Beginnings Cont'd, A

The vital statistics of my mother and her siblings:
Emma Louise Blankenburg b. Jan 21, 1887 in Rockville, CT, d. Aug 5, 1957, Rockville, CT
Esther Selma Blankenburg b. Sep 20, 1889 " , d. May 2, 1965, Providence, RI
Charles William " b. Mar 7, 1892 in Vernon, CT, d. Jan 4, 1973 in Newington, CT
Florence Carrie " b. Mar 31, 1897 " , d. Mar. 5, 1937, Hartford/Windsor,CT
Cora Hattie " b. Jul 18, 1899 " ,d. Mar. 26, 1961, Rye, NY
Frederick Richard " b. Jun 22, 1901 " , d. Oct 25, 1993, Vernon, CT
Arnold Edward " b. Apr 13, 1905 " , d. in Oakley, KS

Here is a photo of the house in Vernon where we all grew up, taken in 1892, with my grandma as a young woman, holding my aunt Esther as a baby, and my mother standing next to her as a little girl. My mother's grandpa Backmann is standing there under the small maple tree. The yard is surrounded by a picket fence, and the house has shutters. The house still stands, but is so remodeled it is unrecognizable. My mother could speak only German until she was 4 years old, as thats what they spoke at home. Her Backmann grandparents lived with them. In fact, the house was bought as a reposession from a bank, and Mr. Backmann proveded the ernest money to bind the bargain. The house itself had hand-hewn beams in the basement, and the floor in my bedroom upstairs was made of chestnut.

Let's look at the Backmann side of the family. We will go back to 1832 when Christian Wilhelm Backmann was born. He was also known as William C. Backmann. He died Mar. 15, 1894 in Vernon, CT. He married Wilhelmina Kranert who was born Aug 11, 1839, and died June 223, 1902 in Vernon / Rockville, Ct. she had one sister who married Mr. Young.

Christian Backmann and Willimina Kranert had 3 daughters and 2 sons as follows: Carolinn Albina, ("Aunt Carrie")b. Feb 22, 1868 or 1869; Albina (Bertha) Liberte (My Grandma), b. Triebes, Germany, June 22, 1864, d. Rockville, CT Jul 7, 1947; Wilhelm Franz, ("Uncle Frank") b. Apr 3, 1867, Married May 17, 1888, had a number of children, lived in Shelton, CT, then they moved to Ann Arbor, or Interlocken, MI in the 1930's; William C. Jr. ("Uncle William"), b. Jan 25, 1870, d. Dec. 11, 1934 probably in Springfield, MA. We inherited a butcher knife and an alarm clock from him, and the clock was given to me. But it made so much noise I had to keep it in the chest of drawers. Then there was finally, Selma Marion ("Aunt Selma"), b. Mar 30, 1874 in Rockville, d. April 27, 1923 in PA. She was the Blankenburg childrens favorite Aunt. She married a Gibson, and they had a daughter Esther Gibson who was in the Army for a while, and married a "ner-do-well" by the name of Hinderlighter, about which I can tell you a few stories later.

That's about all the vital statistics on the Blankenburg side, but there are plenty of stories to tell another time. I must go and take care of falling leaves.