28 December 2024

I remember Helen, my Great Grandmother, as a peculiar woman who forced me to eat the soggy remains of my Cornflakes hours after breakfast. Because I knew her growing up, I did not intend to focus on her in my genealogical research. I quickly changed my mind after I discovered a paper trail of eccentric news stories featuring my Great Grandmother.

I interviewed my Great Uncle Mike when I began my research. As Helen's son, I was hoping he could tell me about his father, paternal and maternal grandparents, and other relatives. He had great stories, but Helen's anecdotes were the best. "She was the family publicist," he recalled, "every time we did something she would call the newspaper." He told me the story of the time he received a huge promotion at work. His mother was so proud that she called the newspaper and told them the story, even submitting his picture. He was dismayed when the story ran, and the picture was of him, as a toddler, bathing in a tub with his younger brothers (pictured left, from the private collection of Mike Suley). After interviewing my Uncle, I spent a great deal of time researching my Great Grandmother to find more random news stories.

The caption on Three Boys in a Tub reads: "These small boys…are Mrs. Helen Borchert's personal reasons for hoping for 'A World United in Peace.' She has written lyrics for a song bearing this title which she hopes will soon be recorded." Helen's life is seemingly recorded through a quirky paper trail with news clippings like Three Boys in a Tub. Through acquiring family keepsakes and searching Google News Archives, I have found some entertaining stories:

• On October 3, 1952 under the headline Local Strappings in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Helen's woes were publicized as her first husband, Michael, had been hospitalized for months with tuberculosis. As a result, the family was on welfare. Like Three Boys in a Tub, Helen referred to herself as a songwriter.

• Housewife Plays Role of Dan Cupid: on May 22, 1955 an article was published in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette about a couple who was married after a five month courtship. They were brought together by housewife and "avid amateur songwriter," my Great Grandmother Helen.

• Letters to the Editor: Helen's commentaries were often published in the Letters to the Editor section of the Post Gazette. Some topics include: "Teens Need Prayer," "Tired of Murder," and "Parents Advised to Teach Respect."

As hard as she tried, Helen never became a renowned songwriter. Her poems were displayed in her church newsletter for years; at the end of her life, those same poems were on the bulletin board of her nursing home's cafeteria. Although her multiple attempts to gain recognition through the local paper was unsuccessful, she has left a solid paper trail for her descendents. Helen's legacy of eccentricity has taught me that genealogy is more than filling in birth and death dates accurately in a pedigree chart. It's the anecdotes that happened between the birth and death dates that are fascinating, and even entertaining. 

Image: digital copy of Mike Suley's personal collection.

This post was oritinally self-published in a former genealogy blog: https://thefamilygenealogist.blogspot.com/2012/04/

21 December 2024

My passion for genealogy stems from a family tragedy that occurred before I was born.  My grandmother, Judy Higginbotham, died on March 19, 1976 of a brain tumor.  She was 33 years old.  My mother was just 15 years old at the time.  This event had shaped the uncertain future of my Mom and her sisters, the sadness and void cascading over Judy's entire family:  her mother, brothers and sisters, husband, and daughters.

She and her husband, my grandfather, Kenny Higginbotham, had a tumultuous marriage.  He was a truck driver and on the road a lot.  He also favored the drink.  They were married young.  Judy was just 17 when my mother was born in 1960.  By 1965, there were four Higginbotham girls:  Lori, Judy, Lisa, and Renee. 

I don't know too much about her.  From my Mom and Aunts, I learned she was a homemaker, a smoker, loved Pepsi and chocolate, loved kids...she took in other family members' kids from time to time.  From my Great Uncle I learned that as a teen she had a wild crush on James Dean and other boys loved her, giving her the nickname: "Skinny Mini with the Meatball Eyes" on the account of her being thin and having big brown eyes.

Despite never having met her, I have always felt a connection.  Those who have known her see a resemblance.  A recently discovered photo of her has me convinced that we share the same sense of humor (pictured above, left).  48 Years after her death, and she is still loved and remembered.  Family is powerful, and it's great feeling connected to our ancestors. 

Image: digital copy from Mike Suley's personal collection

This post was originally self published in a former genealogy blog: https://thefamilygenealogist.blogspot.com/2012/03/my-passion-for-genealogy.html