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.
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What a tremendous line of tragedy for one family to bear! I can't begin to imagine, but I would like to read on to find some threads of hope! Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Susan. The great thing is that three of the children made it, married, had children and grandchildren all of whom were loved and cherished.
DeleteSo much life experience packed into one small excerpt - wow! Great snippet!
ReplyDeleteThank you Veronica.
ReplyDeleteThose poor kids led such hard lives, but, it's a fascinating story. Glad to know that Minna was a little more fortunate. Did Uncle Carl anglicize his name? Germans would spell it with a K. Looking forward to the next excerpt!
ReplyDeleteDebbie, you are so smart! I don't know if he did it intentionally or if the census takers did it year after year and he adopted it out of the fact that the government of Canada always used it. Minna was fortunate in that she had good children, who did their best and a couple made their way to a better life.
ReplyDeleteWow, so much going on in these 8 sentences. Generations are born and gone. So interesting!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for reading, J.M. It becomes more real to me as I write.
DeleteA haunting memoir, Carol. Don't you ever wonder about things like Gustav's living arrangement...like in the cold, the wind, the snowiest times of the year, couldn't his uncle have squeezed him into the house somewhere?? Sleeping on a floor or at the hearth. It's heart breaking. Are you a direct descendent of Minna?
ReplyDeleteExcellent 8, Carol. I didn't post this week. Just making my rounds. :-)
Teresa, remember this is the memory of a child of 17 at the time he died, looking for an explanation. Since Minna had evidence of having had TB, he probably did also. As for the uncles, without them the children would have been orphans in Russia and perhaps a worse fate for them. Someone paid for them to come to Canada...and a grandmother willing to bring them. Somehow grandmother got them to Hamburg (train?) Then a ship to Liverpool, then a ship to Quebec, then a train to Edmonton...all a a time without cell phone or speaking anything other than German...quite a grandmother! Yes, Minna is my mother's mother, my grandmother.
DeleteOr It was a ship from Stettin to Hamburg or England and then to get to Liverpool. I don't have that proof yet, only Liverpool to Quebec.
DeleteWow Minna...sleeping in a freezing barn. Hope the cows didn't mind cuddling : ) I love poking about in my families ancestry as well : )
ReplyDeleteIt was her brother who had the rugged sleeping arrangements, according to her memory. But she needed to start work early to support herself, as did many of our ancestors. Thanks for reading Millie. These ancestors become more real to me as I write, and I am looking forward to my trip to Poland in September to see the living places of this family before emigration.
ReplyDeleteI'm really enjoying all your family stories. It's like seeing someone's entire life all at once.
ReplyDeleteThanks Linda.
ReplyDeleteI want to write more but I cannot figure out how to write more to this blog.
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