Tombstone Tuesday: Annie Palmer, "The White Witch of Rose Hall" in Jamaica - or NOT

Breathless at the so-called tomb of Annie Mary Paterson Palmer

Although the tour guides at the Rose Hall Plantation near Montego Bay, Jamaica, say this is the grave of Annie Mary Paterson Palmer (born 1802), the so-called "White Witch of Rose Hall,"  that's not the case. No one knows who is truly buried here, or even if anyone is buried here at all.  It makes a nice ghost story though which brings lots of tourists to Rose Hall.  In my mind, though, the plantation was interesting enough without having to make up any stories and malign this poor woman.

Indeed, Geoffrey S. Yates, Assistant Archivist at the Jamaica Archives back in 1965, provided lots of evidence that Annie Palmer did not do the things she is accused of in the legends (murdering three husbands, taking slave lovers, one of whom ultimately murdered her, etc.).  Indeed, the only truth at all is that she was married (her only marriage) to the plantation's owner, John Rose Palmer, and that she lived on the plantation from their marriage in 1820 at least until his death in 1827.

Just goes to show - don't believe all the stories you hear about an ancestor - find some evidence to back them up.

© Amanda Pape - 2013 - click here to e-mail me.

Motivation Monday: Family Tree Wall--Finished!

This past long holiday weekend, I made a quick overnight trip trip to my parents' new home to finish the project I started on New Year's Eve:  a "family tree" wall with old family photographs of my parents and ancestors.  Here is the completed project:

The idea was that my parents are in the center, and on either side of them are photos of their parents, then, moving outward, their grandparents, great-grandparents (if photos were available), and so on.

It's hard to photograph though, being in a hallway, so above is a closeup of the section (the left-hand side) with my parents and my mom's side of the family, and below is the section (the right-hand side) with my dad's side of the family.

There was one photo I really wanted to hang up that just wouldn't fit in the limited space I had available for the family tree.  That went on a small hall wall that runs perpendicular to the family tree.  It's a photograph of my Pape great-grandparents and their seven children (including my grandfather) taken about 1910, as well as a rendition of the Pape family coat of arms painted by my German cousin Wolfgang Pape.  They are pictured below:

I've already posted nearly all of the images on these walls in this blog - but I see a couple I haven't done yet!  I may use these walls as a reminder for the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge - in which I'm already woefully behind.  I can count at least 47 ancestors (direct and collateral) in these photos!  I also find this wall motivating in terms of the number of ancestors of whom we are fortunate to have photographs.

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Tombstone Tuesday: Grand Cayman Cemeteries

North Side Cemetery, Grand Cayman

Grand Cayman island has a number of beautiful cemeteries right on the beach.  These traditional sand cemeteries may seem like a waste of prime real estate, but at the time they were built, it made sense.  The sand was useless for agriculture or building, and much of the island is hard coral limestone rock, which was difficult to dig in.  I was impressed by the numerous lovely flowers on the graves (some are real!).

[Old Man Bay] Cemetery [Grand Cayman, 12 March 2012] / Lee Green / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Sentimental Sunday: Family Tree Wall: A Work in Progress

On New Year's Eve, while visiting my parents at their new home, I mostly completed my big project for that visit - creating a "family tree" wall with old family photographs of my parents and ancestors.  Here is how it looks so far:

The idea was that my parents are in the center, and on either side of them are photos of their parents, then, moving outward, their grandparents, and so on.

The blue tape marks spaces where additional photos are supposed to go.  We do have photographs of my Pape great-great-grandparents, my Guokas great-grandparents, and my great-great-great grandfather Jacob Shelton (who died about 1870).  I'm also going to add another photo of my mother (to balance out the collage of three of my dad), and a photo of her with her parents and siblings that will fit in that very obvious hole.

I spent a lot of time measuring and laying out the photos on the top of a twin bed (fortunately about the same size as the wall space I had to work with).  I think it turned out rather well!  It's hard to photograph though, being in a hallway.  Above is my dad's side of the family, and below are my parents and my mom's side of the family.

I couldn't fit one other old family photo in the design - that one went on a separate wall, and will be the subject of a future post.

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

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(Not-So-) Wordless Wednesday: Happy New Year!

I took these pictures of "snow people," made by staff members out of milk jugs, when I had to open and close my library on Saturday, December 14.  This was the last display in our large display case that separated the inner and outer lobbies.  Less than a week later, the display case was gone, demolished to make way for the next phase of a Learning Commons project that is re-making our main level.

When I go back to work tomorrow, after nearly two weeks off, it's going to be very different in our building, as this latest phase affects the entry area and access to the other two levels of the library.  I'm a little apprehensive about these short-term changes but also excited about long-term effects to come.  Rather appropriate for a new year!

Some things change, but some things stay the same.  I have lots more photos and stories to share in this blog.  In 2014, I plan to post at least once a week and hopefully more often - except when I'm without the internet!

[Going off the grid in a few days - comment moderation will be temporarily turned on for a while too.]

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Wordless Wednesday: Merry Christmas!

Mark, Karen, and Amanda Pape, Christmas 1961, 7913 Cedel, Houston, Texas

 
© Amanda Pape - 2013 - click here to e-mail me.

Advent Calendar: Christmas Eve

It's the annual Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories!  I've participated the past four years (2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012), but this year, there are some new prompts, and the sequence has changed for some old prompts used in previous years.  For the latter, in some cases I'll simply re-post, while in others, I will link to the older posts, and - when applicable - post about something else that's at least somewhat related.

The prompt for today (the last day!) is:  December 24 – Christmas Eve.

How did you and your family spend Christmas Eve? Did you attend church services, perhaps a children’s service with a pageant? What about food – was there a special meal or did your family hold an open house so friends and family could stop by?  Share your memories of Christmas Eves gone by.

In 2009-2011, I wrote about Christmas Eve traditions for my parents and in my family of origin.  Last year, 2012, I posted a picture from Christmas Eve 1959.  The one below was taken at Christmastime in 1961 - and it might have been Christmas Eve.  On the back of the photo, in my younger sister Karen's handwriting, it says it was taken at Marian High School (which is now Episcopal High School) in Bellaire (which is surrounded by Houston), Texas.  This was adjacent to what was then the convent for the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament, of which my aunt is a member.  However, at the time, I think she might have been living at the convent at Incarnate Word Academy in downtown Houston.  We may have been attending a Christmas Eve service there.

I'm to the right in the photograph here, and Karen is to the left.  Behind her is our brother Mark.

© Amanda Pape - 2013 - click here to e-mail me.

The Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories (ACCM) allows you to share your family’s holiday history 24 different ways during 24 days in December! Learn more at http://adventcalendar.geneabloggers.com.    

Advent Calendar: The Meaning of Christmas - Wishes and Homecomings

It's the annual Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories!  I've participated the past four years (2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012), but this year, there are some new prompts - and that is the case for December 21, 22, and 23.  Here are the prompts:

December 21 – Christmas Wishes
Some wish for specific things while others help make the wishes of others come true. Most of us probably wish for peace, prosperity and good health. Do you have a special Christmas wish that came true, or that you are still waiting to come true? Have you ever helped others fulfill a wish at Christmas?  Tell us about your own Christmas wishes and your memories of Christmases past.

December 22 – Christmas Homecoming
Families are often far apart at Christmas or have to make special efforts just to spend Christmas together. The Christmas Homecoming can take many forms, even a virtual one via Skype or a phone call. What are your memories of homecomings at Christmas? If you could have any one family member – present or past – come home for Christmas, who would it be and why?  Tell us about Christmas homecomings and your memories of Christmases past.

December 23 – The Meaning of Christmas
If someone dropped out of the sky and was unfamiliar with the concept of Christmas, how would you explain it to them? Can you put the meaning of Christmas into words? What does Christmas represent to you and is it different than when you grew up or from the meaning it had for your ancestors?  Tell us what Christmas means to you and your memories of Christmases past.

I had a tough time with these three prompts, so I decided to combine them, and just address the parts I highlighted.

For me, the meaning of Christmas is FAMILY.   And that drives the desire for coming home (wherever home - or homes - may be) and the wish that I could be in two (or more!) places at the same time!

Growing up, Christmas was spent with my parents and siblings, my maternal grandmother and step-grandfather, and my maternal aunt.  Often we would also see my maternal grandfather, maternal great aunt, maternal uncle, and the spouses of the latter two.  I remember wishing my paternal grandparents and my aunts and uncles and cousins from that side of the family could be with us, too, but travel from such a long distance (Chicago and places even further north and east) was expensive.

Christmas 1966 at 8015 Sharpview in Houston, Texas

Breathless, December 5, 2007

In my single years as an adult, I'd go home to Houston for Christmas.  My first marriage was to someone from a state far away, to which we moved, and I did not see my family of origin for most holidays for 21 years, from 1984 through 2005.  This was especially hard as some loved ones passed away during that time - I would love to have any or all of them come home for Christmas just one more time!

The love of my life (pictured at left) has three children, and one lives only two hours away.  Being back in Texas, I'm near my family of origin again too - but most of them are three hours away.  Thus the wish to clone myself so I could be in two places at one time!

We typically deal with this issue by visiting with each other at different times during the holiday season.  My beloved is retired, and I'm blessed to be off work the entire week between Christmas and New Years (and generally some time before and/or after, too), and we can be with one family on Christmas Day, and another closer to New Year's Day.  That's the plan for this year, although it will mean missing some members of my family who are also traveling to Austin for Christmas Day, but won't be there later.

My son Eric won't be here for Christmas this year, and that's driven some of the decision to be with Mark's family on Christmas Day.  If Eric were here, I'd want to be sure he saw as many of his blood relatives as possible.  As a child of divorce, he's played the Christmas season shuffle for much of his life, and perhaps that is why he chose this year to stay at his student-housing apartment at graduate school - because he could.

I find I'm missing him more than I expected this year - even more than I did in 2011, when he wasn't here for any part of the break - because at least I knew that year that he was with his dad's family.  I worry about him being lonely this year.  Plus, he was hit in the eye with a racquetball just before the holiday break - and he has to avoid driving (and probably flying) and activities that induce eye strain such as reading or computer work.  I need a third clone to go up to Connecticut!

Eric and me, December 29, 2007

It's rather fitting that we generally place our Christmas tree in front of the wall that is full of family photographs.

This has been a tough holiday season for me.  I injured my shoulder some months ago, and with the pain certain movements produce and a lack of energy (from two hours of exercises per day, and sometimes little sleep due to pain), I did very little decorating this year.  Since Eric was not going to be here, we did not set up a tree, but I also only decorated outside where I could easily reach (so no lights along the gutters - although I now have some names of people who will do this for a fee next year), and I did not get down most of my boxes of indoor decorations.  Doing the Advent Calendar of  Christmas Memories has helped put me in the spirit, as I search for images and stories to respond to the new prompts and differently to the old prompts.

© Amanda Pape - 2013 - click here to e-mail me.

The Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories (ACCM) allows you to share your family’s holiday history 24 different ways during 24 days in December! Learn more at http://adventcalendar.geneabloggers.com.    

Advent Calendar: Christmas Parties

It's the annual Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories!  I've participated the past four years (2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012), but this year, there are some new prompts, and the sequence has changed for some old prompts used in previous years.  For the latter, in some cases I'll simply re-post, while in others, I will link to the older posts, and - when applicable - post about something else that's at least somewhat related.

The prompt for today is:  December 20 – Christmas Parties.  

Holiday parties, a neighborhood open house, buffets – all these take place in abundance during Christmastime. Do you throw a party each year or did your family throw parties around Christmas? Any special theme like Ugly Christmas Sweater or perhaps a gift wrapping or cookie decorating party?  Tell us about your best Christmas parties and your memories of Christmases past.

In 2009-2011, I wrote about and included pictures of Christmas and New Year's parties I attended 1976-1980.  In 2012, I wrote about a party for my parents in Chicago at Christmastime, 1953, after they got engaged.  (I also wrote about an Ugly Christmas Sweater contest at a staff party at work).

This year, I'm writing about the annual party my book club has in December.  The Third Tuesday Book Lovers don't discuss a book that month, but we have a little get-together with snacks and sweets (and wine) and a gift exchange.  Here we are right after eating and just before the exchange:

The gift exchange one of those games where you wrap the gifts, draw numbers, pick one, or "steal" one that someone before you has already opened. I actually HATE these games, except that in ours, the gift must be a book, and it cannot be one we've ever read in book club (and we have a list of all the books the group has read since 1999). Our game was pretty mild this year; there was no stealing - although I can tell you that if the book that was picked fourth had been picked before me rather than after (I picked third), I would have stolen it!  Here is a picture of all of the books:

© Amanda Pape - 2013 - click here to e-mail me.

The Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories (ACCM) allows you to share your family’s holiday history 24 different ways during 24 days in December! Learn more at http://adventcalendar.geneabloggers.com.   

Advent Calendar: Christmas Gifts

It's the annual Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories!  I've participated the past four years (2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012), but this year, there are some new prompts, and the sequence has changed for some old prompts used in previous years.  For the latter, in some cases I'll simply re-post, while in others, I will link to the older posts, and - when applicable - post about something else that's at least somewhat related.

The prompt for today is:  December 19 – Christmas Gifts
 
Christmas is a time to give gifts to family members, loved ones and friends as well as neighbors. What is your Christmas gift giving routine? Do you go all out with wrapping paper and ribbon? What types of gifts do you typically give? And what was the best gift you ever received for Christmas?  Tell us about Christmas gifts and your memories of Christmases past.

I wrote about some of my family's gift-giving routines in previous years when I wrote about AM Christmas and PM Christmas growing up.   My new favorite gift to give is a Blurb.com BookSmart® blog-to-book!  In 2011, I made two of these last year for my parents (since I had two years worth of posts from this blog at that time).  Last year, 2012, I made just one, with one year's worth of my posts (that are relevant to them).  I must have written a lot in 2013, as I had enough posts to make two books, one for Dad (with posts primarily related to his ancestors and relatives), and one likewise for Mom, that I will also give to her sibling, my aunt Sister Jean Marie.  Check out the previews (of the first 15 pages of the 92-page books) below:

ABT UNK 3 for Dad by Amanda Pape | Make Your Own Book

ABT UNK 3 for Mom by Amanda Pape | Make Your Own Book

© Amanda Pape - 2013 - click here to e-mail me.

The Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories (ACCM) allows you to share your family’s holiday history 24 different ways during 24 days in December! Learn more at http://adventcalendar.geneabloggers.com.