Saturday, July 27, 2013

For my friends

I will be back. Right now I am deep into research which enables me to do these blogs.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Threads of Life

Threads of Life

 13 July, 2013 submission of "8" for wewriwa.com

Back to the time when the four children arrived in Edmonton to be met by their Uncle Friedrich. All parents had died and grandmother brought them to her sons for care. (I am busy helping a fourteen year old grandson connect with his cousins this week. More will be written next week.)

"From that time on, some of the children lived with one uncle, Friedrich, and some with the other uncle, Carl. Odd jobs were found for them......the girls did housekeeping, Gustav helped with farm labor. Reports from Minna said her brother sometimes slept in farm out buildings with snow and cold blowing between the boards of the structure. He died at age 19, I suspect of lingering TB and pneumonia from his living conditions. He was the closest in age to Minna and she mourned his death the rest of her life. Minna progressed to working in a hotel,  I think in the laundry. While there she, a German immigrant, met Fred Paulson, an immigrant from Sweden, who worked in the furniture store and they grew fond of each other. They were married in Canada. Twins were born and died, then a daughter, Anna Augusta, who survived and was her mother's helper all of her life.

To find other Weekend Writing Warriors, click HERE

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Threads of Life


7 July 2013, submission of "8" for wewriwa

I have spent all day weeding in my raspberry patch. As I weeded, I formulated my “8” in my mind. I am yet writing of my Grandmother Minna’s, life.

“One of the garden weeds produced a vine, which attached itself to the ground every couple of inches as well as seeded itself from flowers.  Do we have such a tenacious hold on life? My grandmother, Minna, had seven children, one of which, Edna, died at age two. My aunt, Esther, two years older than Edna, remembered that  she had asked her mother if she could have the bouquet of violets that were on top of Edna’s coffin after Edna was buried, "because Edna did not need them any more". Her mother, Minna, refused to let Esther have them. After the death of Aunt Esther, last of the living children, I found a small box,  among my grandmother’s possessions, with an artificial bouquet of violets in it, saved all of her life. Seven children, one death, but all were precious to a mother and none forgotten. I knew at once the source of this nosegay of violets.”

To find other Weekend Writing Warriors, click HERE

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Threads of Life


30 June 2013 Wewriwa submission, 8 sentences for review

I am writing much of this from memory so I may need to tweak it after I find my notes in a box from moving. I am going to write about the children's uncle, who will receive them in Canada.

"Friedrich Freimann was the first of the family, that I know of, to immigrate to Canada. He was sponsored by the Selkirk Settlement Group (5th Earl of Selkirk), who had been granted blocks of land by the Hudson Bay Company. Thus, Friedrich came to Canada in 1895 and his brother, Carl closer to 1890. Friedrich brought his oxen along with him as well as some farm implements. The first winter, he lived with another settler from the same area in Volhynia as he had come from. When spring came, he built a log cabin for his family.  Friedrich was very clever in putting together the tools that he needed for farming. I would guess that he was the source of payment for his mother, and his sister's children to come to Canada."


To find other Weekend Writing Warriors, click HERE

Saturday, June 15, 2013


Threads of Life

A posting for wewriwa.com
June 15, 2013

I continue with the story of the children, traveling with their grandmother from Poland or Russia to Canada after their last parent had died. They hope to find a home in Alberta, Canada with two uncles who had come there with their families previously. Minna, My grandmother, speaks although I fear a few of my words may be unknown by some 9 year olds.

“My cold did not go away the whole time on that despicable ship, nor did Gustav’s. From the cold wind of the ocean on deck, to the sweaty, stinking steerage section where they have packed too many of us in, to having no food, it was not a pleasant trip.  When we left the ship, I was afraid that Grandma would never find the train that we were to go on with so few people speaking German. She had a name written on a paper, but when she showed it to people they would often shake their heads. We lugged our heavy bags and finally found the right train. On it, we found a couple of seats. I fell asleep right away with my head on Grandma’s shoulder. We stopped at a relative on the way to Alberta where we had food at last and our clothes were washed, but I am afraid that I do not remember who they were or where they lived.. Boarding the train again, we finally came to Edmonton, Alberta and Uncle Friedrich was there to meet us.”

To find other Weekend Writing Warriors, click HERE

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Threads of LifeThreads of Life

June 1, 2013
Weekend Writing Warrior entry of 8 sentences

This week will be a very calm, boring entry. I don't know if German people sang Happy Birthday at that time. I'm guessing that poor, shy people did not want to draw attention to themselves.

"Minna had her 9th birthday on the ship October 30th but there was nothing with which to celebrate. The four children, Emma, Ida, Gustav and Minna, together with their grandmother, Caroline Weinert Freimann reached Quebec 7 November 1902. Somehow they found the train to take them across Canada to Edmonton. Minna remembered stopping somewhere along the way to visit relatives, but she did not remember where this had been or who they had visited. Here they had their first real meal since leaving their previous home. They may have stayed a few days and had several meals to help build them up for the rest of their trip.  Embarking the train once again, they traveled to Edmonton, Alberta. Here uncle and son, Friedrich Freimann met them with  a wagon and horses."

To find other Weekend Writing Warriors, click HERE

Saturday, May 25, 2013

 Threads of Life
Another entry for Wewriwa
May 25, 2013

I continue to write about the four children crossing the Atlantic Ocean on their way to uncles in Canada, being taken their by their grandmother, Caroline Freimann, after the last parent, their mother, had died.  This week I will write Ida's thoughts (second from the eldest.) She is 12 years old but listed as 8 on the ship manifest.

"Minna is still coughing and so sick. Gustav also is sick. They sound so much like Mama and I am afraid that they will die also before we reach our uncles' homes. Emma helps Grandma to take care of them just like she helped Mama so much when she was sick. We had some apples that we stuffed in our pockets before we left our home but mostly we have only dried bread and water. A couple of times someone has given us a sausage but most are just as poor as we are and guard their food supplies. The trip on the ship seems to take so long and sometimes the ship rolls so much on the waves that I am afraid. We all sleep together on one mat, lying close to each other."

To find other Weekend Writing Warriors, click HERE

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Here
Threads of Life

Weekend Writing Warriors
4 May 2013


I continue to write about the family of August Schumann and Auguste Freimann, his wife. These are my great grandparents. In this writing, both are deceased and the children are on their way to Canada with their maternal grandmother. This week it is again from the POV of Emma, oldest living sister of my grandmother. She is 14 years old at this time. The ship records lists her age as 10.

“I know how hard it was for Mother to afford food for us after she could no longer go to work. We sold everything that we owned from our home.  My uncles sent money for Grandma Caroline to bring us to Canada. We needed to have enough for trains and ships. We made a lot of hard toasted bread for us to eat on the way and only bought water to drink on the ship.  She talked to all of us before we left. In order to afford the ship, she would need to list our ages at much younger.  We were not supposed to talk to anyone as they might think we were older than she said. The agents argued with her, but she prevailed. “

To find other Weekend Writing Warriors, click HERE

Saturday, April 27, 2013


Here
Threads of Life
27 April 2013  - Weekend Writing Warriors

I continue to write about the family of August Schumann and Auguste Freimann, his wife. These are my great grandparents. In this writing, both are deceased and the children are on their way to Canada with their maternal grandmother. This week it is from the POV of Emma, oldest living sister of my grandmother. She is 14 years old at this time. Above is a button from one of the coats.

“Mother always said that I was her very best helper in the very best family.  I needed to begin helping her a lot when my father was dying, seven years ago when I was only seven.  The last couple of years I have needed to do many of her jobs as she became more and more ill from consumption. Last fall, she managed to make new coats for all of us of thick woven wool. Of course they were much too large for us because she “wanted them to last more than one year." I sewed the buttons on for her and made our dinner. She was so worn out when she came home from work in the mill."


To find other Weekend Writing Warriors, click HERE

Saturday, April 20, 2013


Here
Threads of Life
Weekend Writing Warriors
20 April 2013

I am continuing to write of my maternal grandmother’s family. Today I am writing as if it is a memoir of my grandmother, Minna Schumann (daughter of August Schumann and Auguste Freimann) after her parents have died.

“Oh how I missed dear sweet Mama., who sang to us and told us stories! I was eight years old when MaMa died. I could not even remember Papa who died when I was two years old. Grandma Caroline (Freimann) took charge of us after Mama’s death. Grandma decided to take us on to our uncles in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada. My uncles left West Prussia to go to Canada in 1895, the same year that Papa died. They were strangers to me and I worried that they would not be happy to see four more children to feed.  It was a long and difficult trip, finding our way by trains and sea tossed ships.”


To find other Weekend Writing Warriors, click HERE

Saturday, April 13, 2013


Here
Threads of Life
Weekend Writing Warriors
13 April 2013

I am still writing of the family of August Schumann and his wife, Auguste Freimann. Details of this family are obscure from 1888 until autumn of 1902. I will be traveling to this area in September of 2013 to attempt to discover more about this time.


"After the birth of Emma, proof of the family living in Boguslawka disappears. Three more children were born: Ida 12 Dec 1889, Gustav in 1891, and Minna supposedly born in Eichfier, West Prussia the 30th of October 1893. Word of mouth says that August died 3 January 1895 and then Auguste died 20 March 1902. These four children are on the ship, Lake Champlain, traveling from Liverpool to Canada with their maternal grandmother when Minna has her ninth birthday on the ship. Obviously, the grandmother or someone else had cared for the children for seven months and correspondence had occurred regarding their future. Two of grandmother, Caroline Freimann's sons, Friedrich and Carl, the brothers of Auguste were living in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada. Arriving in Canada, they traveled by train across the country to Wetaskiwin. Once there, the uncles found employment for all of the children."


Both parents were 37 years of age at time of death. Above photo is confirmation in Canada of Minna Schumann.

To find other Weekend Writing Warriors, click HERE

Saturday, April 6, 2013



Here
Threads of Life
6 April 2013


Weekend Writing Warriors is a fun group of writers who add 8 sentences every  Saturday evening so that we can comment on each others' writing. I have taken this opportunity to write about my great grandparents in Boguslawka, Volhynia.  This week I will also suggest that you check Teresa's blog about farm life at http://dreamersloversandstarvoyagers.blogspot.com. It is about a later time, but carries the spirit of the farm.


"It is tough living in Boguslawka. They are constantly being asked for more money for the land that they farm. This was not supposed to be when they were urged to come to this area. The Russian Army wants all of the young men in the army also, which takes a lot of the workforce from the fields. August and the other men his age wonder how long they should stay.  Ludwig is in his 60’s now and unable to take over the farming for more than one or two of sons and sons-in-law. Spring of 1889, August is wondering if he can afford to buy an ox to plow his fields rather than needing to borrow from his father every year.  Emma seems to be a healthy daughter, but young children are very vulnerable here."

To find other Weekend Writing Warriors, click HERE

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Here
Threads of Life
Weekend Writing Warriors 30 March 2013

Again I am writing of my great grandparents, August Schumann and Auguste Freimann Schumann. This time it is written in the voice of Auguste.

"It has been one year since my children died. At first, I did not want another, but when Emma gave her to August and he placed her at my breast, I knew the joy of a new birth. We named her Emma, for the sister of August who was there at the time of birth. We are so thankful for the parents of August, for Ludwig being the leader of this colony. It was he who did the prayers when we buried the children and comforted us in the days that followed. Life is so hard here, but being surrounded by family helps us all to endure. August has been my rock; he is so strong. Sometimes he, I, and Emma go to visit the graves of our other children."


To find other Weekend Writing Warriors, click HERE

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Here
Threads of LifeHere
Weekend Writing Warriors
23 March 2013

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August has gone to get his sister; it seems so long ago. The straw mat is on the floor to catch the fluid from birthing and there is a sharp, clean knife to cut the cord plus string to tie it off. Auguste is sitting on the very edge of a wooden chair as the forces of birth are bearing down on her with the weight of the world. She’s had four previous children, all born fine, but Emma had a child who could not be born alive after many hours. Things do go wrong with births and she has had four children already die.  The baby’s head is pushing out as she leans back in the chair, yet trying to catch it.  The baby pushes out as Emma and August burst through the door. As Emma takes over, Auguste can hear the cry of a baby.

To find other Weekend Writing Warriors, click HERE

Saturday, March 16, 2013

 
 Here
Threads of Life

3/16/2013 Weekend Writing Warrior
I am continuing my family story of my great-grandparents, August and Auguste Schumann. They lost 3 children to Diphtheria this past summer. It has been a hard year.

"The year-end passed in the blustery cold. November, December….no gifts for Christmas this year but Auguste did a special job of patching the shirt of August.  She sewed a tiny heart on it in a place that would not be seen by others, but he would see it every time he buttoned the shirt.  He was her special sunshine of life when little of her life had any sunshine. He, in turn, wove a lovely little grass basket for her sewing.  January came with the wind whipping the snow. February had Auguste feeling that life dragged her down with every step. The little one inside her was moving a lot now and keeping her awake at night. She had made arrangements with the sister of August to help her at the time of birth, but could she make it here through the deep snow?"

To find other Weekend Writing Warriors, click HERE

Saturday, March 9, 2013


 HERE
Threads of Life
Weekend Writing Warriors - 8 Sentences - Week 6

I am writing about my ancestral family, thus far of August Schumann and Auguste Freimann and their family. They have just lost 3 young children to Diphtheria in the midst of summer crops. There has been little time to reflect, although that sense of loss is always present. They have begun gathering fuel for winter.  Today, August is looking around the house to prepare for winter. As she does, the baby is now moving within her womb.

  -->
"There is still that small box of children’s clothes sitting in the corner, the clothing of  Auguste Pauline age 4 ½,  Karl age 3 ¼, and Friedrich age 1 ½ at the time of their death.  Friedrich was still in the smocks for summer outdoors, so he could urinate freely. Auguste had just sewn the first pair of pants for Karl, now that he had some control. Pauline’s little smocks, reminded her that Pauline had been mother’s little helper with the boys. They had been able to be outdoors with the help of Pauline, as Auguste ran in and out with the daily tasks of motherhood. Pauline would keep them away from the hot clay outdoor oven and stove.  Auguste had loved hearing their giggles and chatter as she worked.  Could she give these clothes, which she had sewn for them, to other children?"

To find other Weekend Writing Warriors, click HERE

Saturday, March 2, 2013

HERE
Threads of Life
Weekend Writing Warriors #5

My great-grandparents, August and Auguste Schumann,  lost three children from diphtheria in two days during the middle of grain harvest, July of 1887. This appears to have been all their living children. But life goes on for the living. During that illness, Auguste was already three months pregnant with another child.

-->

"Auguste thinks, “Thank God, the mornings of nausea are past. Thank God, this child within me was protected from the disease. I do not know if I even want another child. Are they all meant to die so young?” Each day, for many days after the deaths, Auguste walked to their graves and sat on the ground for a while before she prepared the evening meal. She and August have taken to eating their meal in silence and then going straight to bed. They had stumbled through the grain harvest of summer together. Now they were gathering fuel from the sparse fallen trees for those cold, wind-swept winters that lay ahead."

To find other Weekend Writing Warriors, click HERE

Saturday, February 23, 2013

HERE
Threads of Life
Weekend Writing Warriors

I really messed this up! Sorry! I thought that I double checked everything, but obviously not. I hope that it is corrected now.



My great-grandparents, August and Auguste Schumann are having a bad day. It is mid-summer, the height of grain harvest season and their 3 little children are very sick. One has died. The two boys are having trouble breathing and cannot swallow water. I want to write more than 8 sentences but stick to the rules. I have put "teacher" in quotes because I do not know the qualifications yet.

"August and Auguste traded off staying awake with the children that night. Even so, dawn found Auguste dozing between the body of Auguste Pauline and Karl. Awakening at dawn with a start, and then a shriek, she found that she was now lying between two dead bodies. That brought August out of bed quickly, trying to think of what he, as a father and husband, must do next. Since neither of them had eaten last evening, it was agreed that she would make some porridge while he went to the home of the “teacher” who kept the records and read the scripture in the absence of a pastor.

Passing the homes of his sisters, he told them of the deaths in his home and  husbands offered to help dig the graves before going to the fields.  He then arranged for the “teacher” to be at the cemetery for a burial later that day.

Returning home to have porridge before digging the graves, he found not only porridge, but a second dead son, Friederich, the third child to die within two days."

To find other Weekend Writing Warriors, click HERE

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Threads of Life

3rd Weekend Writing Warrior

I am writing of my family, great grandparents, August and Auguste Schumann,  to make vital records come alive for the family. They are farming, I think subsistence, in Boguslawka, Volhynia. This is a particularly hard time in their lives. It is harvest time and three of there four children are ill, requiring their mother's attendance.  (I do not know what has happened to the fourth child.)



"As the day is coming to an end, August enters his home, hot, sweaty and tired, carrying his scythe from his day’s work. However, there is no aroma of dinner and the only candle shines from the bedroom. Entering the room, he finds his exhausted wife, tears running down her face.
            Taking her in his arms to try to sooth her, he inquires what has produced her distress. Her hand gestures to the children’s bed.  “Auguste Pauline is dead. I’ve tried to get the boys to drink some water, but they are unable. It is a whole month until the circuit pastor comes to our community and my prayers are not working.” "


To find other Weekend Writing Warriors, click HERE

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Threads of Life


HERE
2nd Weekend Writing Warrior

I am writing of my family, various members in various places. I am starting with August and Auguste Schumann, my great grandparents, living at this time in Boguslawka, Volhynia.

The summer of 1887 was one of those hot summers on the prairie of Volhynia. German families had come to eke out a living in a new land. The August Schumann family had many of their relatives on surrounding small farms. It was harvest time now for the grain, which produced the income for the family. Normally, the mother would be bringing food to her husband as he worked. She should also be helping to tie the bundles and shock the grain.  In my previous blog, I wrote about the serious condition of the three children. She has taken a brief break to sit down. In this section I refer to four children although only three are lying ill on the bed.




     "Auguste dragged herself out of the chair where she had been sitting for no more than five minutes. She plodded into the adjoining room which served as both a kitchen and storage for small garden equipment like hoes and rakes. She grabbed a glass from a cupboard now nearly empty of clean dishes. With a dipper, she filled the glass from the nearly empty bucket of drinking water.
     Returning to the room, in which the children lay, she was determined to get them to drink some water. All three children lay in the children's bed, crosswise to allow sleeping of all four children.  Their necks were so swollen and their color so dusky. Only a day or two ago, there were children's voices, joyfully playing outdoors with many other children living in the small settlement."

To find other Weekend Writing Warriors, clickHERE

Saturday, February 2, 2013


HERE

WEEKEND WRITING WARRIOR

I am writing of my family, various members in various places. I am starting with August and Auguste Schumann, my great grandparents, living at this time in Boguslawka, Volhynia.

The summer of 1887 was one of those hot summers on the prairie of Volhynia. German families had come to eke out a living in a new land. The August Schumann family had many of their relatives on surrounding small farms. It was harvest time now for the grain, which produced the income for the family. Normally, the mother would be bringing food to her husband as he worked. She should also be helping to tie the bundles and shock the grain.

“However, this day of July, the 24th, Auguste had been in the humid living quarters of their tiny, 2-room  home for several days because all of her children were running very high fevers. She went from one to the other to sponge her children with wet cloths. Auguste Pauline was hallucinating now, yelling and screaming, which  prevented Karl Friedrich and Friedrich Wilhelm from any peaceful rest as they fought the illness. Auguste was exhausted, having been up several nights with the children. It was approaching noon now, when she should be cooking the noonday meal.  At last, Auguste Pauline seemed to be quieting down but her breathing was now so shallow that a feather could hardly be moved by her breath. As the screaming ceased, August sat in a chair for a moment, wiping her own perspiring brow. All around them was illness, children ill in every home."

2nd Weekend Writing Warrior (continuing on with expansion of my family history. In this section I refer to four children although only three are lying ill on the bed. )

     "Auguste dragged herself out of the chair where she had been sitting for no more than five minutes. She plodded into the adjoining room which served as kitchen and storage for small garden equipment like hoes and rakes. She grabbed a glass from a cupboard now nearly empty of clean dishes. With a dipper, she filled the glass from the nearly empty bucket of drinking water.
     Returning to the room, in which the children lay, she was determined to get them to drink some water. All three children lay in the children's bed, crosswise to allow sleeping of all four children.  Their necks were so swollen and their color so dusky. Only a day or two ago, there were children's voices, joyfully playing outdoors with many other children living in the small settlement."

To find other Weekend Writing Warriors, click_________