Saturday, May 30, 2009

I'm Honored to be a 'Blogger of Honor'


I'm so anxiously looking forward to attending my FIRST Family History Expo in Loveland, CO on Friday and Saturday, June 12 and 13. Holly Hansen, President of Family History Expos, is hosting this event at the Embassy Suites and has invited me, among other attendees, to be a "Blogger of Honor". We'll be posting stories each day about the classes, the presenters, and all the related activity. My plan is to "Tweet" my impressions during the day on Twitter (follow me: @beckyjamison) and blog here on 'Grace and Glory' about the events of the day as evening rolls around.
The other Bloggers of Honor are Holly Hansen, Bernie Gracy, Arlene Eakle, Janet Hovorka, Dean Richardson, and Sarah Strong. I've printed the syllabus and have pored over it to become familiar with the many interesting classes that will be presented. I nearly have my final selections made but wish I could clone myself and attend two at the same time, in some cases. I'm a very happy user of RootsMagic4 and am really looking forward to meeting Bruce Buzbee and learning more of the ins and outs of his excellent genealogy software program. I'm anxious to meet Janet Hovorka of Generation Maps and learn more about how I can benefit from her expertise. And what a thrill it will be to meet Arlene Eakle in person. I hope my camera batteries don't let me down.
I'm so happy that I've recruited 3 of my friends here in Canon City to accompany me to the Expo. We are really looking forward to having fun and learning from the experts! Check back here on the 12th and 13th of June and for the entire week of June 14th to read about my experiences. As an "expo newbie" I'm sure I'll have plenty to share with you--if I'm not too "star-struck"! Thank you, Holly, for giving me this awesome opportunity!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Wordless Wednesday: Margheim Twins


Marion Dennis and Mary Rebecca Margheim (Becky Jamison)
Age 2 (1949) and Age 5 (1952).
I like the holding hands part on the first photo.

Friday, May 22, 2009

In Memory of Our Parents


Our Memorial Day tribute to our parents:

My husband's parents: Lt. Col. Lafayette Richard and E. Irene Roberts Jamison, Evergreen Cemetery, Colorado Springs, El Paso, Colorado.
My step-mother Phyllis Jean Jones Margheim, Great Bend Cemetery, Great Bend, Barton, Kansas
My step-father and mother Donald Lee and Ruby Nadine Flanders Craine, Sedgwick Cemetery, Sedgwick, Sedgwick, Kansas.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

The tragic death of Robert Alvey Jamison

My last post shows the headstones placed at the grave of my husband's great-grandparents Robert and Clarrissa Jamison in Canton, Stark, Ohio. They are pictured above in this family portrait. Clarrissa (or "Clara" as she was called) is at the far left and Robert is at the far right.

Since I pictured their gravestones, I wanted to share with you the story of Robert's death as it was published in the newspaper. Here's the account:

"Robert worked for State Electric Company of Canton, Ohio. He had only been on the job for 2 weeks when he was making a final inspection of the lighting system when he fell 60 feet from the skylight of the First Christian Church, falling into the "Jamison Pew" as the story goes. Dr. Buchman was the attending physician, but said death was instantaneous. He was taken to Miller-Blanchard Funeral Home. He resided at 2812 Second St, Canton, Ohio. Rev. George E. Jackson officiated at the burial conducted at Westlawn Cemetery."

Robert was born 21 April 1853 and died from this tragic fall on 18 October 1918 at age 65.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Tombstone Tuesday: Robert and Clarrissa Jamison

This looks like any other headstone so you might be wondering why I've posted it today. The fact that I even own the photo and can see what this headstone looks like seems miraculous to me. Over 30 years ago my husband's first wife Shelly diligently researched his family line and established the facts about this couple, Robert Alvey Jamison and his wife Clarrissa Jane Meals. They are my husband's paternal great-grandparents and are buried in Westlawn Cemetery, Canton, Stark, Ohio.
After I married my husband I got involved in researching our family histories, at his insistence! He spoke often of this couple and of the extensive work Shelly had done to document their lives and how familiar she came to feel about them as a result of the many hours she spent "with" them. He had photos of them that we've scanned and shared with other family members. We have the newspaper article that explains the circumstances of Robert A. Jamison's accidental death. I'll explain that in a future post (soon). And I found that I grew fond of this couple--I particularly like Clarrissa's name: 'Clarrissa Jane' has a nice ring to it.
My husband and I have no reason to travel to Ohio so I never expected to have a photograph of the headstone on Robert and Clarrissa's grave. But with all this new technology and terrific computer developments in these past 10 years, it's been possible for me to acquire many items like this.
As I discovered the Find A Grave web site, I was really excited because I came upon the photo of my mother's grave in Kansas, as well as many other family graves. I signed up and got busy photographing local gravesites for those requesting them. But it was many months before the idea came to me that I could request the same from someone else. I guess I'm more accustomed to giving than to asking! I put in a request for someone living in Canton, Ohio to photograph this gravesite and within two weeks I got the photo by email.
When I opened the eamil and saw this picture, tears rolled down my face. I'm not doing an adequate job of describing this, but it just seemed like a miracle before my eyes. Never in a million years did I expect to SEE the headstone of Robert Alvey and Clarrissa Jane Meals Jamison. Yes, it is a photo of an ordinary gravesite, but to me and my husband, and to his first wife Shelly, it's a really special photograph that speaks volumes to us. We are grateful to Find A Grave for offering this service to us and to the wonderful volunteers who make connections like this possible!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Monday, May 11, 2009

My "Friendly Blogger Award"

On her Genealogy Fun blog, Harriet awarded me the "Friendly Blogger Award". Thank you Harriet! I'm so happy to be part of the wonderful Genea-Blogger community, not only for the awesome information that is shared, but for the friendships and comraderie (did I spell that right?) that we get from each other.
I want to share this now with these 6 Friendly Bloggers (7 blogs) and encourage them to pass it on to their 7 choices (and give them the news in a "Comment" on their blog):
My cousin Kate Keller at Genealogy Bug and Genealogical Treasures (if you have 2 blogs, you get 2 awards!)
My dear friend Judy McCormick at Against the Grain
My fellow Colorado enthusiast Gayle Gresham at Colorado Reflections
My church friend (who helped me get started blogging) Tren Hopkins at Chasing Tadpoles
My blogging friend Diana Ritchie at Random Relatives
My blogging friend Gini Webb at Ginisology

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Remembering My Mothers on Mother's Day



















My Dad, Ernest Margheim, married Phyllis Jean Jones on March 18, 1951. She was born March 16, 1924 and died February 24, 1997. Along with my dad, she raised my twin brother and I and was our much loved step-mother for nearly 47 years.



















On July 9, 1943 My Dad married Ruby Nadine Flanders who gave birth to me and Dennis on November 5, 1947. They were divorced in 1949. She was born January 17, 1925 and died July 14, 1990.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

'One Lovely Blog Award' is Mine


I've had the most amazing day and it was topped off as I received this beautiful award from my geneablogging friend Diana Ritchie at Random Relatives. My favorite color is (obviously) pink and I have a tea cup collection (that I inherited from my mother-in-law). And my favorite flower is the Rose! I think this Award was custom designed to suit my tastes! Thank you, Diana.
I'm short on time this evening so I'm going to pass this award on to one more lovely blog: 'Tennessee Memories' by Judith Richards Shubert. I love the mood it puts me in even as the page loads on my computer.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Unidentified Families





Posted by PicasaI've recently been scanning photos I retrieved from my Dad's house as I was relocating his bedroom. Among the known family portraits were these beautiful photographs. My dad does not know the identities of anyone in these pictures. Since my Dad's family were German immigrants from Russia who settled in Kansas (Trego, Russell and Barton Counties), I assume these families are also Germans from Russia who were probably friends of my Dad's Margheim family. I don't expect anyone who reads my blog to identify these people, but I posted them anyway to give them honor.