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| Circa 1945 |
Copyright © 2016 by Kevin W. Walker
Showing posts with label McNeill. Show all posts
Showing posts with label McNeill. Show all posts
27 April 2016
Wordless Wednesday: Dorothy Grace (McNeill Walker) Nitzsche (1912-1948)
Copyright © 2016 by Kevin W. Walker
20 April 2016
Wordless Wednesday: Dorothy Grace (McNeill Walker) Nitzsche (1912-1948)
Circa 1935
My 300th blog post. How apropos.
Copyright © 2016 by Kevin W. Walker
18 April 2016
Colorado Marriage Record Keith G. Walker and Mattie (Needham) McNeill, 11/16/1917
County: SedgewickThis marriage was under a cloud. My grandmother was pregnant by my grandfather and married to another man. She divorced her first husband, the new couple moved out of state, and here got married by a county judge instead of a minister. To their credit they remained together until death. As the years rolled by my grandparents were conscious of their age difference and whenever possible wold lie about their ages to decrease the difference; My grandfather would get older by a few years, and my grandmother would get younger by the same. Nothing is easy for the genealogist.
Husband: Walker, Keith G. age 23
Wife: McNeill, Mattie age 32
Place: Julesburg, Colo. Date: Nove 16, 1917
Official Performing Ceremony: G.H. Austin, County Judge, of Julesburg Colo.
Reported by: Fred Filatreau, of Julesburg, Colo.
Copyright © 2016 by Kevin W. Walker
13 April 2016
Wordless Wednesday: Dorothy Grace (McNeill Walker) Nitzsche (1912-1948)
Circa 1930
Copyright © 2016 by Kevin W. Walker
04 April 2016
Family Heirloom: Uncle Bud's Railroad Pocket Watch
My Uncle "Bud" was Arthur Donald McNeill, born 6 May 1916 in Arnold, Custer, Nebraska, and died 22 November 1985, in Colorado City, Mitchell, Texas. My father's much older half-brother by a different father.
Bud worked most of his life for the railroad in multiple capacities. He did what they needed him to, where they needed him to do it. "Company man."
This pocket watch is his official railroad watch, and he was required by his work to have it regularly serviced to keep accurate time. It is an Elgin Rail Road model in a Rail Road case. It is a B W Raymond style, 21 jewel mechanism, in 12K gold.
Copyright © 2016 by Kevin W. Walker
17 September 2014
Wordless Wednesday: Dorothy Grace (McNeill Walker) Nitzsche (1912-1948)
Circa 1928
Copyright © 2014 by Kevin W. Walker
28 June 2010
Aunt Dorothy R.I.P.? Not Yet.
Last month I posted about my feelings for my Aunt Dorothy Grace (McNeill Walker) Nitzsche (1912-1948) and my desire to find her gravesite. It was not in her obituary so the next obvious step was to order a copy of her death certificate which I did, and it arrived last week.
I was a little disappointed to discover she had been cremated on the realization there might not be any marker for her, but realizing still her ashes might have been interred I knew more research was required. The certificate said she had been cremated by "California Crematory" which no longer exists by that name. Some more digging and I discovered it still survives under the name "Chapel of the Chimes."
I called the Chapel and was pleased to get a friendly, caring and helpful lady. I asked if there was any record of my aunt's remains having been interred? She put me on hold for several minutes while she looked in her records, Dorothy died sixty-two years ago, these are not records at your finger tips. The nice lady came back on and said "We have your aunt but I am afraid, she is not interred." She goes on to explain that the ashes were originally handed off to Dorothy's husband John M. Nitzsche (1905-????), but nine years later her ashes had been discovered in an abandoned apartment in Berkeley, and since they still had the name of the crematory on the container the police returned them to the crematory. My aunt Dorothy's remains were now being held in storage with the remains of everyone else who were not wanted. I was stunned and shocked, thanked the nice lady, and hung up.
I began gathering my thoughts. Obviously my first thought was that my Dad and my Uncle, the last two surviving siblings from this large family, will need to be contacted. But second all the surrounding questions began. What happened to her husband, and how did her ashes get abandoned? Was there a police record? I called the nice lady at the Chapel back. She said the only records she had left were from when they took possession of Dorothy's body, which included the order for cremation. She would check them but it would take a couple hours and call me back, which she did. The only new thing we learned relevant was that Dorothy's ashes were destined for Cheyenne, Wyoming for interment. Cheyenne was the home of my grandfather Keith Glenn Walker (1894-1980) who adopted Dorothy after marrying her mother, my grandmother Mattie Mae (Needham) Walker (1884-1938). I asked the lady at the Chapel if I could have copies of all the records mailed to me, and she said yes, and I received them today.
I cannot believe how many times the ball was dropped!! First there is the gem of a husband who never got her ashes to Cheyenne nor made any permanent plans for them. Conceivably it can all be laid at his feet. Indeed while my grandfather never completely followed up, perhaps he was unable to, perhaps John Nitzsche disappeared? And did my grandfather make arrangements for her interment in Cheyenne, did he pay for a space? No one survives who would know. Then there are all my Walker relatives, a huge family albeit with a limited presence in northern California, eight of her siblings survived her and for sixty-two years not one stumbled onto the fact that her remains were missing?!? Unreal. Such is a commentary on how contemporary society, and my relatives in particular, feel about cemeteries and things related.
Now what to do? The first decision is left up to my father and his brother, as I said, the last two surviving siblings. I am confident they will rectify the situation. But if they don't, my two sons and I have already decided we will. We wouldn't be able to live with the guilt if we didn't. "Treat others as you would want them to treat you in the same situation" is our motto.
So aunt Dorothy may not yet "rest in peace." But she will. And whatever happened to her husband is a mystery yet to be solved.
Copyright © 2010 by Kevin W. Walker
I was a little disappointed to discover she had been cremated on the realization there might not be any marker for her, but realizing still her ashes might have been interred I knew more research was required. The certificate said she had been cremated by "California Crematory" which no longer exists by that name. Some more digging and I discovered it still survives under the name "Chapel of the Chimes."
I called the Chapel and was pleased to get a friendly, caring and helpful lady. I asked if there was any record of my aunt's remains having been interred? She put me on hold for several minutes while she looked in her records, Dorothy died sixty-two years ago, these are not records at your finger tips. The nice lady came back on and said "We have your aunt but I am afraid, she is not interred." She goes on to explain that the ashes were originally handed off to Dorothy's husband John M. Nitzsche (1905-????), but nine years later her ashes had been discovered in an abandoned apartment in Berkeley, and since they still had the name of the crematory on the container the police returned them to the crematory. My aunt Dorothy's remains were now being held in storage with the remains of everyone else who were not wanted. I was stunned and shocked, thanked the nice lady, and hung up.
I began gathering my thoughts. Obviously my first thought was that my Dad and my Uncle, the last two surviving siblings from this large family, will need to be contacted. But second all the surrounding questions began. What happened to her husband, and how did her ashes get abandoned? Was there a police record? I called the nice lady at the Chapel back. She said the only records she had left were from when they took possession of Dorothy's body, which included the order for cremation. She would check them but it would take a couple hours and call me back, which she did. The only new thing we learned relevant was that Dorothy's ashes were destined for Cheyenne, Wyoming for interment. Cheyenne was the home of my grandfather Keith Glenn Walker (1894-1980) who adopted Dorothy after marrying her mother, my grandmother Mattie Mae (Needham) Walker (1884-1938). I asked the lady at the Chapel if I could have copies of all the records mailed to me, and she said yes, and I received them today.
I cannot believe how many times the ball was dropped!! First there is the gem of a husband who never got her ashes to Cheyenne nor made any permanent plans for them. Conceivably it can all be laid at his feet. Indeed while my grandfather never completely followed up, perhaps he was unable to, perhaps John Nitzsche disappeared? And did my grandfather make arrangements for her interment in Cheyenne, did he pay for a space? No one survives who would know. Then there are all my Walker relatives, a huge family albeit with a limited presence in northern California, eight of her siblings survived her and for sixty-two years not one stumbled onto the fact that her remains were missing?!? Unreal. Such is a commentary on how contemporary society, and my relatives in particular, feel about cemeteries and things related.
Now what to do? The first decision is left up to my father and his brother, as I said, the last two surviving siblings. I am confident they will rectify the situation. But if they don't, my two sons and I have already decided we will. We wouldn't be able to live with the guilt if we didn't. "Treat others as you would want them to treat you in the same situation" is our motto.
So aunt Dorothy may not yet "rest in peace." But she will. And whatever happened to her husband is a mystery yet to be solved.
Copyright © 2010 by Kevin W. Walker
12 May 2010
Dorothy Grace Nitzsche (nee. McNeill Walker) 1912-1948
How can I have a crush on someone seventeen years older than my father, AND who died over a decade before I was born? But I do. Perhaps it was how glowingly my parents spoke about her when I was growing up, including by my mother who never met her? Or maybe I just think she is pretty? I don't know. I am just embarrassed to admit it, but my heart goes all aflutter when I see her pictures.
Aunt Dorothy was born December 2, 1912 to Clifton Leslie McNeill (1884-1969) and my paternal grandmother Mattie Mae Walker (nee. Needham, 1884-1938), and was affectionately known as "Pat." When Mattie divorced Clifton and married my grandfather Keith Glen Walker (1894-1980) in 1916, he legally adopted Dorothy. So she was my father's half-sister. But to hear my Dad tell it, there never was any recognition of any familial differences among the siblings, they all treated each other like full siblings.
Finding anything on Aunt Dorothy has been very hard, perhaps because she only lived 36 years; Perhaps because she was a woman, perhaps she lived under the radar.
Whatever the case, while scoring an obituary is often quite commonplace in family research, for me scoring Aunt Dorothy's felt like a home run! From the Oakland Tribune - December 19, 1948, Oakland, California:
© 2010, Copyright Kevin W. Walker
Aunt Dorothy was born December 2, 1912 to Clifton Leslie McNeill (1884-1969) and my paternal grandmother Mattie Mae Walker (nee. Needham, 1884-1938), and was affectionately known as "Pat." When Mattie divorced Clifton and married my grandfather Keith Glen Walker (1894-1980) in 1916, he legally adopted Dorothy. So she was my father's half-sister. But to hear my Dad tell it, there never was any recognition of any familial differences among the siblings, they all treated each other like full siblings.
Pictured above is my Aunt Dorothy and my father.
Dorothy (left) parties with two unnamed friends.
NITZSCHE -- In Oakland. December 16, 1948. Dorothy Grace Nitzsche, loving wife of John M. Nitzsche; daughter of Keith Walker, sister of Mrs. Genifer Gordon, Mrs. W. L. Wistrom, Violet Walker, Mrs. Leroy Strasheim and Arthur, Rlaph(sic), Paul and Wayne Walker. A native of Nebraska; age 36 years.
Friends are invited to attend services Monday, December 20, 1948, at 1 o'clock p.m. at the Truman Chapel, Telegraph Avenue at 30th Street. Dr. Harold Kelley, officiating.The next step is to try and discover her gravesite and get a picture. So here is to you Aunt Dorothy, from a nephew who never met you, but is somehow sure he loves you.
© 2010, Copyright Kevin W. Walker
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