleaned up stairs.
Thursday, May 30: Lyle's went to country. We cleaned upstairs, ready for painting kitchen.
Friday, May 31: We cleaned. Have floors scrubbed.
Saturday, June 1 (pleasant): Ed over, mowed lawns. Emily took me out to Ma's house. Mr. Smith moved out. I brought in dirty clothes. Gave Ed $10.00.
Sunday, June 2 (pleasant, warmer): Lyle's worked at home. He trimmed hedge & trees. Took Ma out to her place this morning, she took her lunch, ate with Mrs. Snyder, then called on Mrs. Van Beeber. Lyle's brought her home. Ma met the man who has bought the place next to her. A[ustin] finished cleaning kitchen & Glewing (??).
Monday, June 3: Man came to paint kitchen, Mr. McClure. A & I worked at painting window sills & cleaning. A painted front steps.
Tuesday, June 4: Man varnished floor. A took treatment. I went to town, pd on Bldg & Loan $65, deposited $30.71 2nd Lyle gave us, 90 cents on my Accident Policy. Emily took Ma out to her house, she cleaned. Mr. Van Beeber brought her home. Zack called, is going East. Mrs. Garlock & his sister called.
---------------------------------------------
Well, it looks like spring cleaning and painting is done. There was no mention of Memorial Day on the 30th. However, Lyle had the day off because they went to the country. Austin's vacation is almost over - he is 75 at this time and is still painting, cleaning, etc. Abby (Vaux) Smith is 87 and is still cleaning house. Amazing.
Using Ancestry's "Learning Center" is Frustrating
One of the FREE parts of http://www.ancestry.com/ is the "Learning Center." Here you can browse or search through thousands of articles written by genealogy experts over the past 10 years or so. Richard Eastman, Juliana Smith, Michael John Neill, Kip Sperry, and others have articles in this compendium. These articles and research tips appeared in the Ancestry Daily or Weekly News, Ancestry Magazine, etc.
Due to the volume of articles, it is necessary to use the Search box to find something on your topic of interest.
However, the Search logic in the Learning Center does not work as I expected it to. It is very poor in its' present form. For instance:
* A search with two words results in more hits than with either of the words. For instance, a search for "20th" results in 158 hits. But a search for "20th century" results in 1,511 hits.
* Putting search words in quotes to find words next to each other (e.g. "20th century") results in the same number of hits as when you input the words without quotes.
Frankly, that renders the search pretty well useless, doesn't it? I will take the time to search the 158 hits (at least to see the titles of the articles) but there is no way I will look through 1,511 listings.
It appears that the default search criteria is OR, not AND or NOT. I tried putting in "20th AND century" and got more hits than "20th century."
There is also the Ancestry Library at http://www.ancestry.com/learn/library/archive.aspx. Here the articles are broken down into categories. In the "How To" section, there are 103 pages of listings with 2,564 articles. There is a Search box here also, and you can choose to search by "Any Word" "Author" "Title" "Exact Phrase" "Free Text" etc. I tried all of those for "20th century" and got the same number of hits - 1,515! So that Search box doesn't work as advertised - they all work as if you requested "Free Text."
How frustrating! Too bad. This library archive is a marvelous resource. But the Search capability is badly broken. How can we get it fixed?
UPDATE 5/29, 10:30 PM: Miriam Midkiff has commented that you can Google search a specific web site. For instance, for the "20th century" exact search I wanted to perform, I should use ["20th century" site:http://www.ancestry.com/learn/ ] in the Google search box to search that particular web site (and all the pages associated with it).
I did that, and there were only 21 hits for "20th century" - that's more like it! I had heard that this could be done, but didn't think of it.
I think that this points up the fact that there is a wealth of knowledge in any genealogy community, and if members of that community are willing to take the time and help others, the benefit to all will be tremendous.
Thank you, Miriam!
UPDATE 5/30, 9 AM: Kathi at the Ancestor Search Blog suggested using the Google search string [ site:ancestry.com/learn/ 20th century ] to perform the search. She demonstrated the number of hits for each search word, the combinations, and added a few extra terms for good measure.
Thanks, Kathi! I keep learning things...
Due to the volume of articles, it is necessary to use the Search box to find something on your topic of interest.
However, the Search logic in the Learning Center does not work as I expected it to. It is very poor in its' present form. For instance:
* A search with two words results in more hits than with either of the words. For instance, a search for "20th" results in 158 hits. But a search for "20th century" results in 1,511 hits.
* Putting search words in quotes to find words next to each other (e.g. "20th century") results in the same number of hits as when you input the words without quotes.
Frankly, that renders the search pretty well useless, doesn't it? I will take the time to search the 158 hits (at least to see the titles of the articles) but there is no way I will look through 1,511 listings.
It appears that the default search criteria is OR, not AND or NOT. I tried putting in "20th AND century" and got more hits than "20th century."
There is also the Ancestry Library at http://www.ancestry.com/learn/library/archive.aspx. Here the articles are broken down into categories. In the "How To" section, there are 103 pages of listings with 2,564 articles. There is a Search box here also, and you can choose to search by "Any Word" "Author" "Title" "Exact Phrase" "Free Text" etc. I tried all of those for "20th century" and got the same number of hits - 1,515! So that Search box doesn't work as advertised - they all work as if you requested "Free Text."
How frustrating! Too bad. This library archive is a marvelous resource. But the Search capability is badly broken. How can we get it fixed?
UPDATE 5/29, 10:30 PM: Miriam Midkiff has commented that you can Google search a specific web site. For instance, for the "20th century" exact search I wanted to perform, I should use ["20th century" site:http://www.ancestry.com/learn/ ] in the Google search box to search that particular web site (and all the pages associated with it).
I did that, and there were only 21 hits for "20th century" - that's more like it! I had heard that this could be done, but didn't think of it.
I think that this points up the fact that there is a wealth of knowledge in any genealogy community, and if members of that community are willing to take the time and help others, the benefit to all will be tremendous.
Thank you, Miriam!
UPDATE 5/30, 9 AM: Kathi at the Ancestor Search Blog suggested using the Google search string [ site:ancestry.com/learn/ 20th century ] to perform the search. She demonstrated the number of hits for each search word, the combinations, and added a few extra terms for good measure.
Thanks, Kathi! I keep learning things...
Aunt Geraldine's treasures
I posted a month ago about the death of my dear aunt Geraldine (Seaver) Remley. She was the last living sibling of my father. I asked my cousin, who went to help sort out her things, to keep an eye out for family records, papers, photos, scrapbooks, etc. that Gerry's husband's family did not want to keep. I said that if no one else wants to sort these things out, that I would be happy to do it and share as much as I can on a CDROM at Christmas time.
I got a good look at the collection of papers, photos and other things when I was there for the service on May 4-5. I brought a few inches of stuff home in my suitcase, and my cousin kindly boxed up the rest of it and sent it out via UPS.
I spent part of Monday looking through it, and there are some treasures, including:
I got a good look at the collection of papers, photos and other things when I was there for the service on May 4-5. I brought a few inches of stuff home in my suitcase, and my cousin kindly boxed up the rest of it and sent it out via UPS.
I spent part of Monday looking through it, and there are some treasures, including:
- Gerry kept a diary in 1934, 1935 and 1936 (when she was age 17, 18 and 19).
- Gerry kept a diary when she came to San Diego in July 1942 to attend my parents wedding.
- There is a photo album with many black and white small family photos, and then collections in envelopes for each of her sibling's families.
- There is her Master's thesis.
- She wrote "pomes" to celebrate notable family birthdays and anniversaries - the papers include rough drafts of several of them
- There is a gold case with tintype photos of a man and a woman. I have no clue who they are, and need a photo dating expert to help me out. I will post these photos soon.
- The death certificate and autopsy report of her mother, Alma Bessie (Richmond) Seaver, who died in 1962.
- The deed to the Seaver burial plot in Evergreen Cemetery in Leominster MA where Aunt Gerry now rests
Monday, May 28, 2007
Veteran Admin. Nationwide Gravesite Locator
Arlene Eakle posted about military gravesites and cemetery research today, including the Veterans Administration Nationwide Gravesite Locator. Her post provides excellent tips on where to find cemetery records, plus reasons to use the NGL web site if you are looking for the graves of military veterans and their spouses.
However, the web site address that Arlene gave for the Nationwide Gravesite Locator was wrong - the correct URL is http://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/j2ee/servlet/NGL_v1.
The web site says:
"Search for burial locations of veterans and their family members in VA National Cemeteries, state veterans cemeteries, various other military and Department of Interior cemeteries, and for veterans buried in private cemeteries when the grave is marked with a government grave marker.
"The Nationwide Gravesite Locator includes burial records from many sources. These sources provide varied data; some searches may contain less information than others. Information on veterans buried in private cemeteries was collected for the purpose of furnishing government grave markers, and we do not have information available for burials prior to 1997."
This information includes all military markers in all 112 military cemeteries, and to private cemeteries since 1997. The database doesn't include data on military markers placed in private cemeteries before 1997.
I put SEAVER in the surname search box and was rewarded with 120 hits, including my mother and father, and my uncle and his wife.
Read all of Arlene's post - she has good advice for finding cemetery records.
However, the web site address that Arlene gave for the Nationwide Gravesite Locator was wrong - the correct URL is http://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/j2ee/servlet/NGL_v1.
The web site says:
"Search for burial locations of veterans and their family members in VA National Cemeteries, state veterans cemeteries, various other military and Department of Interior cemeteries, and for veterans buried in private cemeteries when the grave is marked with a government grave marker.
"The Nationwide Gravesite Locator includes burial records from many sources. These sources provide varied data; some searches may contain less information than others. Information on veterans buried in private cemeteries was collected for the purpose of furnishing government grave markers, and we do not have information available for burials prior to 1997."
This information includes all military markers in all 112 military cemeteries, and to private cemeteries since 1997. The database doesn't include data on military markers placed in private cemeteries before 1997.
I put SEAVER in the surname search box and was rewarded with 120 hits, including my mother and father, and my uncle and his wife.
Read all of Arlene's post - she has good advice for finding cemetery records.
My Ancestors who served
On Memorial Day, we honor those who have served our country and have given their lives so that we can remain free.
My known ancestors who have served in the military since the Revolutionary War include:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1. World War II
* Frederick W. Seaver (1911-1983, my father) served in the United States Navy aboard the USS Halford. The picture is from 1944.
--------------------------------
2. World War I
My known ancestors who have served in the military since the Revolutionary War include:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1. World War II
* Frederick W. Seaver (1911-1983, my father) served in the United States Navy aboard the USS Halford. The picture is from 1944.
--------------------------------
2. World War I
* Lyle L. Carringer (1891-1976, my grandfather) served in the United States Marines in San Diego. The picture is from 1917.
----------------------------------------------------------------
3. Civil War
* Isaac Seaver (1823-1901, my great-great-grandfather) of Leominster MA, a blacksmith, served in the Union Army (Civil war Pension File).
-----------------------------------------------------------------
4. War of 1812
* James Bell (1777-1836) of Albany NY and later Henderson NY, served in the NY Militia.
* Amos Underhill (1772-1865) of Aurora NY served in the NY Militia.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
5. Revolutionary War
* Martin Carringer (1758-1835) of Mercer County PA (RevWaw Pension file)
* Philip Row (1752-1817) of Hunterdon County NJ (RevWar Pension File)
* Peter Putman (1760-1835) of NJ and Yates County NY (RevWar Pension file)
* Stephen Feather (17??-1804) of NJ and Westmoreland County PA
* Rudolf Spengler (1738-1811) of York County PA
* Philip Jacob King (1738-1792) of York County PA
* Burgess Metcalf (1741-1816) of Piermont NH
* Isaac Buck (1757-1846) of Sterling MA (RevWar Pension File)
* Thomas Dill (1755-1830) of Eastham MA (RevWar Pension File)
* Joseph Champlin (1758-1850) of S. Kingston RI (RevWar Pension File)
* Norman Seaver (1734-1787) of Westminster MA
* Benjamin Seaver (1757-1816) of Westminster MA
* Zachariah Hildreth (1728-1784) of Westford MA
* Zachariah Hildreth (1754-1828) of Townsend MA
* Amos Plimpton (1735-1808) of Medfield MA
* David Kirby (1740-1832) of Westport MA
* Joseph Oatley (1756-1815) of S. Kingston RI.
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I thank God for these men, the families that nurtured them, the wives that supported them, and the children who learned from them the importance of service to their country.
May God continue to bless the United States of America.
Memorial day cards
I found these hiding on my hard drive - I wonder where I found them?
I'm feeling a bit sentimental, and thankful, today.
I'm feeling a bit sentimental, and thankful, today.
Honoring our heroes
1. My country,' tis of thee,
sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing;
land where my fathers died,
land of the pilgrims' pride,
from every mountainside let freedom ring!
sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing;
land where my fathers died,
land of the pilgrims' pride,
from every mountainside let freedom ring!
....
2. My native country, thee,
land of the noble free, thy name I love;
I love thy rocks and rills,
thy woods and templed hills;
my heart with rapture thrills, like that above.
....
land of the noble free, thy name I love;
I love thy rocks and rills,
thy woods and templed hills;
my heart with rapture thrills, like that above.
....
3. Let music swell the breeze,
and ring from all the trees sweet freedom's song;
let mortal tongues awake;
let all that breathe partake;
let rocks their silence break, the sound prolong.
.....
and ring from all the trees sweet freedom's song;
let mortal tongues awake;
let all that breathe partake;
let rocks their silence break, the sound prolong.
.....
4. Our fathers' God, to thee,
author of liberty, to thee we sing;
long may our land be bright
with freedom's holy light;
protect us by thy might, great God, our King.
author of liberty, to thee we sing;
long may our land be bright
with freedom's holy light;
protect us by thy might, great God, our King.
....
.....
.....
1. O beautiful for spacious skies,
for amber waves of grain;
for purple mountain majesties
above the fruited plain!
America! America! God shed his grace on thee,
and crown thy good with brotherhood
from sea to shining sea.
for amber waves of grain;
for purple mountain majesties
above the fruited plain!
America! America! God shed his grace on thee,
and crown thy good with brotherhood
from sea to shining sea.
.....
2. O beautiful for heroes proved
in liberating strife,
who more than self their country loved,
and mercy more than life!
America! America! May God thy gold refine,
till all success be nobleness,
and every gain divine.
.....
in liberating strife,
who more than self their country loved,
and mercy more than life!
America! America! May God thy gold refine,
till all success be nobleness,
and every gain divine.
.....
3. O beautiful for patriot dream
that sees beyond the years
thine alabaster cities gleam,
undimmed by human tears!
America! America! God mend thine every flaw,
confirm thy soul in self-control,
thy liberty in law.
that sees beyond the years
thine alabaster cities gleam,
undimmed by human tears!
America! America! God mend thine every flaw,
confirm thy soul in self-control,
thy liberty in law.
-----------------------------------------------------
...
Click the links to see the lyrics and hear the songs.
..
Say a prayer, shed a tear, and be very grateful to those who have served our country with honor and sacrifice.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
World War II Army Enlistment Records
I've been browsing through the Ancestry.com Military Records trying to find NEW databases that might contain meaningful records. One of the databases is the World War II Army Enlistment Records for 1938 to 1946. There is a treasure trove of information in them. I don't have any close family members who enlisted in the Army, so I chose one of the Seaver men on the list.
Here is what is in these records (some of the information may vary depending on rank):
--------------------------------------------------
Name: Guy R Seaver Jr
Birth Year: 1918
Race: White, citizen (White)
Nativity State or Country: Vermont
State: Vermont
County or City: Orange
Enlistment Date: 27 May 1942
Enlistment State: Vermont
Enlistment City: Rutland
Branch: Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA
Branch Code: Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA
Grade: Private
Grade Code: Private
Term of Enlistment: Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law
Component: Selectees (Enlisted Men)
Source: Civil Life
Education: 1 year of high school
Marital Status: Single, without dependents
Height: 70
Weight: 166
----------------------------------------------------
You don't get to see the actual document. Ancestry has put all of the data into an index and you see what they have transcribed. There is a lot of information there. Unfortunately, only the birth year is provided, but you do get a height (in inches) and a weight (in pounds).
This is one more set of very useful data for 20th century research.
Here is what is in these records (some of the information may vary depending on rank):
--------------------------------------------------
Name: Guy R Seaver Jr
Birth Year: 1918
Race: White, citizen (White)
Nativity State or Country: Vermont
State: Vermont
County or City: Orange
Enlistment Date: 27 May 1942
Enlistment State: Vermont
Enlistment City: Rutland
Branch: Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA
Branch Code: Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA
Grade: Private
Grade Code: Private
Term of Enlistment: Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law
Component: Selectees (Enlisted Men)
Source: Civil Life
Education: 1 year of high school
Marital Status: Single, without dependents
Height: 70
Weight: 166
----------------------------------------------------
You don't get to see the actual document. Ancestry has put all of the data into an index and you see what they have transcribed. There is a lot of information there. Unfortunately, only the birth year is provided, but you do get a height (in inches) and a weight (in pounds).
This is one more set of very useful data for 20th century research.
The Creative Gene? Nope, not me!
The topic for the next Carnival of Genealogy is "Who inherited the 'Creative Gene' in your family?" Frankly, I know that it wasn't me. At least by the definition of painter, musician, poet, writer, wood carver, interior designer, calligrapher, knitter, singer. But my extended family does have most of those talents in the last few generations. Let's see:
1) Painter - my great-grandmother Della (Smith) Carringer painted pictures, and my great-grandfather Charlie Auble was a "painter" according to his obituary (although I doubt that he was an artist!).
2) Musician - I think the winner here is my grandmother, Bessie (Richmond) Seaver, who played the organ and piano at churches all over the Leominster MA Are between 1900 and 1960. She apparently played by ear and entertained at family gatherings to great fanfare.
3) Poet - I don't know any relative with a bent for iambic pentameter or any other sort of rhyming - perhaps my grandmother Emily (Auble) Carringer who liked to recite poems, but not of her own making. My daughter has written some verse for special occasions and to express her own feelings, especially in happy and sad times.
4) Writer - Perhaps Della (Smith) Carringer - at least she wrote a journal for one year! And letters to her family. I hesitate to nominate myself, although nobody else in the family has written as much for public (or private) consumption. The problem is quality vs. quantity - I am prolix and often logophagous (look those up in your Funk and Wagnalls!).
5) Wood carver - my great-grandfather Henry Austin Carringer was a carpenter - he built his own house and much of their furniture out of wood.
6) Interior designer - I nominate my mother, Betty (Carringer) Seaver for this award - she re-decorated her parents home on Point Loma extremely well in Oriental furniture and artwork. A close second is my daughter who "advises" her plebeian parents on all things decorative.
7) Calligrapher - my wife Angel Linda gets this award. She has beautiful handwriting and has dabbled in calligraphy. If only she would dot her i's and cross her t's!
8) Knitter - I know someone in my family must have done this, but I have no clue who it might be! It ain't me - I use velcro shoe ties because of my fumble fingers.
9) Singer - my aunts Ruth (Seaver) Fischer and Geraldine (Seaver) Remley take this honor hands down. They sang around Leominster when they were young and stunning, and led family gatherings all their lives. Beautiful trained voices.
10) Mechanical aptitude (a new category) - my father, Fred Seaver, was really mechanical - he loved puttering in the workshop, painting, taking things apart and putting them together. Over the years he managed to amputate several fingers and hurt himself badly several times while puttering. A close runnerup is my son-in-law who does everything mechanical really well, and his two sons look like they will have a mechanical gene also.
10) Computer programmer (another new category) - I thought of one for ME! During my 35 year career in aerospace engineering, I created fantastically intricate and large FORTRAN programs to solve engineering problems in aerodynamics, aircraft performance and thermodynamics. In addition, I wrote programs to calculate radio wave signal strengths and propagation as a hobby. Needless to say, I am a legend at my former company because everybody knows that these programs exist but nobody knows how to use them (heh heh!) or is willing to learn.
Looking back, I can see my Creative Gene trying to escape from the shackles of 1950's conformity - but I was left handed, one eyed, cut crookedly with scissors, sang in the key of J-flat, and couldn't even color within the lines. As a boy, I created realistic baseball games using dice while announcing them in an authoritative voice, made fantastic street and topographical maps of imaginary towns and places, and wrote fictitious slogans to fit radio station call letters (e.g., "as they say in Volatile, South Dakota at station KTPB - Keep The Pot Boiling!).
As a parent, I love to make up games for kids to play (e.g., light pole golf using a tennis ball, impale the snail on the dart board (using live snails), and throwing peas in the cup (a dinner table game despised by my wife and my mother), etc.)
As for creative writing, parody seems to be my forte, and silly, cynical, whimsical or ironic come in close behind (for evidence, see all of my Census Whacks over the last year!). But I am not a humorist or a creative writer - it's just not my forte.
To each their own! I always figured that no life is totally wasted - you can always be a bad example. I've tried but failed!
1) Painter - my great-grandmother Della (Smith) Carringer painted pictures, and my great-grandfather Charlie Auble was a "painter" according to his obituary (although I doubt that he was an artist!).
2) Musician - I think the winner here is my grandmother, Bessie (Richmond) Seaver, who played the organ and piano at churches all over the Leominster MA Are between 1900 and 1960. She apparently played by ear and entertained at family gatherings to great fanfare.
3) Poet - I don't know any relative with a bent for iambic pentameter or any other sort of rhyming - perhaps my grandmother Emily (Auble) Carringer who liked to recite poems, but not of her own making. My daughter has written some verse for special occasions and to express her own feelings, especially in happy and sad times.
4) Writer - Perhaps Della (Smith) Carringer - at least she wrote a journal for one year! And letters to her family. I hesitate to nominate myself, although nobody else in the family has written as much for public (or private) consumption. The problem is quality vs. quantity - I am prolix and often logophagous (look those up in your Funk and Wagnalls!).
5) Wood carver - my great-grandfather Henry Austin Carringer was a carpenter - he built his own house and much of their furniture out of wood.
6) Interior designer - I nominate my mother, Betty (Carringer) Seaver for this award - she re-decorated her parents home on Point Loma extremely well in Oriental furniture and artwork. A close second is my daughter who "advises" her plebeian parents on all things decorative.
7) Calligrapher - my wife Angel Linda gets this award. She has beautiful handwriting and has dabbled in calligraphy. If only she would dot her i's and cross her t's!
8) Knitter - I know someone in my family must have done this, but I have no clue who it might be! It ain't me - I use velcro shoe ties because of my fumble fingers.
9) Singer - my aunts Ruth (Seaver) Fischer and Geraldine (Seaver) Remley take this honor hands down. They sang around Leominster when they were young and stunning, and led family gatherings all their lives. Beautiful trained voices.
10) Mechanical aptitude (a new category) - my father, Fred Seaver, was really mechanical - he loved puttering in the workshop, painting, taking things apart and putting them together. Over the years he managed to amputate several fingers and hurt himself badly several times while puttering. A close runnerup is my son-in-law who does everything mechanical really well, and his two sons look like they will have a mechanical gene also.
10) Computer programmer (another new category) - I thought of one for ME! During my 35 year career in aerospace engineering, I created fantastically intricate and large FORTRAN programs to solve engineering problems in aerodynamics, aircraft performance and thermodynamics. In addition, I wrote programs to calculate radio wave signal strengths and propagation as a hobby. Needless to say, I am a legend at my former company because everybody knows that these programs exist but nobody knows how to use them (heh heh!) or is willing to learn.
Looking back, I can see my Creative Gene trying to escape from the shackles of 1950's conformity - but I was left handed, one eyed, cut crookedly with scissors, sang in the key of J-flat, and couldn't even color within the lines. As a boy, I created realistic baseball games using dice while announcing them in an authoritative voice, made fantastic street and topographical maps of imaginary towns and places, and wrote fictitious slogans to fit radio station call letters (e.g., "as they say in Volatile, South Dakota at station KTPB - Keep The Pot Boiling!).
As a parent, I love to make up games for kids to play (e.g., light pole golf using a tennis ball, impale the snail on the dart board (using live snails), and throwing peas in the cup (a dinner table game despised by my wife and my mother), etc.)
As for creative writing, parody seems to be my forte, and silly, cynical, whimsical or ironic come in close behind (for evidence, see all of my Census Whacks over the last year!). But I am not a humorist or a creative writer - it's just not my forte.
To each their own! I always figured that no life is totally wasted - you can always be a bad example. I've tried but failed!
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