The Letter H -- Family History Through The Alphabet

The Letter H

H can be for Haka, Happy, Home, Honorable, Humble, Healing, Hungry…

I was blessed to be raised in a Happy Home we were taught to Humbly live a life Hungry to be Honorable – – an environment that was soothing and Healing as one faced the dangers and heartache of growing up.


Today I would like to dedicate letter H to Henry Hixon Hamon, my grandfather. Grandpa Hamon was born – – 1900, in – – New Zealand. Henry Hixon was the great-grandson of Tunewha (toon-ee-fa) one of the great Maori chiefs during the Maori Wars with the British over misappropriated lands.

He was a man of great faith and I have to believe that the spiritual giant my father is has a lot to do with his father and their forefathers and mothers.

Henry Hixon and Edithe Violet had 12 children survive. A cousin in Australia told me that my grandparents had a way of nurturing their children such, that every one of them were convinced that they were their parents favorite.

I was about 12 years old and we were living in Calgary Alberta, Canada. All my life I'd heard about my grandpa Henry Hixon Hamon– and what a great man he was.

I had met him in New Zealand when I was about two years old and had no recollection of him or grandma who passed away in 1970 when I was 10.

Again, around the time I was 12 I got an insatiable hunger to meet my grandfather --but it looked like I might never have that opportunity in this life. I couldn't shake the feeling and took to praying about it--every night for three years I prayed that I would get to meet him.

Then when I was 15 years old we got the news that the family in New Zealand was sending grandpa over to spend a month with us. To this day reflecting on that experience warms me all over.

I had a nice transistor radio I really enjoyed and I gave it to grandpa to remember me by. About six years later my sister got to spend a year in New Zealand. She would tell me how grandpa loved that little radio and listened to it all the time. Grandpa Hamon died in 1987 in New Zealand– – but he walks with me still.

Family members in the photo--thank you Sarah Chapman for providing this beuatiful picture
Michelle Chapman, Kirsty Chapman, Bruce Chapman, Josh Chapman-Bradshaw, Brylee Chapman-Ramsay, Grace, and Sarah Chapman


























http://www.tattooforaweek.com
http://losetheexcuses.blogspot.ca
http://fergie.ca
http://www.concierge.com/

The Letter F---Family History Through The Alphabet Challenge

The Letter F

When I think of The letter F I think of the words faith, family and friends as well as fun.

Every family member past, present and future has had some type of impact on me. 

I am made up of little parts of every member of my family tree, the sum of the parts is more than the whole. I am the culmination of every generation of my family.

Family has a lot to do with faith---faith in a higher being, faith in values, faith in people/society, and faith in oneself. 

As you contemplate your past, present and future family, ask yourself---what do I want my family now to become, to believe, and how can I effect that.

As a child everything revolves around family, it's where you get your physical, emotional and spiritual nourishment---it's your center. 

As you get older around teenage-hood, friends and society become so important. It's funny how life has a way of doing circles; as you get older, you go back to the first place you got your nourishment and better realize the value and strength of family. 

It's important to point out here that it's ok if you have not always had a good family, because you can create your own....not all good people came from good families. Family can be defined many different ways too:

Not all families look alike, some have one parent, some families are extended family, some are not even related, some friends become like family, whatever the case, a sense a family is important in every life.


 Kelly Hamon

  

Image

http://www.4shared.com/photo/v7sOolYX/F_letter-_faith_family_friends.html
http://mykidentity.com/?p=679
http://m.pinterest.com/pin/140737557075794799/

One of the best Tools for Family History and Genealogy

One of the best tools I've found for Family History and Genealogy is the Flip Pal. It's what my husband calls "The Affordable Portable Scanner."

Flip Pal Attributes
Mobile
Versatile
Easy and Quick to Use
Keeps Your Memories Safe
Accurate

For more information go to Scaneasy123.com (http://scaneasy123.com/index.html)

Kelly Hamon

The Letter D---Family History Through The Alphabet Challenge

The Letter D
D is for dog, wasn't that what we first learned as we attempted to grasp the concept of the alphabet when we were little kids?

I have a great dog, his name is Heathciff and he's the best dog any one could ever have - even though he is quite naughty at times. 

Heathciff is a beautiful black lab that still will from time to time, misappropriate socks, hangers, tissue and shoes. As you can see from the the pictures below I am a proud labby moma

 

The last picture on the right hand side is of my husband and my pup at a park very near where my grandfather used to live in New York.

Moving on to The Letter D. The Letter D is for Dewey Henry Witt. Dewey H. Witt was my grandfather on my mother's side of the family, born 20 April 1923 at Buffalo, Erie County, New York, and died 16 May 1985 Newfane, Niagara, New York. 

He served in the United States Navy for just less then a year; Enlisted 23 Aug 1945, he was released 19 Jul 1946, due to the end of the war---he did one of the jobs that my husband (served for 20+ yrs) did in the Navy, shop keeper on the ship. From what my gram said he was in dry dock in Florida during his time in the Navy.

He went to Kinsington High School in Buffalo, New York, which I didn't know until after we moved from Buffalo. Funny thing is that I lived only a couple of blocks away from that school while living in Buffalo. For a short stint my mom  (Dewey's daughter) actually worked as a school nurse in the elementary school her father attended. I used to drive bythe school every Sunday on the way to church.

When we would visit him he would play his accordion for us; in finding his Year Book at Ancestry.com, I also discovered he played the piano.

I remember him being very interested in family history in his later years. 

When it came to his German heritage he went all out hahaha - he even got a pair of lederhosen and would wear them as he would play German Polkas and dance around a bit.




He lived in Burt New York for a long time and always said he hated to visit the city, so we rarely saw him in Buffalo where we lived, but we visited him. 

Every year we woud bring our Halloween pumpkins to grandpa to carve. Before carving them he would take us outside for a small hike to look for different things to use in the decorating/carving of the pumpkin. 

These pumpkins were like no other. Grampa would use pine cones as eye brows or mustaches, leaves for a hat, quarter apples as ears, seeds as teeth...etc. When we took the walks he used to tell us about the nature around us, he loved nature and the outdoors.

Grampa was very artistic, every pumpkin carving was a masterpiece, he also painted with oils and water colors, he took photo's, drew, and sculpted with clay too.

I think I got my love of nature and photography from him. He was also inventive, before anyone was selling water-proof camera's he had invented an apparatus for taking pictures under the water.

Every Christmas he would have presents for my cousin and I, but when my cousin wouldn't come he told me that I should have her's too---so I guess I lucked out on a couple of things when that happened, the extra present and 1 on 1 time with my grandfather.

The other thing I remember about my grampa was that he smoked a pipe, I still can remember the smell of cherry, apple and/or vanilla tobacco and I still love the smell, even though I don't smoke nor like cigarette smoke, probably  because it reminds me of my grandfather who loved me and showed me kindness.

When Grampa Witt died I grieved because he was the only father figure in my life for a very long time and he was gone. I still miss him, but I know I will see him again and that will be a grand reunion

 Kelly Hamon


Image
http://valeriedrake.blogspot.ca/2012/01/letter-d.html
http://www.musicalads.co.uk/musical-instrument-buying-guides/musical-instruments-accordion-guide/
http://www.masks-wigs-and-costumes.com/Theme_Party_Supplies/images/lederhosen_dlx_red_trim.JPG

The Letter E---Family History Through The Alphabet Challenge

The Letter E
Hmmm - The Letter E is for Elephant, Earth, Eggs, Eggplant, Eagle, Edward, Eskimo, Elk, and so forth.

All said though, my favorite letter E: word/object/animal is elephant, I mean who doesn't like elephants.            

Somewhere a long the line I began to collect elephants - figurines of course. I have a small, choice collection - not every elephant can join my collection, they have to be very special. 

They are such majestic animals with many human like characteristics

 

Adults Rescuing a drowning baby Elephant

One of my friends, that's deaf told me that when she was young her brother would tease her and say she had Elephant Shoes. To a deaf person who is reading lips, "elephant shoes" looks like "I love you", go to your mirror and check it out, and be sure not to say 'elephant shoes" to a deaf person, unless you mean it :)  

One of my adopted sisters gave me a necklace that has an elephant on it, I adore it, not just because it has an elephant on it, but because it was from her and she knows who I am and understands me---I believe that's what family is all about, that and liking each other even though we do see each others flaws and foibles.

Well to bring it back to a genealogical perspective, The Letter E is for Edward Baron who was my grandfather on my father's side. He was born the 5th of April 1912 and Died the 22nd of January 1992 at Buffalo, Erie, New York, United States and was buried in St. Stanislaus cemetery. 

I didn't know much about him other than he was my grandfather and his folks names were John Baran and Anna Jaskier from Austria. The lone documentation I've been able to find is a census record. The only way I knew what his folks names were was due to an interview I had with his brother Walter several years ago, just before Walter died.

I don't know this side of the family due to my mother and father's divorce when I was 4. After the divorce I didn't see my father except for the odd visit he would make on birthdays. I've come to realize in my own life as well as other people's that a family works best when all the members are an active part of it.

 

 



Elephant Shoes

Kelly Hamon

  
Image
http://theveeword.blogspot.ca/2011/10/veganmofo-e-is-for-ethiopian-greens.html
http://www.awf.org/content/wildlife/detail/elephant
http://kristengrace.hubpages.com/hub/Kindergarten-Activities-Learn-the-Letter-E#slide4402111
Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd-LtWtNvDw

What are you creating? What's most important to you?

We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. Chuck Palahniuk 

 

What are you creating? 

What's most important to you? 

Images

http://inspirationaldaily.wordpress.com/2012/05/16/there-is-only-one-happiness-in-life-love-and-be-loved-2/

http://liveruralnl.com/2011/07/24/family-the-cornerstone-of-our-lives-society/

The Letter C---Family History Through The Alphabet Challenge

 

The Letter C

When I think of the letter C, I hear the song "C is for Cookie" sung gruffly and energetically by Cookie Monster. I still remember the first time I ever heard that silly song - I was the nanny for a young child. This little boy used to watch Sesame Street every day like clock work. One day this song comes on--and it has been stuck in my head since. I thought I would share the joy/agony.

Excuse the tangent I just went off on, but honestly that's what I think of every time I think of the letter C, hahaha.

When it comes to family history, C is for Christmas. When my cousin and I    were little girls we could always count on getting two types of gifts from my Great Great Aunt Ruth Teschner and my Great Great Aunts Meta Hammer (nee Teschner) and Gertrude Nisely (nee Teschner); clothes from Great Aunt Ruth and an embroidered pillow case from Great Great Aunt Meta and Gerty.

I guess I should back up... to me - family history isn't just genealogy, which many people see as trying to find old records of old ancestors. 

To me family history is a combination of 1) genealogy: uncovering the past and where I come from and 2) relishing, preserving, and focusing on the family we have now: taking pictures/scrap-booking, family get togethers, etc -- and 3) preserving our day for future generations: through journals, scrapbooks, pictures, traditions, etc---so in essence I think of family history as the past, present, and future.

So today's post is about a tradition that happened every year as I was growing up, but didn't really appreciate until the season of that tradition was gone.

I didn't appreciate her thoughtful gifts of clothes so much until I got a little older - and actually cared about what I wore. Aunt Ruth had great taste, she always bought the clothes from JC Penny's which was a big deal back than. Christmas eve I was allowed to open one gift and in hopeful anticipation of getting P.J.s  I always opened Aunt Ruth's. 

Great Great Aunt Meta and Gerty always gave us hand embroidered pillow cases, many times our names were embroidered. They were so pretty, I wish I had kept them, but I was too young to really understand or appreciate the gift, but now I love to continue the tradition with my niece.

 
Kelly Hamon

Image
http://www.kimberlykalil.com/2011/05/me-letter-c.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonnetofthemoon/3729224173/
Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye8mB6VsUHw