Coming full circle

Edd and Sarah at the OR coast June 2016

We are wedding planning. Our daughter, Sarah is engaged to be married to Edd. Edd is from the U.K., so our family connection is coming full circle. The Johnstones and Colemans came from U.K. We've had Edd and his father, Paul here for Christmas and have got on like old friends. Paul keeps saying "when you come to Cornwall....." So it looks like I might be going to Cornwall in the near future. Better get the passport updated. Now, if we could marry a kid off to someone from Sweden or Hong Kong, we'd be in business.

Talented Tuesday...A True Renaissance Man

Talented Tuesday – Got ancestors who had a special talent? Be it musical, comical, or any manner of skill, post at your genealogy blog through words and pictures. This series has been suggested by Terri atSouthwest Arkie.

 

Carl Borgreen
Circa 1930

This is my grandpa, Carl Borgreen. The stories I've heard of him lead me to believe that there was nothing he couldn't do. According to mom, he was a gymnast, he flew a biplane, he wrote poetry, and he had wanted to be a doctor. He worked at the Anaconda Copper Mining Company in Great Falls Montana and was eventually promoted to safety welfare engineer. In his obituary, his interests are listed as "flying, hunting, fishing, camping, woodworking, and biology." Truly a man of many talents.

Daze of the week

Daze of the Week!

"Some of you may have noticed that in each Genealogy Blogging Beat we now feature national holidays and some of the more offbeat holidays. Here are some dates next week to look out for so you can plan your blog posts for next week:

• May 27: Cellophane Tape Day"

from Geneabloggers

Nell Borgreen

This made me laugh and served as a prompt for today's post. Grandma Nell (Ellen Johnstone Borgreen) was the queen of scotch tape. In the living room of her little yellow house, there sat a large buffet. No one was ever allowed to touch it. EVER. In fact, after Grandma died, my mom got the buffet and I'm not too sure she's ever screwed up the nerve to open a drawer and look inside.

But I digress. In the middle drawer of the buffet was a large collection of scotch tape dispensers. Grandma would buy a roll of tape, use a little bit and immediately lose the end. She'd buy another roll and the process would repeat itself. Each roll would be deposited in the middle drawer of the buffet. Whenever I'd come to visit, Grandma would take the rolls out of the drawer and I'd spend our time together chatting and picking at the ends of all those dispensers. Oddly, I enjoyed this activity and the time with Grandma. 

Another scotch tape story goes like this, when we were little, my sister and brother and I would often get a card in the mail from Grandma. The envelope would be very heavy and the front covered in stamps. Inside we would find quarters taped to the card. There was usually several dollars worth of quarters and we were always thrilled at the gift. Because of the heft and bulk of the card, the flap of the envelope had to be taped down. Grandma was very generous with the tape and we'd joke that we should really buy stock in the Scotch tape company. Of course, gift wrapped boxes received the same treatment. Grandma must have used miles of tape in her life. 

Working 9-5

March 12 - Working girl: Did your mother or grandmother work outside the home? What did she do? Describe her occupation

Nurse Nellie

Ellen "Nell" (Johnstone) Borgreen graduated from the Columbus Hospital School of Nursing in 1933 at the age of 21. .She worked for two years in the office of Dr. C.H. Peterson, of Great Falls, before marrying Carl Borgreen in 1935. Nell then spent the next 24 years as a wife, mother and homemake. 


When Carl died suddenly and tragically
in 1959 at the age of 53, Nell was forced to return to nursing as a way to support her family. She spent the next many years working at Park Place and Cascade County Convalescent Hospital. 


I remember going to work with Grandma when I was little. I enjoyed the residents, but I remember hating the hospital smell. Grandma always had fun with her patients. She was ballsy and brash and I think they all loved her for it. She always had stories to tell from work. I'll share a couple here.


One day she heard someone talking in the closet. When she opened the door an elderly lady yelled "I'm not done yet!" The poor woman thought she was in confession. How did she get in the closet in the first place? Another resident got tired of listening to her talk and pushed her wheelchair into the closet to "shut her up."


There was one lady who always had to be busy. She constantly needed something to keep her occupied. Grandma got some hand towels from the laundry and asked the lady to please help her fold them. Just as she was folding the last one, Grandma "accidentally" knocked the pile over and she had to start again. The lady happily folded towels all afternoon.


As a single mother, Nell had to deal with latch key children. She had instructed the boys not to watch TV while she was at work. They promised that they wouldn't. But as soon as she got home, she put her hand on top of the TV and felt that it was still warm. Not to be outdone, she took a pair of scissors and cut the "damn cord" off the TV. Well the next day the boys just rewired it, and watched TV all day. I don't remember how this story ended. I was usually too busy laughing at the thought of her cutting the cord and them wiring it back on again.


There are many more Nell stories, but I can't do them justice here. No one can tell them the way she did.

Sentimental Sunday...Grandma's Black Purse

Grandma Nell's Black Purse

This is the black purse. It hung on the door knob of the back bedroom at Grandma Nell's (Ellen Johnstone Borgreen) little yellow house for years and years. Truth be told the purse wasn't always the same purse. She would change them out, but they were always black. What was inside this purse? Stuff, junk, treasures. The stuff changed as often as the purse changed, but it was always full of something fun and interesting to a little kid. Maybe an old pocket calendar, a doll from the dollar store, an old empty lipstick tube, a deck of cards (not all of them, of course), some plastic plates for a tea party, a note pad and pencil.... It didn't really matter what was inside, it was new to the kids. I didn't actually play with the black purse as a child. I don't think Grandma had the flash of inspiration until my cousins came along. But my kids all played with it, and when Grandma passed in 2000, the purse came to live at my house. It received a thorough cleaning out and inspection for safety then was tucked away for the future.

 The little dumpling on this scrapbook page is my granddaughter, Dani, playing with her great-great grandma's black purse.  Last year I brought the purse out of the closet to share with her for the first time. She was enthralled with all the stuff inside. Such a simple thing full of random "junk" to keep a little kid busy for a  while. Like Grandma Nell, I'll change the contents out frequently, but the purse shall remain the same for as long as it holds up. Then it will live the rest of its days in my treasure chest of family memorabilia.

Messages from England

Original photos sent by email and copy of message from 2002

Photo after applying a bit of photoshop magic

Great Great Grandpa William Johnstone

I've been in contact with a UK cousin. Philip is a third cousin once removed to be exact. He has been generous to share a family three, photos and some old family details that I didn't have previously. I've been able to share some immigrant information and details about the American cousins. It's been fun and enlightening and thoroughly wonderful. Some of the UK relatives had no idea they even had American cousins. We had no idea what had become of the UK clan. The best part of this whole thing continues to be the sharing and reconnecting with long lost family. I have lots of information to sift through and put into context. There are lots of name and dates to add to the tree. And now I have some faces to put with those names. Who would have thought? 

Happy New Year!

The Johnstone Clan w/spouses

Now I don't know if this photo was taken on NYE or not. It probably wasn't as Aunt Katie and Auntie Pete are sleeveless. But its the most festive photo in my collection and I think it works. This is the Johnstone clan, the children of William H. and Mary A. Johnstone, and their spouses. This photo was taken at Grandpa and Grandma Borgreen's house on Smelter Hill in Great Falls MT, sometime in the 40's. There are only two people in this group who I did not have the pleasure of knowing, Grandpa Carl Borgreen and Aunt RoseMary. They both passed away too early.

The others I knew and loved and miss terribly. Auntie Pete and Aunt Francis are still living and I would love a chance to visit with them about their memories.

Back row from L to R.

Carl Borgreen, Audrey "Pete" Johnstone, Jack Johnstone, Steve Johnstone, Bertha "Bert" Johnstone, Jim Johnstone

Front row L to R

Bill Johnstone, Francis Johnstone, Nell (Johnstone) Borgreen, George Tracy, Kathleen (Johnstone) Tracy, Rose Mary Johnstone. Not pictured are Don Johnstone and Gert Johnstone.

Wedding Wednesday....Edward and Marie Marxer

Edward and Marie were my paternal grandparents. They were married on 24 Feb. 1936 at St. Ann's Cathedral in Great Falls MT. It was a small family wedding. The bride's maid was Louise Marxer, Edward's sister, and the best man was Mike Reddish. The wedding day was cold and the snow deep. The bride's bouquet of roses was frostbitten in the cold. The wedding party headed out to the ranch in the early afternoon. The car made it as far as Eden than needed to be towed by a team of horses the rest of the way. When they arrived at the house the whole community was there to greet the new bride. They played games, told round stories and tall tales and sang songs. Later they rolled the carpet up and pushed the furniture out of the way for an impromptu dance in the living room. They partied until the wee hours of the morning.

This story was told by Edward and Marie in the county history "A Century In The Foothills 1876-1976"

page 319

.

A Christmas Blessing from Liechtenstein

Imagine my delight and surprise when I opened my email today and found this:

Hello Jennie

I see you need a bit of help from your relatives from the Principality (Fürstentum) of Liechtenstein. I have seen your blog and you have difficulties to find the dates of birth und death of your ancesters. My mother's name of birth is Wanger. So I know the family trees of your paternal line (Marxer and Wanger). I'm related to your paternal great great grandpa (Franz Josef Marxer) and to your paternal great grandma ( Maria Katharina Marxer - Wanger)=>Written in German.

Maria Katharina Marxer (Wanger) was a sister of my great grandpa (Dominikus Wanger). She had 12 brothers and sisters but some of them died early.

Now the details: 

Andreas Marxer *12.10.1825 +01.01.1909  was married to Anna Schächle *25.07.1829 +09.01.1881. When Anrdeas (Andrew's) wife died, the whole family decided to emmigrate to the USA. 
In 1882 his son Franz Josef Marxer *15.09.1860 +03.09.1932 emmigrated first (St.Pauls Minesotta). Two years later (1884) his father and the other brothers an sisters followed.

Here the whole family:

Andreas Marxer *12.10.1825 +01.01.1909 and his wife Anna Schächle *25.07.1829 +09.01.1881 
Their children:=>They all went to St. Pauls
Franz Josef Marxer *15.09.1860 +03.09.1932 and his wife Maria Katharina Wanger *30.12.1862 +5.01.1935 
Martina Marxer *29.03.1862 (Her date of death is unknown)
Maria Ursula Marxer *03.05.1863 +24.10.1950 and her husband Franz Näscher *18.02.1859 (date of death unknown) =>he is from Liechtenstein too.
Wilhelm Marxer *03.07.1869 +02.08.1962 and his wife Frieda Brinekof (USA)


On the picture in the attachement you can see Katherine's brother Dominikus. 
On the coloured picture you can see Edward's cousin Julius Wanger (The old man on the left).
When you are interested, I can send you the family tree of both families (Marxer and Wanger). 
I also attach you the coat of arms of the Marxer family.


One thing that interests me. Does the house, that was built by Frank Joseph Marxer still exist? I would like to know, if he has built the house in the typical style that was common in those times in Liechtenstein. 

A short information to Liechtenstein:
Liechtenstein is a tiny independant state between Switzerland and Austria and is member of the United Nations. The offspring of those who went to America think that they came from Germany because their language is German, but they are not. Liechtenstein was attached to Germany until 1866. Then we were fully independant. Nowadays we work very close together with Switzerland. Our currency is Swiss Francs. 

The village they came from:
Andrew or Frank and Katherine lived in the village of "Eschen" . It is a very nice place in the Rhine valley. It rains a lot, but when the weather is nice, all is green, even in summer. When Andrew, Frank and Katherine left the house in Eschen they could see the mountains just in front of the house (picture attached). 

Greetings from Liechtenstein and with the best wishes for a happy new year

Rainer

Attached to this were some family photos the family coat of arms and a lovely shot of the village my ancestors came from. 

Marxer family coat of arms

To my newfound cousin in Liechtenstein, Danke. From the bottom of my heart.

Season's Greeting From Our House to Your House

Christmas Greeting from the Edward Marxer Family
circa late 1940's

I found this lovely vintage holiday greeting in the box of photos and memorabilia that I received when Grandma Marie Marxer passed away in 2000.

There is no handwriting on the greeting, in fact I think this was the prototype to their holiday card. The car in the front leads me to believe that this was sent out sometime in the late 1940's. I have photos of the family all gathered around a similar car from that time period.

The house was built by Great Grandpa, Joseph Marxer, on land that he homesteaded in the 1890's.
He received his land patent in 1898. Grandpa, Edward Marxer, was born in this house. My dad, Gary Marxer and his brothers were raised there and I spent many happy times visiting, the old homestead as a child. I can still hear the SWACK of the wooden screen door slamming as someone ran in or out. I can hear the wind rustling through the grass and trees. I can see, in my mind's eye, the cloud of dust from the road as someone drove by and everyone stopping to gawk to see who it was. That gawking habit dies hard. My dad  is still a gawker and his brother Neal, who lives right next door to me, gawks every time I leave my driveway. It makes me smile to see the old days and the old ways still carrying on.

Merry Christmas and Blessings in the New Year!

A Poem for Judy

Judy Ellen Borgreen

This poem was written by my grandfather, Carl Borgreen, for his daughter, Judy. Judy is my mom. Grandpa was a deep soul and left many of these little treasures behind. He died suddenly, when Mom was only 17 and left a vast hole in her heart, and in the hearts of everyone who knew him.

Mom has a bulging packet of photos and poems, cards and newspaper clippings and I'm slowly making my way through it all. I'm scanning everything so that it can be assembled in a meaningful way and shared with the family. I never knew Grandpa personally, but through these snippets and the stories of him, I feel a very powerful connection to him.

Christmas, The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

My Childhood memories of Santa are vivid. I would get so excited for Christmas that I would just shake and I still remember the physical ache of anticipation. I don't think I ever stopped believing. I never felt tricked or deceived by the stories. The thought of a benevolent old soul toiling all year to bring gifts the all the good boys and girls of the world just makes my heart glad. The sight of a Santa and child makes me misty eyed. Part of that may be hormones, but part of it has always been that way. 

Yes Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus

Eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of New York's Sun, and the quick response was printed as an unsigned editorial Sept. 21, 1897. The work of veteran newsman Francis Pharcellus Church has since become history's most reprinted newspaper editorial, appearing in part or whole in dozens of languages in books, movies, and other editorials, and on posters and stamps.
"DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old. "Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. "Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.' "Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?"VIRGINIA O'HANLON."115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET."VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood. 

Those Places Thursday...The Cabin

Johnstone-Borgreen Cabin est. 1936

This is "The Cabin". It was built by my grandfather, Carl Borgreen 

and my Uncle Steve Johnstone, who was Grandma Nell's brother.

Our family has been coming to this place ever since 1935. There is no

electricity or running water; no plumbing or any type of modern

convenience. There is no TV, computer and no cell phone service.

This spot is truly Heaven on Earth. There are no neighbors or stores

no street noise. There is nothing but the pure silence of the mountains

and the creek running by. 

The inside of the cabin contains many of the

same items that have been there since the very beginning. The old wood stove

and picnic table have always been there. The oil lamps and pots and pans

are the same ones that I've always known. The water bucket and dipper 

are the same ones from back in the day when we could actually drink the 

water straight from the creek. 

There have been small changes over the

years and improvements like the new roof and fresh paint. But the things

that matter, the things that make this the cabin have remained the same.

The history of this place swirls around me when I step out of my car to

open the gate. To be so firmly rooted to a place is holy. I have always come

here and I will always come back. And when my time comes to leave this 

life, I want my ashes scattered here. 

Family Stories

Today is the anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. This day always reminds me of a story I was told about my Grandpa and Grandma Borgreen (Carl and Nell). Before I tell it, though let me just say a silent prayer for all those lost in that attack.

Now the story goes like this, Nell, who was expecting my mom, Judy, was vacuuming in the living room. Carl was somewhere else in the house listening to the radio. He heard the bulletin that Pearl Harbor had been attacked. He ran into the living room and yanked the vacuum cord from the wall, yelling "they attacked Pearl Harbor, they attacked Pearl Harbor!" Grandma Nell, in her usual way yelled back "Why did you unplug my vacuum and who the hell is Pearl Harbor, anyway?"