The theme for week 29 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is Fun Fact. I have a small box of letters and cards I have been wanting to scan into the computer. These were saved by my parents and are really fun to read. Some of the cards have letters included that give information about additional family. Sometimes there is still an envelope with an address. I learned one is from a cousin of my grandfather who I don’t yet have in my tree.
This first one is a beautiful card from my grandpa, John Kirkwood, to my mom for her birthday in 1961.
The next one was also a birthday card for my mom. I think it is adorable! It has fuzzy yellow ducks!
This card was from my Aunt Jean and Uncle Tom Hennessey. Jean was my dad’s sister. I’m pretty sure it was for my mom because most of the cards were hers and she is the one with Scottish Ancestry.
Here is another birthday card from my grandpa to my mom. This is from 1964. I love what it says and I really love he signed it Daddy!
The next birthday card is from my mom’s uncle Walter Kirkwood who lived in Scotland. My mom did get to meet him once when she and my dad took a trip of a lifetime.
Here is a card is from my mom’s parents. Her mom died in June of 1952, so this may have been the last card from both of them. It is really cute, it has a spring inside that curls up when you open the card. I made a little video opening the card so you could see the spring but realized I don’t know how to attach videos on here. I’ll have to work on that.
This birthday card was I believe for my dad. It is tiny. The back is a clear plastic. I’ve never seen one like this, it’s very cute.
There are quite a few get well cards in the box. My mom had her tonsils out when they lived in Gebo, Wyoming, we all heard the horror story from that episode. In 1934 I believe she had her appendix removed and was hospitalized in Boone at the Boone County Hospital. I thought it was fun she received a card with her name and the name of the hospital. This one is from her Aunt Mary and Uncle Orson Spurrier. Mary was my grandma Kirkwood’s sister. Mom spent a lot of time living with Mary and Orson during different periods of her childhood. I think this one is beautiful.
The next get well card reaches back a little farther. It is from a sister of my moms grandmother. Nettie (Minson) and Lewis Hamilton were my moms grand aunt and uncle. It was one of the treasures with a return address, so that was a bonus. The little insert feels like it could be embroidered silk. It is still very pretty.
There are cards from several holidays and some letters ‘just because’ included in this fun box. The last card I will show for today is a Christmas card from my dad’s moms sister. Nelle (Siepmann) and Lymon Marshall. This one is exciting because it has my parents address in Georgia. We knew my dad was stationed in Georgia for part of his training during WWII. My parents were married in June 1943 and this card is from December 1943. I am sure my mom and dad were excited about any letters from home during this period. My dad trained in several different states and it must have been a tumultous time in their lives.
The last fun fact for today is a letter sent to my grandfather from his cousin Jessie Sorbie. Jessie was living in Wyoming at the time with her husband John and sent the letter to my grandfather in Boone, Iowa. My brain clicked on the wrong person for who I thought Jessie was in my family tree. In the letter it says her husband had been living there for 8 years. She knew my grandfathers family well enough to name almost everyone in her letter so I assumed they had grown up near each other in Scotland. I knew of a Jessie on my grandpa’s dads side and was assuming this was the correct person but I could never get the documents to line up. I asked for help. Turns out there was also a Jessie on my grandpa’s moms side about the same age and she was the one who traveled to America. I have more to do to fill out this family but that was an exciting block to break through.
I hope you enjoyed my trip through some fun mementos. It’s amazing how much you can learn from something as simple as an address. Do you have fun mementos from your family? It makes me rethink what mementos of my own I want to save.
My Tree in the Forest 