52 Ancestors #1: Aunt Rose

My first post in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge belongs to my Great Great Aunt Rose Beyersdoerfer Pangburn. I never met Aunt Rose, but she holds a special place in my heart, which I will get to in a moment. For now, here is her profile:



Name: Rose A. Beyersdoerfer
Born: August 16, 1888
Died: ?
Father: John Beyersdoerfer Sr.
Mother: Emma Fleeman (Fliehmann)
Spouse: Emery Pangburn (1885-1976) - Married in 1914
Lived: Foster, Bracken County, Kentucky

What I know about Aunt Rose: I know she was the sibling of a pretty large family - about 7 siblings. She was the oldest daughter, but not the oldest child. The oldest child in the family was my Great Grandfather, John Jr. I know she was born in Bracken County and settled there with her husband Emery. I know she had at least two children: Elma and Virginia. I recently found out that her husband worked for the railroad and that she was listed as a homemaker.

What I don't know about Aunt Rose: Quite a lot. I was surprised to learn that I never recorded her death date. Nor am I quite sure where she is buried. I suspect she is buried in Lenoxburg Cemetery with many of her family members, but this gives me another person to look for when I head up there next time. She needs a good search just focused on her....many sibling lines get neglected too many times among my branches.

Anecdotes related to Aunt Rose:
The photo seen above is one of a tiny pair developed from a booth - an ancient selfie. The other side of the pair is this photo here with Aunt Rose in the back, with her younger sister Celia (called Ceely by family) in the lower right hand side, and a friend, Velma Morford (Mofford) on the left. According to family lore (My Great Grandmother Nellie Cox Beyersdoerfer), Velma was a dear family friend who was favored by the sisters to marry my Great Grandfather John Jr. - Therefore, Nellie couldn't stand her! Nellie got her man, but never forgot about Velma's favored place in the family - she even cut her photo out of a group shot one time - oooh, ancestor drama!!

The reason I feel a little drawn to Aunt Rose is this photo of her as a very young woman. It is probably my very favorite photo in the collection. The original is no bigger than a postage stamp, but I have enlarged it many times and have one such copy hanging in my office at KHS. The time frame is near to the sinking of the Titanic, and with the size of that hat, and the name Rose, I couldn't help thinking she looked as glamorous as the famous Rose of the movie Titanic. Even though she was a humble farmer's daughter, she certainly knew how to glam it up! I wish I knew what color the hat was as I'm sure it would rival any derby hat today!
Sure wish I could have known Aunt Rose, but I'm looking forward to learning more about her as my research grows.

The 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is a blogging prompt for each week of 2014 and created by Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small.

For Those Who Mother Us...

In honor of Mother's Day, I pulled out this old family favorite from the Beyersdoerfer Collection. All of these women are Beyersdoerfer mothers holding, what appears to be, their children of near identical age. The photo was taken sometime around 1915 on the Beyersdoerfer family farm in Bracken County, Kentucky. I am very rusty on which woman is which, but I'll give it a shot: from R-L: Aunt Addie (Hiles) Beyersdoerfer, Aunt Rose (Beyersdoerfer) Pangburn, Aunt Nora (Beyersdoerfer) Reuss, Great Grandma Nellie (Cox) Beyersdoerfer, Can't remember the name of the lady with the cloth on her head - could this be Aunt Gladys - the wife of Uncle Charlie Beyersdoerfer?, Aunt Celia (Beyersdoerfer) Gosney. Needless to say, it must have been a long winter to have all of these babies born in the same season!

As an added highlight to this year's Mother's Day weekend, we are also celebrating the 90th birthday of my grandmother Bessie Louise (Pace) Daniels. She was born in Magoffin County Kentucky to Albert and Fannie (Connelly) Pace. Not only did she raise four of her own children, but in 1988 she (along with Grandpa Charles) was named Foster Parent of the year in the state of Ohio. Over the years she cared for over 60 foster babies.....and I mean babies - some newborn to a few months old! She's still going strong these days....going to church, shopping, and family functions.....and still playing mother to her Shih-Tzu - Sarah Jane.....you go Grandma!

Of course I mustn't forget my own Momma, Pamela (Watts).....the dearest, bestest and most loving Mother a kid could have! And believe me, my brother and I gave her fits while growing up! She too is still mothering us all the time while being very active in her church and tending to her half acre perennial garden. Being the daughter of farmers means she loves this time of year that allows her to be in the garden getting those fingers dirty!

So Happy Mother's Day to all those special mothers out there - those dear mothers of the past, or the dear ones of the present......we couldn't have done it without you!

C

5/9/2010