Week 8 (February 18-24): Family Photo

Family Photo

So.  I do happen to have some great family photos-  I'll start with my direct family-  because the outfits have so much to say: 

I'm not sure of the year on the above photo.  MB looks to be about 3-  that would make it 1964 or so.

Clearly later than the previous photo.  Patty, with the lovely chip bowl on her heard.  Mom wearing the standard Easter CAKE on her head... and I have the infamous veiled hat that I BEGGED Aunt Lise to buy for me and then proceeded to get slapped in church for pulling the veil down over my eyes, pretending to be some mysterious widow.  (True story).

Another FAMOUS family photo-  Unfortunately, I can only identify ONE man and ONE woman in the photo-  this, of course, lead to a very funny story!

While in college (in 1977) we hung all sorts of crazy things on the walls in our off-campus house-  

It was a rental with 7 girls living upstairs and 6 guys living downstairs.  We hung anything and everything, including a duck stolen off someone's yard - and then later turned into a phone - but I digress ...  drawings that we created, newspaper articles that related to nothing at all... college event flyers  AND THIS PHOTO.  Someone found it behind the couch and so it was stapled right onto the wall... and we called them our house grandparents.  Of course, NO ONE had a clue who these mystery people were.

One day when my sister came to visit, she was admiring the wall art and exclaimed, "Why is this picture of Uncle Joe and Aunt Katherine hanging on your wall?"  

WHAT??

I took a closer look.. and what do you know???  The man on the left is Uncle Joe (a cigar-smoking man married to my Grandfather's sister.. and that is honestly ALL I can say about him) and Aunt Katherine is on the far right.   It hung on the wall for two years- and we made fun of these "unknown" people all that time... come to find out -  they were MY relatives!  It still gives me a chuckle.

Week 7 (February 11-17): Love

Love

I guess I have to think about this one.  I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone here today, catching up on Week 6.  I don't know that I have a Love Story.

Week 6 (February 4-10): Surprise

Surprise!

Sorry to be late with this one.  I THOUGHT I had an idea, but since "the old aunts" prepared a bunch of our paternal history-  and I eventually was in touch with someone on the maternal side who prepared that family history, I think I knew a lot of basics already.

There was one surprise that I keep finding and losing - every time I get a new computer.   I finally found a few additional details, but have never found the full-on horror story.

Apparently, our Grandfather's brother was a bit of a lady's man.   There was one particular person that I seemed to find a few different articles about so I've included them below.   Basically (between wives  -  I said a lady's man, not a cheater lol) there was one woman with whom he was apparently love-stricken-  and SHE was married.

At one point our great uncle was chased through Hoboken and jumped off a cliff to escape the husband of his paramour. (that's documented in the article to the right)... but the awful surprise is the story with no documentation -  where at this same person's home, someone was shot and killed.  Darn, I hope I someday come across the details... anyway... SURPRISE! hahaha.   

OK...  this IS A LIVE document-  and searching for the "chased through Hoboken" article, I came across the shooting article!  Sadly, it dealt with ... well, dear reader of blogs, you can read it below.  "Old Uncle Chris" was NOT directly involved, but his paramour was the one shot and killed-  in front of her kids - now I'm sorry I laughed.

______________________________________________

And then there's the one about the fortune teller:

OH MY.  It must have been difficult being Christian's brother, but Grandpa pulled it off!  I'm thinking maybe this is why we NEVER heard any stories about this guy.

Week 5 (January 29-February 4): At the Library

At the Library

Seriously?  I have nothing.

When I first moved from North Jersey to the Jersey shore, I immediately joined the library-  and realized that Ancestry was FREE if you went to the physical library.  I did that for a while-  and advanced a bit in my findings, but it was more than 10 years ago.

I've had a paid subscription off and on for the last little while.  But there were no librarians in the family that I have come across in my research.

I worked at a library for 5 years- but as I said above...

Seriously, I have nothing.

Week 4 (January 22-28): I'd Like to Meet

I'd Like to Meet

So this is not an easy one.  I knew 4 grandparents and 1 great-grandparent.  Maybe I wish I heard more of their stories from THEM.  It was a time when "children should be seen and not heard" and that's pretty much how things went when we were with our grandparents.

I think my paternal grandfather was not as scary as he made himself out to be.  He seemed to be amazing in the "rearview mirror"!  Stories I heard AFTER he was gone were interesting. Involved in the construction of the Geroge Washington Bridge (NY/NJ).  I know he loved boating as a young man and a retired man.  He was the first Commodore of the yacht club in Lakewood, NJ and apparently was quite the sailor.  I do have a few memories of him laughing HEARTILY, but mostly he was a grumpy, old German.  I guess I was old enough to actually have an adult conversation with him.

 I really know very little about my paternal grandmother - other than she was beautiful and kind and had an amazing smile - and I never met any of her siblings and never even heard stories about them.  It makes me sad that none of this was really ever shared.



There is one person I never met who interests me-  and there is ONE PHOTO that makes me wish I had met him. My paternal Grandmother's brother:  Joseph Alfred Lachaussee 1887–1958.  I know very little about him, but he LOOKS COOL.    He MAY be the one who wrote his autobiography.  I have to do some digging-  I think I have a copy SOMEWHERE!    BUT... this is the guy- 

Look at the smile-  he knows something we don't know!  

Yes, this is the person I would have liked to meet.

Week 3 (January 15-21): Unusual Name

Unusual name... This one is pretty easy for me.

We have several recurring names, but the weirdest has to be Oltman Oltmer.  Reviewing from present-day backward here they are:

Our father's brother is Oltman Christian Oltmer 1933 - 1991

Next is our great-grandfather Oltmann Christian Oltmer 1869 - 1949

Next: 3rd great-grandfather Oltmann Christian Oltmer  1782  - 1871

In that same generation, there was Oltmann Oltmer 1774–1776  He lived two years.  I'm guessing if he had lived things would have been different!  Our 3rd great-grandfather would have had a different name and who knows what all those Oltmann Christians would have been called!

In the generations between the Oltmanns there were Christians.  Are you confused yet?

Two really confusing marriages... Helene Oltmer (1776 - 1835) married Eilert Oltmanns and Gresche Oltmer (1694 - 1718) married Oltmann Brunken.  (Throws hands up in surrender)

There were plenty of Eilerts, Meinens, Ahlerts and Gerds -  but this was in Germany, so I guess it's not all that unusual.


I have no photos of any of these old old Oltmanns, but they probably all look the same!

Week 2 (Jan. 8-14): Challenge

The title is Challenge.

My first challenge is the background (ON THIS BLOG).  It hides some of my words when I view it as the blog-  so maybe I'll change it.

As of right now, I have no idea what to write on this week's affair.  I suppose I should give time to the other side of our ancestors -  The Schlemm Family.  Now, that is a challenge.

Growing up Mom did not have an easy time with her mother.   BUT - I guess she must be included in this blog as she is an ancestor.  For the last many years of Mom's life, she STOPPED communicating with her.  None of us were surprised to find out that Grandma Schlemm died one year AFTER Ma.

My memory of our "immediate" Schlemm family members is not a horrible one.  We spent time with them - holidays and whatnot-  Grandpa (Charles) Schlemm Jr. and Grandma (Irene) Schlemm -  and THAT'S WHAT WE CALLED THEM -  Grandpa and Grandma Schlemm-  I guess so as not to confuse them with the Oltmer Grands?!?

Pictured above: Grandma and Granpa Schlemm.  A slight hint of a smile?

Pictured above: GREAT Grandma Pipo (Irene's mother, Ma's Grandma) and Ma (Gloria) and Grandma Schlemm ... and this is one of her happier photos!

(The baby is Patty)
Great Grandma's story will have to wait for another post.  

Ma had two brothers-  both younger.  Charles Schlemm III and Bobby.  Bobby was the oops- I guess He was ELEVEN years younger than our mother.  But - another interesting tidbit... Grandma and Grandpa Schlemm had a baby long after Bobby-  Donald Schlemm was born in 1952 -  when MY SISTER was a year old.  And this STILL was not the end of strange ages of uncles... Ma had an uncle (Grandpa's youngest brother) who was only 7 years older than she was-  Uncle Harry-  died in WWII- He was on the SS Franklin and it was hit by enemy fire and he was lost at sea.  https://www.historynet.com/uss-franklin-struck-by-a-japanese-dive-bomber-during-world-war-ii.htm

There are letters-  to a 13-year-old girl from her very handsome Uncle Harry.  I have them.  They are gold!

Ma carried this picture with her until the day she died.  He was an important memory for her.

Grandpa (in my eyes) was nice.  He showed us girls attention - he was funny.  His only problem was he was devoted to Irene- and she was as warm as an iceberg.  I have no fond memories of her-  none laughing with her -  but remember asking Grandpa to play the Chipmunks Christmas song again... and again... and again.  Hell-  he named his boat THUMPER!  Thumper I, II and III.  I mean you HAVE to be a fun person if you name your boat after a Disney rabbit!  I have a picture of one of the Thumpers... I will update if I find it!



So-  I guess it was a challenge - I also think my WRITING is a challenge.  It winds around and around and I don't know if it tells the story I'm hoping to tell!

So these were a few more names and faces of my #52ancestors!