Sunday, May 29, 2011

Sentimental Sunday: Sibley Richerson



My Grandfather was a member of the 2061st Engineer Aviation Fire-Fighter assigned to the 406th Fighter Bomber Group, P-47, of the 9th Air Force for Duty. 

He served in Northern France, Central Europe, Southern France, Air Offensive Europe, Normandy, Rhineland, and Ardennes .

He recieved the European-African-Middle Eastern Service Medal with 1 Silver Star and 2 Bronze Stars, The Soldier's Medal and the Good Conduct Medal. 

He is an American Hero!  

Friday, May 27, 2011

Happy Weekend

In no particular order, my plans for the weekend are as follows:

1. Lay out and relax by the pool


2. Catch up on my reading!

3. EAT!!!  



What are your plans?!





Thursday, May 19, 2011

Family History. Family Mystery


When I was younger, I knew who my family was. It was simple and easy. 
There was of course my parents, my sister and I and later, my younger brother and sister once they joined the group. 
My mom's side consisted of just her, her mother and grandmother. She being the only child and her father passing away when she was 11 months old made her side very easy to pick up.
My dad's side was a little bigger in comparison. He was the youngest of 3 boys, which by the time I came around already included aunts and cousins. My dad's side was a bit more complex once you added in all of my grandmother's four brothers and their families and my grandfather's two sisters and their families. It was a running joke, and still is, that if you were to meet anyone in South Alabama, there was a pretty good chance that they were your cousin. 
About eight years ago, my family became a bit more interesting.
While cleaning out my grandmother's condo after her passing, we soon realized that my grandmother had been born out of wedlock in 1920 Germany. 
Growing up, it never occurred to me to ask questions about my grandmother's father. I guess I was too preoccupied asking about my grandfather and my grandmother's life during the war. Plus, come to think of it, she did a really good job of not really bringing light to the fact that she grew up without a father. It wasn't looked down upon either when it was brought up. It waz jusht da two of dem! Oma und Omi! 
A few years pass and I became (extremely) interested in genealogy and family history. I tried to do a little research but was not as successful as I had hoped. Do you know how many Heinrich Reuters there are in Germany? 
Finally, I stumbled upon his full name (Heinrich Wilhelm Otto Reuter) and his birthday. I contacted his home state in Germany and blindly requested a copy of his birth certificate. 
I get it a few months later and it is a beautiful day in my world....until I couldn't find anymore leads. Then my mom gets the idea to go back and request his marriage certificate, if there is one. 
So, again, a few months later, it arrived and after a little bit of translating, I learned that my Great-Grandfather was married 9 months before my grandmother was, ahem, conceived and from what I know they (my grandfather and his wife) stayed married until their deaths. 
Scandalous! 
This just had my mind reeling! All the questions, the "what-ifs", the “what was he doing in Frankfurt?” and all the unanswered, never to be finalized questions. 

Soon, this faded away from the forefront of my mind, but not after I researched airfare to Germany to do some research on my own!
Then today, I was contacted by a man (through Ancestry.com; not in a creeper way) who was married to my Uncle’s first wife. (My dad's side now)
He told me that he had information on my Uncle, who passed in 2001, his 6 wives and his 3 sons. 

I’M SORRY. WHAT! Six wives and 3 sons?! 

I had cousins out there that I didn't know about! 
You see my grandfather and his first wife had 2 children but my grandfather received a “Dear John” letter while he was serving overseas during the War and from what I have been told, stories were made up and well let’s just say, my own father didn’t know that he had two half-siblings until he was about 10 or 12. 
My aunt has been apart of our lives since reconnecting with my grandfather but my uncle, who I apparently met once but I was 9 and that whole day was a blur was a total mystery to me. He passed away in 2001 so the chance of getting to know him has passed. 
I have to say that today was the first time that I actually felt the downside of researching my family history. So far it’s been all exciting; even if there was a flu epidemic or even an untimely death but for some reason, today’s findings really rattled me. I don’t know if it’s because I can’t pinpoint a reason for certain things, can't get any answers, or if it’s because since I never really knew him I feel I don't have any right to pry. Regardless if he’s blood or not!

So yes, now I have a much bigger, more exciting family but now what to do with it? 

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Calling all my creative, resourceful friends!

I have a hobby; a serious one!

I am fascinated with history and genealogy! I have been researching my family history for a few months now. First trying to go back to the Mayflower and now trying to find my grandmother's father and any of his relatives. But I keep going back to one small detail. 

A few months back, NBC aired a series following 8 celebrities as they traced back their family history. Each of the episodes were all very interesting! But Ashley Judd's episode really peaked my interest. 

Like my heritage, Ashley is able to trace her family all the way back to the Mayflower to William Brewster, one of the main founders of the Mayflower expedition. In the episodes, Ashley makes a stop at the New England Historic Genealogical Society and in this particular segment, they present her with a keepsake. As Ashley unravels the scroll, she sees that it is a family lineage chart from her all the way back to William Brewster. 



Immediately, I think to myself, 

I HAVE TO HAVE ONE OF THOSE!


I have been in search of a family lineage chart for a while that looks as simple and elegant as this one above. All of the family trees, charts, graphs, etc. that I have googled have all been included some sort of literal tree or it doesn't go back as far as I need it to go back or it's in a different format that I do not find apealling. 

So here's my question/request, if any one out there knows where I can obtain a family lineage chart like the one above or know how I can go about having one made, I would be forever indebted to you! 

Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions that are given! 


Friday, May 6, 2011

Tornado Relief





For those who are wanting to help with the Tornado Relief that devatstated Alabama, here are a few things that you might be interested in: 


1. Gift Card Donations

Many of you are asking, “How do we help those affected by the recent tornadoes across the Southeast?” We’d like to make helping simple while leaning into the principle that providing financial resources is a great first response to an emergency.
We’ve learned that it’s incredibly helpful to equip families with immediate resources so they can begin to rebuild their lives, along with their homes. Distributing resources through churches or ministries in the areas most affected allows local churches to love on and support their communities in times of great need. So, that’s exactly what we’re going to do: equip local churches to help those in their communities recover.
If you want to join with Buckhead Church in a relief effort, here’s the plan: 

1. Swing by HOME DEPOT, LOWES, TARGET, or WALMART and pick up some gift cards.
2. Please write the amounts of the cards in black ink directly on the card.
3. Bring them by the church, drop them in the mail to us (Buckhead Church, 3336 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30326), or put them in the offering buckets the next two Sundays (5/8 and 5/15).



2. Helping a Southern Heirloom Bride




Tragedy hit home. Helping our Southern Heirloom Bride.



This morning I received an email I had prayed I would not receive. One of our clients was in the path of the Tuscaloosa Tornado. Please watch:


The images in the video are real, and they are 1st hand images from what is left of her home.  Her wedding jewelery, to her red wedding boots, to the ladies handkerchiefs and doilies she had been collecting were all taken away with the Tuscaloosa Tornado.
First, if you can, please donate to the American Red Cross.  There are so many thousands of people who need shelter, support, and food.  Secondly, if you have the ability to help us to create Martha's Southern Heirloom wedding and be some light in the midst of this tragedy, we would love to have your help.  I know how amazingly generous the wedding industry is, and this is hopefully a way we can all reach out and make one brides wedding wonderful despite the devastation.
Here are the "southern" items we are looking to gather and/or replace for her summer wedding:

Mason Jars
Vintage Handkerchiefs
Cotton
Tin or Galvanized Buckets
Burlap
Dried Hydrangea
Watering Cans
Parasols
Lanterns (Metal, Glass & Paper)
Wooden Wedding Signs
Cloth Doilies
Blue Ribbon
Cast Iron Skillets
Small Iron Buckets
Clothespins
Woven Baskets
Lace Panels & Antique Linens
Water Jars
Hay Stacks
Rope
Antique Silver platters
Vintage Hankies
Antique vases
Vintage Chargers
Twine
Blue & White Bandanas

Items can be sent to:
Weddings by Socialites
Attn: Southern Heirloom Wedding
5971 Silver King Blvd, No. 207
Cape Coral, FL 33914

Please be sure to include your name and return address so that we can offer a proper southern thank you.
For more information, please feel free to contact us by email Info{at}KellyMcWilliams.com

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Melt With You

I have never been more proud of my little brother!

He, like me and my sisters, has acquired a love for music. Last year at his spring chorus performance, he literally took me by surprise. He had a solo in his class' performance and I was not ready for what I heard. I  had a moment, but luckily, the lights where down so only my mother saw!

Since I have been out of high school, they have changed things up a bit with the Spring Caberet Concert. When I was in high school, it was a hot mess! Our teacher let any and everyone sing whatever their hearts desired! The current teacher has brought some organization to the class. There is now a theme to the spring concerts. This year's theme was Rock n' Roll. 

Below is my brother's duet of Melt with You by Modern English 


I have to say, my one regret from the evening was not getting my bro's duet partner's solo of Lynyrd Skynyrd's Simple Man because it was beautiful!! 


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