Family History Friday (FHF): Alot to live up to!

My 3rd great grandfather’s name is
 John H. Fairbanks.
He was a fur trader in the Great Lakes area in the 1800’s. He descended from Jonathan Fairbanks who came to America in the 1600’s and settled in Dedham, Massachusetts. He married my 3rd great grandmother
whose name was
Shaganoshequay
(AKA Mary Sayer). Her father was John Sayer the fur trader and her mother was Bwan equay, a full blood Ojibwe. It has been said of
John H. Fairbanks that he was a master of the Ojibwe language.
In the family history book, “The Fairbanks In America”, it says this about
John H. Fairbanks: Born in New York in 1798. Died in White Earth, Minnesota 1880. He was a useful scout for the American Army during the war of 1812. (That would make him 14 years old at the time). He was in the battle of Lake Champlain, and rendered efficient service during the engagment, for which he received the thanks of his commanding officer. In 1818, when he was 20 years old, he was employed by the American Fur Co., under the late John Jacob Astor. He filled all the positions of trust as chief trader, with profit to his employers and great credit to himself, until the dissolution of the Co. in 1835. He then entered the service of the Northwest Fur Co., successors to the American Fur Co., and remained in the their service until their dissolution in 1848. He was known to every Chippewa Indian in Minnesota, and was master of the Indian languages. He was a man of high worth, strictly temperate in his habits, charitable to a fault, and noted for tender affection for his children. He was the soul of honor, and it has often been said that he had not an enemy in the world.
What a good man!!! I love him. What a legacy, what a life. The Bible says, ” charity is the pure love of Christ”. This book about the Fairbanks says of John, that he was “charitable to a fault”. That is amazing to me. It’s makes me want to be the best “me” I can be.
Discover things about your ancestors that make you want to be a better person. I have. Happy Family History Friday!! Love, Joy

Sin City Suckers?

I went to Las Vegas last week for work,
and found something interesting to
bring back for my kids.
 When I saw these, I laughed!
Check out the name!
(I saw a few suckers there)
I had such a fun time.
Before last week, I had never actually been to Vegas. I’ve just driven through a few times. I don’t gamble, but the hotels and stores were amazing.

Family History Friday (FHF): Times Were Hard!

It doesn’t take long
to write down a memory.
Especially if you write them down one memory at a time.
The following is one of the stories my dad told about his dad, my grandpa. It such a simple, but sweet story of sacrifice and love. It is one of my favorite stories about my grandpa. I never knew him. He died when I was five. We lived in Utah, and grandpa lived in Washington State at the time. Since I didn’t know him, I’m grateful my dad wrote the stories down. Now,
we’ll all know him!!
“I had some good memories of Dad and of some of the sacrifices he made for his family. I can remember as a little boy in the late 1930’s, the effects of the depression were still very much apparent. They were hard times, and Dad just made enough money each day to take care of the expenses of the day. There was never any extra, and so each night after work, Dad brought home the groceries that Mom made supper with. In the wintertime, it was especially hard. Dad would have to walk home from work at the cleaning and tailor shop where he worked and stop on the way to get a few groceries. We lived about a mile west of town along Highway 10. I remember as a child, along with some of my brothers and sisters, scratching the ice off the inside of the window so we could see out, and then pressing our noses against the window to see if we could see Dad coming down the highway. Minnesota winters were very cold and when Dad walked in the door he was quite a sight. The cold wind would cause his eyes to water, but because he had groceries in his hands he couldn’t wipe the tears from his eyes and so they would form icicles on his eyelashes. His nose, too, would run and icicles would also hang from his nose.
(This isn’t grandpa, it’s Ernest Shackleton, but notice the frosty beard)

Mom would have her wood stove all fired up to cook one of her wonderful suppers out of the simplest fair. They were difficult times, but I have a lot of fond memories from them.”

I think it is amazing that grandpa had to work each day for the food grandma would prepare for the family to eat that night. My grandparents were strong people. Like I always say….if they can do what they did, I can do what I need to do in my life. I love them, I love grandpa. Happy Family History Friday! Love, Joy

My Momma!

My Mom on her wedding day! Beautiful!

Today is my Mom‘s birthday. She has lived a long and amazing life. I asked my grandma once how my mom was as child, and she said she was always a sweet child. I believe that. She has always been a sweet momma. When I was a teenager I had the usual struggles, (I call the teen years, especially jr. high, the arm pit of life.) I remember my mom sitting at the foot of my bed, and listening to me. She would encourage and counsel me. She loved me as I struggled along. She has always been a good listener. Growing up, she was my always there for me. And, as I have become a grown momma myself, she continues to be a source of encouragement and love. I can always count on her to build me up and tell me what an good mom I am.
She is super creative and ambitious. She is a great example to me of getting a lot done. She volunteers in the community and teachs classes about doing your family history. She never stops learning and reading, then sharing it with others. While other people her age have slowed down, she hasn’t. If I live to be at least her age, I have 30 years to contribute to society. To find and complete all of my life missions. I have alot of things I’d still like to do, and she is great example of “doing”! I feel so blessed and thankful to have such a wonderful mother. She is the best mom for me.
Happy Birthday, Momma!!

Little Red Wagon

Like I’ve said before, when I was a little girl, I used to spend quite a bit of time by myself. It’s not a bad thing. Although at times in my youth I would get quite lonely. Every once in a while my mom would suggest that I go on a picnic. She would pack me a lunch and I would ride our little red wagon down to the bottom of the hill that our house was on.

I would sit in the wagon next to the little creek at the bottom of the hill and eat my lunch. I never felt alone then. I would sing and eat and watch the water trickling down the stream.  I would spend quite a bit of time there at the bottom of the hill. Noone ever came by, but it was almost as if the wagon became my friend. I would sit in the wagon in the sun until I got too hot, then I would move to the side of the creek in the shade. Every once in a while, a breeze would come by, adding to the experience. Finally, I would pull the wagon back up the hill to our home. It always felt so peaceful there in the little red wagon by the creek.  I remember another time using the wagon as a sort of wading pool, plugging up the holes that were there for drainage, filling it with water, and sitting in it on a hot summer day. Awww, refreshing!! I loved our little red wagon. It’s too bad I got too big.

Nerdfest 2010!!

Flexy had his 19th birthday
last week on the March 4.
 We decided to celebrate by having a Heroscape party!
You can learn about Heroscape here!
Heroscape is Alex’s favorite game to play.
He and his friends play for hours and hours. It’s what you call good clean fun!! I think everyone had a great time at Alex’s party (AKA -Nerdfest 2010)!

Family History Friday (FHF): She had 16 Kids! Part 2

Part 1 –here!
Charity said
she had 15 children.
She told us on the census.  My mom found 14 children by looking at the census records.  We knew for sure that 4 children had been born, and had died as children (I kept wondering if maybe she lost count). My mom and dad went on a trip to the place where Charity lived after she came to America. She lived  in Colorado, in a mining town.

We knew that Samson had died about a year or so after Charity and their children came to America. My mom and dad took the trip because they wanted to see the area and town and hopefully find out something new. It was mostly a ghost town with only a few people living there, in what they called their summer homes. They went to the cemetery to see Samson’s grave and  found it. It was a large beautiful head stone. Charity’s grave was a few rows over, she died much later that Samson. The miracle is…that next to Samson’s grave was a small grave stone with a lamb on top of it. The inscription said, Katie, daughter of Samson and Charity. There she was, the 15th child!! She was only about 2 when she died. She only lived long enough not to show up on a census record. We would still be wondering where the 15th child was, if mom and dad hadn’t taken that trip. I am so glad they did. Remember, I was telling you a while back…use your vacations to travel places your family came from. You may find out something that you didn’t know about them. And you may just have a great time. I love my roots.
Happy Family History Friday!! Love, Joy

Family History Friday (FHF): I love to sew!

I have always loved to sew! In fact, I would say I’m not half bad at it. I took a sewing class in high school and passed with no problem. I just seemed to be a natural. I have made oodles of clothes for my darling little girls (who are now grown up). In fact, it wasn’t until I became an adult that I really understood that I might be pretty good at sewing, because my grandmas were both good at it. Maybe it is in the DNA. My dad’s mom was actually a seamstress. My grandpa owned a taylor shop in Pullman, Washington, and grandma would sew the suits. My mom’s mom use to sew dresses for my mom and her sister. Many pictures of my mom and my aunt growing up, are taken of them wearing outfits my grandma made for them. Knowing that I have a talent that was so much a part of both of my grandma’s lives means so much to me. Sometimes when I’m sitting at the sewing machine I think about them and my heart is full. Full of love and appreciation for them and their lives and talents. See what talents you have that you may share with your ancestors. Happy Family History Friday! Love, Joy

5 Faves on the 5th

1- Four leaf clovers!
I found one once…I’ve been lucky ever since!!! 😉
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2-19 year olds!
What a fun guy!!
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3-Having a MOM!!
I’ve had a Mom for 48 years. I think I’ll keep her.
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4-Spring
A time of new beginnings!
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5-the color green
I love it!!!