Amanuensis Monday - Grandma Hill's Poetry, Week 47

A common theme in Grandma's poems are the loss of her son Victor Hill.  He was killed in the battle of Hill 70 near Lens, France on 15 August 1917, and lies buried in the Maroc British Cemetery near there.  This poem and the next few describe her grief.

A Grave in France

For just once, glance -

Dear Lord, I pray, upon that

Far off lonely grave

Somewhere in France.

His life he gave - 

Unreconciled my lonely soul

That this should be -

A lonely grave.

Unanswered prayer -

With eyes of faith,

That far off grave I see, and lo, -

The Lord is there.

No more alone -

Through shrieking shell and

Poisoned flame, the Master sought -

And found his own.

Nancy Jane Wiley Hill (1875-1960) was always writing something.  Many of those poems are now in the possession of her granddaughter Shirley Kern.  Shirley, with the help of her sister-in-law Ruth Ormsby, transcribed these poems in 1996 for a Hill-Ormsby-Kern family reunion.  I am going to post many of these poems so that they may be enjoyed by all.

These are copyright 1996 and reprinted with permission.

Society Saturday - Illinois Regional Archives

The Illinois Branch of Sons and Daughters of Pilgrims met for lunch recently.  Our guest speaker was Jayne Cates, an officer of Illinois State Genealogical Society.  She spoke on the IRAD system.

IRAD is the Illinois Regional Archives Depository System.  This consists of 7 repositories throughout the state with holding from local and county governments.  Most of northern Illinois is served by the branch at Northern Illinois University.

Jayne told of the various types of local records that might be found in these repositories, as well as the procedure for visiting them.

After her program, a memorial service was conducted by Elder June Chapek for our deceased members.

www.cyberdriveillinois.com

Amanuensis Monday - Grandma Hill's Poetry, Week 46

Return of the Boys of '18

The fine returning hosts go by,

The bugles of the morning play

Their serenades into the sky.

The taut drums beat the reveille -

But oh, through moments packed and dim

I stand apart, with downcast air,

And only see through sorrow grim

The figure of my boy, who is not there.

Bright banners deck the laughing streets, 

And throngs on crowded sidewalks wait.

The day is fie, the air is sweet.

As the hosts march by, so tall and straight.

But with them, I see moving all the while,

A dim shadow that will never come

With that sweet accustomed manly smile,

To the summons of the sounding drum.

And this is all that I can see -

His mother apart, on the throng's bright rim.

But oh! how much I'd give

If only I could go out there to him.

Could kneel for one moment by that cross

Amid the poppies where he lies

So close to Flanders mud and moss

With God's sweet slumber on his eyes.

The pomp and splendor of  the day,

The glory of the great parade.

Shall come and go and pass away,

Shall from the moment's memory fade.

But not the picture of the pale

The frequent phantom everywhere.

The ghost of Loose's hill and vale

The ghost of my boy who was not there.

Nancy Jane Wiley Hill (1875-1960) was always writing something.  Many of those poems are now in the possession of her granddaughter Shirley Kern.  Shirley, with the help of her sister-in-law Ruth Ormsby, transcribed these poems in 1996 for a Hill-Ormsby-Kern family reunion.  I am going to post many of these poems so that they may be enjoyed by all.

These are copyright 1996 and reprinted with permission.

Society Saturday - OGS Lineage Societies and ProGen

I was able to attend the annual meeting of the Ohio Genealogical Society this year.  Unfortunately, this meeting often conflicts with other April meetings that I have to attend, such as Lineage Week, but it occurred a little later this year.

I co-hosted a ProGen get-together the evening before the actual conference began. There were 6 of us plus a few guests who enjoyed meeting each other and networking.

ProGen Alumni and current members at OGS

The meeting was held at the Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, Ohio.  Everything in the resort has an african theme, and the conference organizers definitely capitalized on that.  The meeting itself consisted of three jam packed days with multiple simultaneous sessions.  Two month later I'm still trying to digest everything I learned.

The Ohio Genealogical Society has 4 subsidiary lineage groups.  I am a member of all four, and proved supplemental lineages for three of them - including the Society of Civil War Families of Ohio (not pictured).  My mother joined both Century Families of Ohio and Settlers and Builders of Ohio.  Unfortunately, since her lineage only traces back to the mid 1800's before crossing the pond, these may be the only 2 groups that she will be able to join.

Century Families of Ohio Inductees

The criteria for Century Families of Ohio requires an ancestor in Ohio from 1861 to 100 years before the current year.  In other words, for this year that means 1861-1913.  There was a gentleman inducted who is, in essence, his own ancestor - a centenarian!  Our ancestors are: my mother's parents John and Amelia Emma (Graber) Steinbrecher, Amelia's mother Lydia (Kibler) Graber, John's parents John William and Eva Elizabeth (Hettinger) Steinbrecher) and John William's parents Johann Wilhelm and Katharine (Steinbrecher) Steinbrecher.

Settlers and Builders of Ohio Inductees

To join Settlers and Builders of Ohio, you must have an ancestor in Ohio between 1821-1860.  My original ancestors are:  Joseph Thompson and Malvina E. (Miller) McGowan and their daughter Elmina (McGowan) Neeley.  My mothers ancestors (my supplementals) are: Jacob and Susanna (Meister) Kibler, their son Hieronymus "Moses" Kibler, his wife Barbara (Schlatter) Kibler, and her father Jacob Schlatter.

http://www.ogs.org/about/lineage.php

Amanuensis Monday - Grandma Hill's Poetry, Week 45

In addition to poetry, Grandma had several "wise quips".  Here are a few:

• A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after a while, he knows something.

• The lazier a man is, the more he is going to do tomorrow.

• Men are just the opposite from guns - the smaller the caliber, the bigger the bore.

• An open mind, like an open window, should have a screen to keep the bugs out.

• Prosperity is just being able to pay a little more for things we shouldn't buy anyway.

Nancy Jane Wiley Hill (1875-1960) was always writing something.  Many of those poems are now in the possession of her granddaughter Shirley Kern.  Shirley, with the help of her sister-in-law Ruth Ormsby, transcribed these poems in 1996 for a Hill-Ormsby-Kern family reunion.  I am going to post many of these poems so that they may be enjoyed by all.

These are copyright 1996 and reprinted with permission.

Society Saturday - Presidential Checks

The Pierce Downer Society, Children of the American Revolution met at the First National Bank in Lagrange, IL.  After our business meeting, we toured a very special collection at the bank.

The family that owns the bank has a private collection of checks that have been signed by the Presidents of the United States.  It contains original checks signed by 36 of our Presidents.

Each check is displayed, and several have interesting stories.  For example, the oldest check in the collection was written by George Washington as payment for a whiskey still at Mt. Vernon.

The check with Abraham Lincoln's signature was written to "self" for $800 monthly salary.  It was written just a month before his assassination.

http://www.fnblg.com/about-us/presidential-check-collection.html

Amanuensis Monday - Grandma Hill's Poetry, Week 44

In addition to poetry, Grandma had several "wise quips".  Here are a few:

• Whenever dreams are really bad, they never seem to break up.  But whenever dreams are really good, it's time to wake up.

• A borrower is the one who tries to live within your means.

• Egotism is the anesthesia that keeps people on living terms with themselves.

• The girl who thinks no man is good enough for her, may be right - but she is more often left.

• A man is that large irrational creature who is always looking for home atmosphere in a hotel, and hotel service around the house.

• I wonder if the future will bring a day, when I can hide a thing in secret, with utmost care, and later on, remember where?

Nancy Jane Wiley Hill (1875-1960) was always writing something.  Many of those poems are now in the possession of her granddaughter Shirley Kern.  Shirley, with the help of her sister-in-law Ruth Ormsby, transcribed these poems in 1996 for a Hill-Ormsby-Kern family reunion.  I am going to post many of these poems so that they may be enjoyed by all.

These are copyright 1996 and reprinted with permission.

Society Saturday - World War II Music and Betsy Ross

I wasn't able to attend much of the Illinois DAR State Conference this year, but was there for about 24 hours. 

The State Officers Club meets the evening before.  This is usually an entertaining evening.  The theme was Music from World War II.  The centerpieces resembled old time radio microphones.  

Our program consisted of 2 sisters, both members of DAR, who sang and played the piano.  They were in 1940's style army uniforms and sang songs like "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy".

The next morning, there was a joint breakfast of Illinois Chapters of Women Descendants of Ancient and Honorable Artillery Co., Daughters of Colonial Wars and Daughters of Founders and Patriots.  Our special guest for breakfast was Betsy Ross who told about her life and how she came to make a flag for General Washington. She even taught all of us how to make five pointed stars with a single snip.