This morning I woke up thinking about an aunt. Her name was Alma. She was born in 1919. The year of her passing is a mystery. I do know that in 1920 she was listed as four and one half months. After that all traces of her have disappeared. My Mom is the last of the siblings and knows nothing about it. She told me it was whispers and speculation when she was growing up. Back in those days people did not speak of the dead. There were no " celebrations of life " as they may do today. Even the place of her final rest is unknown.
Infant mortality was a common thing back in those days. So many children lost to treatable conditions and childhood diseases. And back then, as today, all one can do is mourn the loss and move on. Grandmother had ten other children.
Given time and resources I would search the cemeteries in hopes of finding her. Perhaps there is some mention of this tragic event in the local archives. It seems so sad that she lies alone and forgotten. I speculate about her. Her middle initial was K. A good guess would be that it stood for Katrina. Anna Katrina was my great grandmother, my grandmothers mother. Still that is only a guess. Another possibility is that she was a twin. Another Aunt, Anna K, appears in the 1920 census as well. I knew Aunt Anna well but she never spoke of it. Did she know ? Another unanswered question. The records lead to more questions. On the census it is written as Anna K. Katrina ? Aunt Anna used the middle name Catherine, with a C. Why this discrepancy ? A clerical error perhaps. Did the census taker get confused ? Is Alma just a figment of imagination and is in reality Anna ? That is also possible. Was it a family joke following that census ? A joke that turned into legend.
It is a mystery still unsolved. A mystery nearly forgotten altogether. I have uncovered a few clues and will not let it rest. I revisit the meager clues and records I have available to me. Perhaps one day I will get my answers. For now I continue to search and speculate. Has she indeed been forgotten ? It would appear so. In order to be forgotten one would first have to be known. To be known you must have lived. Are the records correct ? Given the tragic story recorded there, but recorded only by implication, one would hope not. Should the records prove correct I would like to place a flower on her grave and let her know, she is not forgotten.
Infant mortality was a common thing back in those days. So many children lost to treatable conditions and childhood diseases. And back then, as today, all one can do is mourn the loss and move on. Grandmother had ten other children.
Given time and resources I would search the cemeteries in hopes of finding her. Perhaps there is some mention of this tragic event in the local archives. It seems so sad that she lies alone and forgotten. I speculate about her. Her middle initial was K. A good guess would be that it stood for Katrina. Anna Katrina was my great grandmother, my grandmothers mother. Still that is only a guess. Another possibility is that she was a twin. Another Aunt, Anna K, appears in the 1920 census as well. I knew Aunt Anna well but she never spoke of it. Did she know ? Another unanswered question. The records lead to more questions. On the census it is written as Anna K. Katrina ? Aunt Anna used the middle name Catherine, with a C. Why this discrepancy ? A clerical error perhaps. Did the census taker get confused ? Is Alma just a figment of imagination and is in reality Anna ? That is also possible. Was it a family joke following that census ? A joke that turned into legend.
It is a mystery still unsolved. A mystery nearly forgotten altogether. I have uncovered a few clues and will not let it rest. I revisit the meager clues and records I have available to me. Perhaps one day I will get my answers. For now I continue to search and speculate. Has she indeed been forgotten ? It would appear so. In order to be forgotten one would first have to be known. To be known you must have lived. Are the records correct ? Given the tragic story recorded there, but recorded only by implication, one would hope not. Should the records prove correct I would like to place a flower on her grave and let her know, she is not forgotten.
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