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Friday, April 1, 2011

A is for Ancestor










I have entered the A-Z Challenge for the month of April. I'll be posting every day except Sunday, using a subject starting with the letter of the alphabet for each day, beginning with A. My theme is Flamenco

A is for Ancestor. The picture below is my ancestor, Grandmother Amelia.


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Amelia studied dance in Germany and was given a trip to the US for her 16th birthday. Here she met Charles, also from Germany. They fell in love, married and homesteaded lake shore land in South Dakota. Amelia yearned to put on ballet slippers again but her new role was being wife and Mother.

Amelia and Charles had 18 children, my Father being the youngest. Many of their kids inherited her passion for music and dancing. Our huge family gatherings were as robust as any musical theatrical production. I thank Amelia for my life-long love affair with dance, especially Flamenco.

39 comments:

  1. A fine ancestry Manzanita - with the love of dancing in your genes! Excellent!

    Anna :o]

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  2. Hi,

    Lovely pic of Grandmother Amelia. So you know how to dance the light fandango.

    The car: I want,I want, I want . . . ;)

    best
    F

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  3. Lovely post. I spend a lot of time on Ancestry.com trying to find my ancestors.

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  4. Such a lovely lady and interesting she was also a dancer. But 18 children??? Mercy, that didn't leave any time for twinkle toes. What a huge family of cousins you must have.
    PS I am still chuckling over the comment you left.

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  5. Lovely picture.. if only it could speak.. what stories she might tell xx

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  6. I love old family pix. so interesting, and neat that you can make that connection! Thanx for stopping by!

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  7. What a treasure to have the old photos. I am working on getting ours scanned. It's going to take a while.
    Looking forward to your A to Z posts.

    http://mybabyjohn.blogspot.com/

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  8. I know it was common then, but my first thought was, yet another woman gave up her dream because of marriage. And eighteen children. The dancer that lived inside her all those years...

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  9. That photo of your Grandmother is amazing. I love the dress she's wearing. Just imagine having to wash all that stuff without washing machines and biological powders. And it's a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing it.

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  10. Isn't it amazing how different we all dress today from our grandparents age? I have photo's of my grandparents, both born in Minnesota in the 1880's. Family is everything.
    Nice to meet you.
    Nancy
    N. R. Williams, The Treasures of Carmelidrium.

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  11. I wish I knew about my ancestors! I think it would be fascinating but I don't even know that much about my grandparents let alone the greats!

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  12. Also, please take off the word verification for the A-Z challenge. You can do so in your settings. :)

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  13. WOW! That's one huge family! Great heritage too!

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  14. What a word to start with, great choice! I have no dancers in my family but then I consider my dancing more of a wiggle :)
    Jules @ Trying To Get Over The Rainbow

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  15. Oh Manzanita!!! Wow!! Wow again!! Your beautiful grandmother is a perfect and sublime start to this challenge!! Thanks for sharing her beauty and talent here!! Take care
    x

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  16. How interesting, dancing is in your blood. What a lovely way to begin the A - Z challenge. I can't wait for more to come.--Inger

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  17. In those days, nobody smiled for the camera, alas! But, 18 children! Wow! My maternal grandma gave birth to 10, and I thought that was a lot!

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  18. Oh, Lady, how I would've loved to have been at one of your family gathering. I can just imagine the music, the joyous noise, the love. Did all 18 children live into adulthood? You've got me wondering about her life.

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  19. What a beautiful, fashionable woman. To give up dance to homestead....a choice that required much strength of character.

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  20. Oh your grandmother looks so beautiful! Thank you for sharing more about her, and I love the theme you have chosen for the A-Z. :)

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  21. 18 children! Wow! What a fantastic story and a great way to kick off the challenge.

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  22. You HAVE to explain your blog title. I'm dying here. Welcome to the challenge!
    Edge of Your Seat Romance

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  23. Nice. So many different A words out there and all of them have been great.

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  24. Beautiful picture! :) Can't wait to read your other A-Z posts!

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  25. Wonderful Manzanita! I would love to dance Flamenco! ;-)

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  26. That's so nice, to dedicate this first post to such a great woman, who you could say brought the life of dance into your life. I don't envy the 18 kids, though. :)

    Rosie
    East for Green Eyes

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  27. Now that sounds like kind of a fun project for April. A-Z.
    Amelia sounds like a strong woman. I love stories about our ancestors. 18 Kids.........wow
    My father was the youngest of 12.
    so, dancing is definitely in your blood....totally

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  28. She looks like such a well-mannered 'proper' German lady of her time that I find it hard to imagine her dancing.

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  29. Thank you dear bloggy friends for your comments.
    I love you all
    Manzanita

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  30. Manzi: She is exactly how I would have pictured her!

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  31. Beautiful tribute to your Grandmother! Eighteen children... Can you imagine!!!

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  32. It is such fun to see this wonderful photo of your grandmother. I can't even imagine having 18 children. She must have been very strong and healthy. I hope you've inherited those genes.

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  33. Hi Manzanita .. C for crumbs .. your father was one of 18 .. interesting to read their story .. and yours now too .. cheers Hilary

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  34. Very cool theme for this challenge. I look forward to being educated in the ways of the dance...cha cha cha.

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  35. What a fabulous tribute to your grandmother! I was especially moved by how she wanted to continue to dance but accepted her responsibilities as a wife and mother. As much as she wanted, she knew that life had transitions and was at peace with that, a definite German trait that I admire in my German friends.

    What a great way to begin the A-A challenge. Thank you for sharing your grandmother with us!

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  36. 18 kids? Wow, bless her heart. Your family gatherings must be a rowdy thing to behold.

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