Dear Family,
I’d like to share some of the research I have been doing about an ancestor. I’ve written this post as if I were her. See if you can guess who she is. -A.R.
This is a picture of me when I was a baby in San Francisco. My parents were Wilhelmina and Emil. People called my mom, “Mina,” which rhymes with “Tina.” Papa worked as the first officer for the Southern Pacific Ferry. I was born in America after my parents left Sweden. I was their second child. Their first child passed away. These were my shoes:
We survived the San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906. Here is a silver pitcher which was partially burned.
This is a picture of me and my mother, Mina. My dad passed away in his early fifties. My mother worked hard to support the family. She was a wonderful cook.
I trained as a nurse. I kept detailed journals and photo albums, newspapers, magazines, and letters. I always lived a frugal life and enjoyed the benefits of saving money. I married a widower and raised his daughter. Her mother had died of consumption. Here is a picture of me during the 1920’s.
Here are the war ration books from WWII that I saved. The two stars on my pin represent my brother and cousin who went to war. My cousin Harvey died suddenly after coming home from the war from some shrapnel in his body. My brother, Lloyd served in the Philippines. I spent time making USO scrapbooks.
I wrote notes to Presidents, including Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy and kept each reply. I wrote to Jackie Kennedy when her husband died and she sent a thank you note. I wrote to J. Edgar Hoover and had a letter signed by him, as well.
I loved animals and kept birds and cats. I took very good care of my husband and daughter. We lived in Berkeley. My husband worked in the hardwood flooring business. When they built the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), they tore down our home to make a path for it. This was heartbreaking to me.
Here is a picture of me in 1975, near the end of my life.
Do you know who I am?
I am Cerie, the wife of Axel, mother to Ruth.