A Vision for the Garibaldi Smokestack

The Garibaldi Smokestack in April 2013

Imagine: an approximately 200-foot tall historic smokestack, the centerpiece of a small bayside nature park, complete with informative interpretive signs describing the history (both human and natural) of the area. Over here are some picnic tables, and over there perhaps a bird watching platform, and off that way are a few rustic campsites. This is part of the vision that my dad and I put together when we read in a recent issue of Tillamook county’s Headlight Herald that the iconic smokestack on Garibaldi’s waterfront is in danger of demolition.

It came as no surprise to us that the Garibaldi city council has been advised that the stack has “started to disintegrate and has become a safety hazard”; we’ve been observing its deterioration for decades (Wrabek A1). But a spark of hope was kindled when I read that “councilor John Foulk suggested fiberglassing the smokestack, as was reportedly done with the Astoria Column,” and I was not altogether disheartened at the suggestion put forth by others to demolish only a part of the stack and leave a portion standing (Wrabek A3). Moreover, the article reports that the property owner has offered to donate the stack and a small piece of the surrounding land to the city.

These possibilities got me envisioning what a lovely little park could be created around the smokestack. The article does not state how much land is included in the offer, but I think that our ideas could be adjusted to fit a smaller or larger park. If the city council were to put together a cohesive plan and explain the long-term vision, perhaps they could even raise the money to purchase more land, little by little, or come to an agreement with the property owner.

Naturally, our fondest hopes are that the smokestack might be saved, but the next-best option would be to preserve a portion of it. Even, if worst came to worst, just the remaining foundation could become an attraction. As suggested above, the smokestack (or its remains) would be the centerpiece of the park, with a series of interpretive signs or a kiosk explaining the history of the place. I thought that, given the historical value of the structure, it might be beneficial for the city to partner with the Garibaldi Historical Museum, which stands only a block or so down, on the other side of the highway. Perhaps the park could even be used as an extension of the museum. In fact, if a proposed Miami Cove shoreline trail goes through (see Garibaldi Connections Project), the locations could make a very interesting and appealing complex.

Dreaming even bigger, my dad tells me that a bike route has been proposed along the railroad tracks through Rockaway Beach. If that route were to be continued south through Garibaldi, a park by the smokestack could easily become a nice stopover for bicyclists riding down the Oregon coast. A campsite or two, with a drop-box for fees and donations toward maintenance, might be able to fit in a corner of our imagined park. Although the camp would be primitive, the view would be ample consolation.

The smokestack was built in 1927, the same year that the Hammond-Tillamook Lumber Co. took over the mill from the Whitney Co. Prior to that, two relatively short metal smokestacks served the mill. A photo printed in Jack L. Graves’ book “Now” Never Lasts shows the smoke-enveloped town, virtually invisible through the haze. Clearly the situation was far from ideal. It was decided that a taller chimney was needed to lift the smoke above the city and thereby improve air quality. The result was the now-beloved landmark. Originally built at a height of 225 feet, some of its height has been lost due to removal and deterioration, but it remains one of the tallest manmade structures on the Oregon coast (Graves 201).

Looking across Miami Cove at the smokestack and the Big G on the hill in the distance. Picture taken in April 2013.

Sources:

 

Garibaldi Connections Project Design Action Team. “Garibaldi Connections Project.” City of Garibaldi. Oregon Coastal Futures Project, Feb 2006. Web. Accessed 10 Apr 2013.

Graves, Jack L. “Now” Never Lasts. Bend: Maverick Publications, Inc., 1995. Print.

Wrabek, Joe. “No more smokestack?” Headlight Herald [Tillamook]. 27 Mar 2013: A1 & A3. Print.

Mathernus Thines: A Chronology

As the days go by, and the weeks, I begin to realize that I have too long been silent here, not even keeping up with my regular task of transcribing Aunt Elsie’s manuscript. My mood lately has not been for transcription, and my recent research hasn’t coalesced into any sort of complete form, but still I have not been idle.

My thoughts for the past month or so have returned to the Luxembourg branch of my family tree, and specifically to the THINES family of Hachiville. I don’t know why that particular limb fascinates me when I have so many others to choose from: the STROESSER family of Heispelt and Ettelbruck—with whom I ought to be entranced because they were blacksmiths, a profession I have dreamed of following—or the MERTZ family of Keispelt, for example. But whatever the reason, it is the THINES family that most interests me at the moment.

I have been researching the man who seems to have founded my Hachiville branch, Mathernus THINES. In the multilingual and phonetic nature of the era’s records, his first name is alternately Materne, Matherne, Maternus, etc. and his surname sees variations such as THINNES, THIENES, THÜNES, or most surprisingly HANSEN. I have chosen the spelling “Mathernus THINES” because that is the way he consistently signed his name on documents, regardless of what the clerk may have written. That he wrote his own name is significant in a time when most of his contemporaries signed with a cross. I hope someday to discover the source and reason for his education.

As yet, I have not been able to put together much in the way of a life story for him, being ignorant of many of the social forces that formed him, but I have been putting together a rough chronology, which follows, with comments.

He was born about the year 1737 in or near the tiny village of Stockem, which is only about two miles from Hachiville. The name Mathernus derives from St. Materne, who is credited with Christianizing Alsace, but he was more likely named after his godfather in the Luxembourgish manner, who was in turn named after his godfather and so on until we finally reach one back in the mists of time who really was named for the saint. I do not mean to imply that St. Materne was the godfather of one of my relations, only that naming practices have undergone change and that the practice of naming a child after its godparent must have had its start at some point, and children received names in a different manner before that point.

The only document I have run across naming Mathernus’ parents is his death certificate. It names them as Nicolas THINES and Hanna THINES. Family trees at Rootsfinder and Deltgen also identify them as Nicolas THINES and Anna or Hanna.

Mathernus probably married his wife Anne Marie SCHMITZ in about 1760, basing my guess on the approximate birthdates of their children. The pair had three known children, all daughters: Marguerite, Anna Maria, and Susanna. Once again deferring to the genealogist at Rootsfinder, their dates of birth were about 1761, 1762, and 1765 respectively.

The earliest document in which I have seen the name of Mathernus THINES is the 1771 baptism of Joannes Maternus TOLLER, a son of Philippi TOLLER and Maria PEDERCH. The relationship between the TOLLERs and Mathernus THINES is unknown, but Mathernus served as the child’s godfather. He is identified as “Joes Maternus Thines ex Stockem”; the “Joes” is an abbreviation for Joannes. This record is the one and only time I have seen Mathernus’ name prefaced by Joannes. It also appears that he was still residing in Stockem at this time.

The next time he appears in the records, serving again as a godfather, is in 1775. This time he is identified as living in Hachiville. Once again his godchild is of unknown relationship: Maternus KOIL, the son of Hubert KOIL and Maria VILMES. However, Mathernus often appears on documents also containing the WILMES (VILMES) name. No doubt they were closely allied, at least by 1780. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Once again he appears as the godfather of a child of unknown relationship in 1776. This time the child is a girl, Anna BOURG, the daughter of Friderici BOURG and Susanna ETSCHET. 

When we arrive at 23 Jan 1780, we see the alliance of the WILMES and THINES families. Although I have accessed this marriage certificate and have a fair amount of experience in reading these old documents, I am no expert. At best I am a persistent amateur. But the irregularities in the document’s form combined with the difficult handwriting and foreign language have me stumped in this case. I can tell that it is a marriage record for Joannis WILHMS and Anna Maria THÜNES and that the groom’s parents are Henrici WILHMS and Elisabetha WELTERS. The bride’s parents appear to be Nicolai COOS and Anna THÜNES, but the additional words before the introduction of their names make me question that. The witnesses to the ceremony are Mathernus THINES (in this case called Materni THÜNES) and Nicolai SCHMITZ. All indications regarding the closeness of the two families would suggest that the bride is Mathernus’ sister, however if that is so, there is a fairly considerable age difference. Mathernus would have been about 43 years old, and Anna Maria, although the record does not explicitly state it, was clearly of childbearing age, as subsequent records prove. She gave birth up until twelve years after this marriage. I would guess her to be at least ten years younger than her possible brother. The tree at Deltgen bears out this hypothesis. Incidentally, Nicolai SCHMITZ may be my 5great-grandfather through a nearby twig on the family tree.

 

Just over a year later, on 4 Feb 1781, Mathernus attended another wedding, but this time as the father of the bride. His daughter Anna Maria married Henricus Josephus HERMAN. Oddly, she is not named on the certificate except where she made her mark at the bottom. Evidently she did not have the benefit of her father’s education.

A few months after that, on 5 Apr 1781, Mathernus served as the godfather for what was possibly his niece, the daughter of “Joannis WILLEM” and “Annee Maria THINUS.” Her name was Elisabeta.

On 3 Jan 1785, his daughter Susanna married Henricus KILLEN. This is the record in which we learn of the HANSEN alias. Surnames were still in flux, and often people would take on the name of the house they occupied, so it was not unusual to find a person recorded in multiple ways. Fortunately, the documents sometimes identified them using both surnames, separated by “modo,” “sive,” or “alias.” In this case, the bride is identified as “Susanna HANSEN,” whereas her father is called “Materni THINES modo HANSEN.” Unfortunately, I did not make this discovery until after going through all the earlier records, and may have missed some in the process by not knowing that the HANSEN name was relevant. I have not yet reviewed them to see if there are any that I missed.

Later that year, on 17 Oct, Mathernus served as a witness at the wedding of Michael PATZ and Anna Maria KAISERS. This is another case of unknown connection. Since this is a wedding rather than a baptism, it seems more possible that they may have just been friends and not related. I may be wrong, but it seems that baptisms generally required a relative to act as sponsor. In marriages I have frequently seen a witness described as an acquaintance.

About two weeks after the wedding, on 29 Oct 1785, Mathernus became the godfather for what may very well have been his first grandson. The child, unsurprisingly named Maternus, was the son of Joseph HERMAN and Anna Maria THINES, or, as she is styled in the record, THIENES. The child was the second born to the couple, the first one being a girl named Margaritha, born two years previous. Her grandfather Mathernus was surely present at her baptism, but, not being a sponsor, he does not appear on the record.

10 Feb 1787 saw the baptism of Anna Maria WILMES, the daughter of Joannes WILMES and Anna Maria THINES (THIENES in this record), and therefore possibly Mathernus’ niece. The official godfather of the child was someone named Simon THIENES of “Stockheim,” that is, Stockem, but apparently he was unable to be there. Mathernus stood in for him. Working on the theory that Anna Maria THINES was Mathernus’ sister, Simon becomes another candidate for a sibling. The circumstantial evidence is consistent with probability; Simon is described as being born and still residing in Stockem.

The last of Mathernus’ known daughters from his marriage to Anna Maria SCHMITZ, Margareta, was married to Joannes RATHS on 30 Dec 1787.

By 1789, Mathernus’ son-in-law Henricus KILLEN has apparently begun to prefer his alternate surname of SCHMITZ. He appears in his son’s baptismal record using only that name, and it is not until the birth of his next child in 1791 that we see the telltale “modo” verifying that it is indeed the same man. Henricus’ and Susanna’s 1789 son is named Maternus SCHMITZ, and it is obvious just by glancing at his Christian name who his godfather was.

Mathernus sponsored another grandchild on 15 July 1790, this time the daughter of Joannis RATZ (RATHS) and Margaretha THINES. The child’s name was Anna Chatarina. I wonder if the birth was a difficult one, because the mother passed away only two months later, on 30 Sept.

Mathernus’ wife Anne Marie SCHMITZ passed away at some point after 1765, although I have seen no record to pinpoint just when. Mathernus was now about 53 years old, his daughters all married and one buried at the Hachiville Cemetery, so apparently the time was right to begin another family. Anne Catherine CREMER (or CREMERS, as she appears in the marriage record) was more than twenty years his junior—in fact not much older than his daughter Margaretha, had she lived—and the two of them founded the branch of the THINES family from which I am descended.

The marriage is one on which I wish I could shed some light. The great age difference makes me curious as to what kind of feelings they had for one another. Although one does occasionally see great age disparities in the marriage records, the vast majority of marriages took place between couples more nearly matched. What sort of pressures might there have been both for and against the marriage? I want, above all, to know if it was a love-match, but no amount of research is likely ever to yield that answer.

What I do know is that they were married on 18 Nov 1790 in Anna Catherine’s hometown of Basbellain. Basbellain, like Hachiville, was the seat of the commune of the same name. (Both communes have since been reorganized: Hachiville into Wincrange and Basbellain into Troisvierges.) It is about four and a half miles from Hachiville, and is one of those unusual towns whose names in the three local languages bear no resemblance to one another. In French it is called Basbellain, but in German it is known as Niederbesslingen, and in Luxembourgish it is Kiirchen. All three names appear in the records. The bride’s parents are identified as Joannis CREMERS and Barbara SCHLEIDGES, but the groom’s parents go unidentified, presumably because of his age.

Their first daughter, Anna Maria, was born shortly after their first anniversary, on 25 Nov 1791. Her godmother was “Anna Maria THINES ex Helzingen,” which could refer to her possible aunt, the wife of Joannes WILMES. The “ex Helzingen” means only that she was residing in Hachiville at the time, not that she was necessarily born there. If we could be sure that this is the same Anna Maria THINES, it would be another layer of circumstantial evidence to indicate that she and Mathernus were siblings. However, since only the name and place of residence are indicated, it could also refer to Mathernus’ daughter Anna Maria from his first marriage. The child’s godfather was Nicolas CREMERS of Kirchen (Basbellain), who I presume to be an uncle on her mother’s side. I will leave that research to another time.

On 13 Oct 1792 the WILMES household makes another appearance in Mathernus’ timeline. This time he is the godfather of their daughter Elisabetha.

Mathernus’ and Anne Catherine’s second child, Anna Chatarina, was baptized on 10 Aug 1793. This time both the sponsors were from the CREMERS side of the family, which will be of interest when I get around to researching that part of the tree, but says nothing about the THINES family.

The next four children appear in the trees at Rootsfinder and Deltgen, but I have not yet seen the original documents. According to those trees, Elisabeth or Elise came next, born on 14 Aug 1795, followed by Susanne on 20 Sept 1797, a stillbirth on 7 Aug 1798, and Jean on either 17 or 19 Feb 1800.

In 1795, Luxembourg came under the rule of the newly formed French Republic, and within the following years eventually became obliged to follow its decrees, including the establishment of a new calendar. The French Republican calendar was a metric calendar, believe it or not, with ten days in a week. Thus, the records from this time seem to have the most extraordinary dates. The next child for which I have a birth certificate—and now they really are birth certificates in the modern sense, not baptismal records—was Nicolas, born on 23 Messidor X. Years in the French Republican calendar are conventionally written in Roman numerals, and are dated from the proclamation of the French Republic. This particular date translates to 12 July 1802. The text regarding the parents and witnesses begins to be very informative to genealogists. On this certificate, the text regarding Mathernus translates to “Mathernus Thines born in Stockem and residing in Hachiville aged sixty-four years, farmer.” Henceforward we will seldom have any doubt as to just whom any record refers.

On 15 Prairial XI (4 June 1803), Mathernus witnessed for the birth of Margretha SCHMITZ, the daughter of Michel SCHMITZ and Anna Maria GLOT alias JEAN PIERRE. Given the name of the child, we can deduce that in addition to being his witness in civil records, our Mathernus was also his godfather. Just what relationship the two families bore one another is unknown, but I suspect that Michel was some sort of relative to Mathernus’ first wife. There is, of course, the added possibility that Michel was a relative of Mathernus’ son-in-law Henricus KILLEN alias SCHMITZ, but the first possibility appears to be much more likely in my opinion. Naturally, there is always the possibility of coincidence, given the commonness of the name, but standing as a sponsor for a child’s baptism does seem to imply some sort of familial relationship.

Mathernus and Anne Catherine had their next child, Anna Margretha, on 14 Thermidor XII (2 Aug 1804). At the end of the following year, much to the relief of confused genealogists, the government of the French Republic abandoned their experiment with a metric calendar and reverted to the familiar Gregorian calendar.

In 1806, Mathernus was a witness on several birth records. First, on 20 Apr 1806, for  Catharina GRAIMAN, the daughter of Jean GRAIMAN and Margretha BREŸER; second, on 6 May 1806, for Mathernus SCHMITZ, the son of Michel SCHMITZ and Marie JEAN PIERRE; and third, on 10 Oct 1806, for Jean Pierre STEMPELS, the son of Nicolas STEMPELS and Lisabetha MERTENS. The GRAIMAN, BREŸER, STEMPELS, and MERTENS surnames are unfamiliar in their relationship to the THINES family, but SCHMITZ has clearly been seen before.

Near the end of that year, on 16 Dec 1806 to be exact, Anne Catherine gave birth to the couple’s last child: Michel. This is the child from whom I am descended, and the father of Barbara THINES mentioned in a previouspost. Mathernus was, at the time of the birth of this final son, sixty-nine years old.

Here I have a ten-year gap in the chronology. It takes a great deal of time and effort to go page by page through the record books, and I have not completed the task. The next record I have that concerns Mathernus is the record of his death.

He died at 10 p.m. on 26 Mar 1816 in his house called Hansen. He was seventy-nine years old. His death was reported to the authorities the following day by Pierre ZEIMES and Jean Pierre WENER. Pierre ZEIMES was his son-in-law, having married his daughter, the second Anna Maria THINES, on 23 Dec 1811. Jean Pierre WENER is identified as a neighbor of the deceased.

Here, of course, ends the chronology. It does not give us much of a picture of Mathernus as a person, but it is something to build upon. I often make these chronologies for members of my family tree. They not only give a picture of a person’s migration (if any) and major life events, but they help to point out leads to other possible relationships and to highlight areas which require more research.

Sources:

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Baptismal record for Anna BOURG; 5 Oct 1776; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances, Mariages, Décès 1743-1782, Vol. 5> Image #140; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 28 Jan 2012.

Baptismal record for Anna Chatarina RATZ; 15 July 1790; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1845-1890 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1793 Naissances, mariages, décès 1798-1800 Mariages 1800-1890 Décès 1801-1802, 1805-1856> Image #450; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 2 Feb 2013.

Baptismal record for Anna Chatarina THINES; 10 Aug 1793; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1845-1890 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1793 Naissances, mariages, décès 1798-1800 Mariages 1800-1890 Décès 1801-1802, 1805-1856> Image #484; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 2 Feb 2013.

Baptismal record for Anna Maria THINES; 25 Nov 1791; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1845-1890 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1793 Naissances, mariages, décès 1798-1800 Mariages 1800-1890 Décès 1801-1802, 1805-1856> Image #461; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 2 Feb 2013.

Baptismal record for Anna Maria WILMES; 10 Feb 1787; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1845-1890 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1793 Naissances, mariages, décès 1798-1800 Mariages 1800-1890 Décès 1801-1802, 1805-1856> Image #417-8; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 2 Feb 2013.

Baptismal record for Elisabeta WILLEM; 5 Apr 1781; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1845-1890 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1793 Naissances, mariages, décès 1798-1800 Mariages 1800-1890 Décès 1801-1802, 1805-1856> Image #358; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 2 Feb 2013.

Baptismal record for Elisabetha WILMES; 13 Oct 1792; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1845-1890 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1793 Naissances, mariages, décès 1798-1800 Mariages 1800-1890 Décès 1801-1802, 1805-1856> Image #473; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 2 Feb 2013.

Baptismal record for Joannes Maternus TOLLER; Dec 1771; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances, Mariages, Décès 1743-1782, Vol. 5> Image #122; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 13 May 2011.

Baptismal record for Margaritha HERMAN; 21 May 1783; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1845-1890 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1793 Naissances, mariages, décès 1798-1800 Mariages 1800-1890 Décès 1801-1802, 1805-1856> Image #382; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 2 Feb 2013.

Baptismal record for Maternus HERMAN; 29 Oct 1785; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1845-1890 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1793 Naissances, mariages, décès 1798-1800 Mariages 1800-1890 Décès 1801-1802, 1805-1856> Image #395; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 2 Feb 2013.

Baptismal record for Maternus KOIL; 21 Oct 1775; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances, Mariages, Décès 1743-1782, Vol. 5> Image #136; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 28 Jan 2012.

Baptismal record for Maternus SCHMITZ; 16 June 1789; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1845-1890 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1793 Naissances, mariages, décès 1798-1800 Mariages 1800-1890 Décès 1801-1802, 1805-1856> Image #439; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 2 Feb 2013.

Birth record for Anna Margretha THINES; 14 Thermidor XII; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1800-1827, Vol. 6> Image #23; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 31 Jan 2012.

Birth record for Catharina GRAIMAN; 20 Apr 1806; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1800-1827, Vol. 6> Image #38; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 31 Jan 2012.

Birth record for Jean Pierre STEMPELS; 10 Oct 1806; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1800-1827, Vol. 6> Image #38; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 31 Jan 2012.

Birth record for Margretha SCHMITZ; 15 Prairial XI; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1800-1827, Vol. 6> Image #16; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 31 Jan 2012.

Birth record for Mathernus SCHMITZ; 6 May 1806; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1800-1827, Vol. 6> Image #38; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 31 Jan 2012.

Birth record for Michel THINES; 16 Dec 1806; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1800-1827, Vol. 6> Image #40; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 19 Oct 2012.

Birth record for Nicolas THINES; 23 Messidor X; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1800-1827, Vol. 6> Image #10; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 31 Jan 2012.

Death record for Margaretha THINES; 30 Sept 1790; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1845-1890 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1793 Naissances, mariages, décès 1798-1800 Mariages 1800-1890 Décès 1801-1802, 1805-1856> Image #457; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 2 Feb 2013.

Death record for Mathernus THINES; 26 Mar 1816; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1845-1890 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1793 Naissances, mariages, décès 1798-1800 Mariages 1800-1890 Décès 1801-1802, 1805-1856> Image #1251; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 28 Feb 2013.

Jost, Bertrand. "Saint Materne Et L'introduction Du Christianisme En Alsace." Saint Materne Et L'introduction Du Christianisme En Alsace. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2013. <http://bertrandjost.chez-alice.fr/Francais/Eveques_strasb/materne.htm>.

Luxroots, “THINES THIENES HANSEN échevin Materne,” igenealogy.lu (Online: Rootsfinder), <http://www.rootsfinder.eu/tng/getperson.php?personID=3259I&tree=Schloesser&PHPSESSID=a18919845f7119da1ca91f14a9c6d54c>, accessed 23 Feb 2013.

Marriage record for Henricus Josephus HERMAN and Anna Maria THINIS; 4 Feb 1781; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1845-1890 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1793 Naissances, mariages, décès 1798-1800 Mariages 1800-1890 Décès 1801-1802, 1805-1856> Image #362; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 2 Feb 2013.

Marriage record for Henricus KILLEN and Susanna HANSEN; 3 Jan 1785; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1845-1890 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1793 Naissances, mariages, décès 1798-1800 Mariages 1800-1890 Décès 1801-1802, 1805-1856> Image #398; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 2 Feb 2013.

Marriage record for Joannes RATHS and Margareta THIENES; 30 Dec 1787; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1845-1890 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1793 Naissances, mariages, décès 1798-1800 Mariages 1800-1890 Décès 1801-1802, 1805-1856> Image #424; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 2 Feb 2013.

Marriage record for Joannis WILHMS and Anna Maria THÜNES; 23 Jan 1780; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1845-1890 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1793 Naissances, mariages, décès 1798-1800 Mariages 1800-1890 Décès 1801-1802, 1805-1856> Image #351; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 2 Feb 2013.

Marriage record for Maternus THINES and Anna Catharina CREMERS; 18 Nov 1790; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Troisvierges > Naissances 1805-1890 Mariages 1779-1805> Image #1381; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 2 Feb 2013.

Marriage record for Michael PATZ and Anna Maria KAISERS; 17 Oct 1785; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1845-1890 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1793 Naissances, mariages, décès 1798-1800 Mariages 1800-1890 Décès 1801-1802, 1805-1856> Image #403; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 2 Feb 2013.

Marriage record for Pierre ZEIMES and Anna Maria THINES; 23 Dec 1811; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1845-1890 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1793 Naissances, mariages, décès 1798-1800 Mariages 1800-1890 Décès 1801-1802, 1805-1856> Image #573-4; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 28 Feb 2013.

Putnam, Ruth. Luxembourg And Her Neighbors. New York: The Knickerbocker Press, 1918. Print.

“THINES, Materne,” Deltgen (Online: Deltgen), <http://www.deltgen.com/pubtng/getperson.php?personID=I248028&tree=Deltgen>, accessed 23 Feb 2013.

“Walking” in Their Footsteps

[This was supposed to have been posted two days ago, and I thought it had. I just discovered that there had been some sort of technical error and it didn't go up, so here's attempt #2.]

When I stepped into my living room this morning, the front window was shining white with just that quality of light that promised wonders on the other side of the blinds. Sure enough, when the blinds parted they revealed a world glistening with deep frost. Without a second thought, I threw on yesterday’s clothes, donned a hat for the double purpose of warmth and hiding my unbrushed hair, grabbed my camera, and was out the door. Apart from genealogy, one of my greatest loves is hiking—and its milder urban cousin “going for a walk”—and any sort of pedestrian travel is always made more pleasant by beautiful scenery, whether it be jagged peaks and sprawling valleys or the small, delicate wonder of a frosty cobweb.

As I walked, my thoughts wandered, as thoughts will, and I began to imagine myself walking along the seawall near the Creeksea Ferry or down the road from Hachiville to the Hermitage, as my ancestors might have done. I wondered how the January days my great-grandmother Cora encountered in Kansas compared to this one, and if she had the leisure to occasionally indulge in such solitary walks—or the desire to do so.

When a large squirrel, all fattened up for the winter, stood up on his hind legs and gazed at me, apparently thinking that I may have some crumbs of bread to share, I wondered about the appearance of squirrels in eastern Essex. Squirrels are, to me, a great indicator of place. Even just within Oregon, you see different kinds of squirrels in different areas. For instance, I know I’ve traveled south when I see one of those big, bristly gray squirrels, or that I’m near the mountains when I see a ground squirrel that looks like a big chipmunk. But I have never been to England, and the squirrels there are as yet a mystery to me.

Eventually it dawned on me that modern technology has given us the ability to walk, as it were, on the other side of the globe. Really, it was my cousin who started me on this train of thought. He emailed me last month, telling me where to look on Google maps to see what’s left of the ferry landing. Yes, I know that Google maps and its street view feature have been around for years, but I have used it very little, and have somehow never thought of using it for getting a sense of an area.  As the frost melted in the warming sun, my desire to attempt a different kind of “walk” grew.

Once my morning walk was over, and after I’d breakfasted, I hurried to the library (which has internet access much faster than my own) and began my stroll around the world.

Since I have lately put most of my thought into the Amos branch of the tree and their home at the Creeksea Ferry, I decided to begin elsewhere. A sense of place for the Thines family in Luxembourg has proven the most elusive, so I typed in “Hachiville.” I was disappointed to find no access to a street view feature there—plus that particular village had somehow accumulated the only cloud cover in all of Luxembourg on the day that the satellite photographed the country. However, I did accidentally discover a feature of satellite view that I had hitherto never seen. By playing around with those features in the top left corner of the screen, you can lay out the countryside as an expanse before you instead of looking straight down at it, and fly over it in any direction your heart desires.

Eastern Essex, on the other hand, is well covered in street view. After a pointless but charming little jaunt down the Champs Élysées, I spent a fair amount of time wandering the streets of Southend-on-Sea, Canewdon, and Maldon. Roaming the streets via Google has its drawbacks, I admit. For one, you are limited to just that—streets—and cannot take off down this pathway or down that beach. Were I really able to be there, I would be doing just that; this morning my walk along the river ended with a slippery scramble up the side of a hill, as is typical for me. But despite its not catering to my sense of adventure, Google street view really is the next best thing to being there.

No doubt to many of you the idea of using Google maps to acquaint yourself with an area is old news. However, there must be others of you who, like me, had not yet discovered its possibilities. For me, genealogy is about understanding my roots, and a huge part of that is achieving what I call a sense of place, a feeling for the environment of my ancestors. Naturally, Google maps cannot take you back to the time when your family inhabited a place, but you can walk the streets and see the layout of an area. With the aid of a few historical pictures and some imagination, you can create your own time machine.

Amanuensis Monday--Elsie Crocker’s Manuscript, Part 13: Of fruit and Olive

To read this project from the beginning, click here.

On this orchard we had all kinds of fruit trees, apples, six or seven variaties, petite plums, peaches, and pears.

Grandma Aileen in peach orchard, age 3 (1918)

We had all kinds of berries, especially strawberries The ever bearing kind and raspberries also some gooseberries. Dad liked gooseberry pie, but was sour without sugar.

We would pick them right off the vines for breakfast with sugar and thick cream they were sure good!

We had lots of melons watermellons, cantaloupe, musk melons These were pink inside. When these melons were ripe them would fall off the vine. We were taught that any kind of fruit had to be ripe before you ate it or you would have a stomachacke.

This proved, when my sister was small got into the gooseberry patch. She ate them when they were green and was she sick. They had the doctor for her, she had convulsions We were real scared. This was my sister Aileen. No more green fruit.

Dad had a big melon patch in between his rows of corn. One day when the Dorr’s were there. I tried to find a ripe watermelon for their son. So I proceeded to plug most of the large melons. Not one of them were ripe.

To plug a melon, you cut a small triangle in the melon. The cut has to be fairly deep and then pull the plug out If it is real red on the tip, it would be ripe.

Dad was upset for me to cut so many melons, he was afraid they would spoil, I don’t think they did, that was the last I heard about the watermelons. However I never plugged watermelons again.

My sister Olive was very quite, she staied around the house a lot. She had some curl in her hair and Mother would put her hair up in strips of news paper. Her hair was short and easy to curl.

Mine was different It was longer and put up in braids. I had pigtails with ribbons on the back of my head or one on each side. My mom braided my hair every morning, when I went to school. We walked a long way home, and on the way I would unbraid my hair and let it hang doun my back. It would be wavy after it was undone. After being braided all day. My friends liked. Mother would always wonder why it would come undone, she never knew and my brothers never told her.

Olive loved the water, she would get in the irrgation ditch close to the house, with all her clothes on. Aunt Sadie said she could stop this, she made Olive a pretty crocheted bead necklace. She instructed Olive to never go in the water and get them wet, or wear them in the water. Olive went in the water again but this time she wasn’t wearing them but had them in her hand trying to keep them dry.

Olive vowed she never had worn these beads in the water. Sadie was furious, that her plan hadn’t worked.

To continue with the next installment of Elsie's manuscript, click here. 

Amanuensis Monday--Elsie Crocker’s Manuscript, Part 11: Leisure Time

To read this project from the beginning, click here.

Sorry about the delay in publishing this installment of Elsie’s manuscript. For some reason it slipped completely off my radar last Monday. I suspect that may happen a few times this season as we all prepare for Christmas.

On one side of our property for a ways ran a canal. It was short distance from the house. The canal furnished some of the water Dad used for his irrigation. We had a good well for our drinking water. Our neighbor, Mr. Church got their household water from our well. Mr. Church would come with a wagon drawn by two horses and in the wagon was four big barrels. He would fill them up and then drive one half mile home.

This land on the other side of the canal, Mother called “wild” It was mostly sagebrush, where rabbits, a few harmless snakes, and a lot of wild flowers, lots of pretty mosses, I loved that pretty moss. The moss was soft like velvet. We had a lot of fun exploring this land. We would pick flowers for our mother. My brother Bill would find a wild rose for me, he knew I loved them, they were scarce.

In the winter time we loved to tracking their little foot prints in the snow. The foot prints usually lead to a hole in the middle of a sagebrush bush. Some times we would find a snake skin. Do you know they shed their skins every year. Some of them were whole length of the snake and some were torn and in pieces. These were our treasures.

At bedtime, after a day of exploring, Mother would check us for wood sticks. Sticks are dangerous left unnoticed. They work themselves into your body, to get out you have to be careful not to pull their heads off. The heads keep in digging. The ticks live in the sagebrush, will stick to who or what comes near them. They caught onto sheep and dogs and can be carried elsewhere. They can course scarlet fever.

Once in a while my brother would catch me a little cotton tail rabbit. He made a little pen for it. The pen had a mesh bottom, which we could move, every day to a new place on the back lawn. This kept him clean and gave him all the green grass he needed. His name from the white tip on his tail. It looked like a small ball of cotton. We’d have him for a few days then Mother would let it out. She said she never let him out but, “that the ol cat must have gotten him.” This happened several times, so Bill and I gave up getting them.

On Sunday, afternoons, Mom and Dad, in their bib and tucker would sit in their rockers and enjoy, a afternoon o relaxing. Dad would smoke his weekly cigar and finish reading his newspaper.

He always read the newspaper to her while she was busy getting breakfast. All of us kids liked to have them outside together, taking it easy for a change. My brothers and sisters would play on the lawn, close by. If it was very hot afternoon Mom would make us a drink from soda, vinegar, water and a little sugar. It sizzled and sputtered and tickled our noses when we drank it. Different from the cold drinks of today, we enjoyed it very much, we didn’t know any better. I think everyone did the same those days.

At night we would sit on the top steps and watch the pretty dragon flies dancing in the light, showing off their beautiful colorful wings.

We would play games on the lawn. Ring Around the Posy, Hide an Seek and Pump Pump Pullaway. Also Kick the Can which my mother didn’t like as she was afraid it would wear out ou shoes to fast.

One of these times I stepped on a wasp. The sting was so hot I thought, I had stepped on one of Dad’s cigarette butts, that was still a light. This was the first wasp I had ever been stung by. No fun. Wasps are larger then yellow jackets and mostly black, on their bodies. A wasp can sting many times but a honey bee but once. On a sting by a honey bee you had to pull out the stinger, the bee would die soon after. If we got stung we would run for some soft mud or for the soda box. They would help ease the pain. We had a lot of bees so we got stung many times, we also ran barefooted, we also had a clover lawn that had blossoms the bees loved.

Dad had many flowers, he was very proud of them. We weren’t allowed to pick them only for special occasions. He said they would last longer and look prettier outside, so everyone could see them. He always had violets, Mom loved the fragrance of the violets.

I am very curious about the game Elsie calls Pump Pump Pullaway. It is not one I have ever heard of from another source. I would be curious to learn how to play it.

To continue with the next installment of Elsie's manuscript, click here.