Love of Family History
Something that is a big part of who I am that I don’t talk about as much is my love for family history work. It is something that I feel passionate about. It is something I feel called to do and love it. It is incredibly rewarding and I feel strongly that the more I learn about those that came before me, the more I understand myself. And I learn so much from them. They are more then just names on a paper to me.
I have felt this stirring within myself since I was thirteen. I could not measure the hundreds of hours I have spent pouring over these individuals and their stories over the years. Sundays as a teenager were spent in my basement at the computer. When my kids were little and would take their naps, I would hop on the computer and do what I could. There have even been seasons in Mark and I’s marriage when the kids would go to bed at night and we would turn on a show and both sit on our laptops on the couch and do family history. It’s a big part of my life.
But a couple of years ago I started to wonder if there was more I could do. I started to think about goals outside of myself. I wanted these people that I love from my history to become familiar to people that I love here and now. And while I know that we have all have technology readily available to us, I wanted something tangible for my family. There are so many ways to organize family history and believe me I have tried them all (binders, file folders, etc.).
But I came up with an idea for a book (I am a lover of books). Something that could sit nicely on the shelf (because I love things to be asthetically pleasing), and something that contained the whole story – or at least as whole as I could make it. Sometimes when you go on FamilySearch or Ancestry people can feel less like people and more like disjointed pieces of information, a census here, a marriage certificate there. I wanted to bring everything together and make them as real as they ACTUALLY are!
Every year I make my kids a scrapbook and they love these books. They are brought out multiple times a week and it makes my heart so happy. I wanted something like that. Something they could pull down off the shelf when they have a few minutes and learn about who they came from. Learn about who these people really were.
So…all of that being said. I think I have finally created my dream. I honestly don’t know how long this has taken me but I know it has been years. Every spare moment I had on Sundays (which has been hard to find the last several years with some demanding calling for Mark and I) was devoted to this. It involved a lot of reconfiguring things as I understood more and more about how I wanted things to flow but it is finally finished. And it has involved lots of phone calls to my Mom for clarification – bless you for being patient with me!
I decided to start with my Great-Grandparents on my Moldenhauer side (maternal side). This was the side of my family I knew the least and so I wanted to start there (it also involved the least amount of children so I thought it would be easier as I navigated how I wanted it to be). Even though I thought it would be “easy” it ended up being 232 pages of their story and a little bit of my heart. And I love it.
A little note about history – and I believe this is true in any form of history, be it World, United States, Church, family, etc. No one that has ever walked on this earth, except our Savior, has been perfect. We all have our struggles and shortcomings. And when I study history – any kind of it – I try and be honest, but choose to focus on the positives and give a whole lot of grace. None of us know what it was like to walk in another’s shoes. And I would hope that someday (and today!) others will give me grace in my many shortcomings as well.
Edward Jack and Elizabeth Louise
I knew very little about my Grandpa Ed and Grandma Betts when I started this project. But they feel so dear to my heart now. Here is just a little snippet of what I have learned about this family:
Grandpa Ed was born in Russia in 1892. He was part of a group called the Black Sea Germans. He immigrated to the United States when he was 9 years old and his family settled in North Dakota (like many of the Black Sea Germans). His family was very musical and played in bands together. He served in France during World War I in the medical corps. He settled in Idaho where he met my Grandma Betts, a young school teacher.
Grandma Betts was born in Kansas in 1898. Her parents were immigrants from Wales and she was the oldest of three girls. Her family moved to Idaho when she was 11 and lived on a farm in Kimberly and raised crops and dairy cattle. She loved animals.
After their marriage, they moved down to Salt Lake City and Grandpa Ed worked at the bank. They had three sons. Their second son was born stillborn. After about six years, the family moved back up to Idaho and settled in the Heyburn area to farm. After devastating crop loss the family had to rebuild during the Great Depression. Grandpa Ed worked for the irrigation district, changing water for the canals, where he severed his thumb.
After several years of hard work, they were finally able to afford electric lights in their rental home and were eventually able to buy a small farm to call their own. Later, with World War II underway, Grandpa became a guard at the Minidoka Internment Camp where several Japanese were held during that time.
Family was important to them. They gathered together often. They were active members of their Methodist faith. They participated in their communities and served in several clubs and organizations. They were known as being honest and sincere. Grandpa loved to drive cars fast, enjoyed liverwurst sandwiches, and was an avid rock collector. Grandma was thrifty and industrious and took great pride in her garden.
Their oldest son, Bob, was interested in farming. When he was 19, he joined the United States Navy and served during World War II. He served as an electrician’s mate for three years in the southwest Pacific. He came home and went to the University of Idaho, married his wife Marie, and began his career in the agriculural business. They later went on to adopt twin daughters. Bob and Marie were also active in their Methodist faith and in the community.
The youngest son, my Grandpa Lew, struggled a little more. He developed scarlet fever as a young child and as a result had to quit school and felt like a poor student. He was involved in sports though and even became Student Body President in high school. He was also interested in agriculture and received a scholarship for constructing an addition to a manure spreader. After high school, he enlisted in the United States Engineering Corp. While he was home on leave, he went on a blind date with Vera, who later became my Grandma. Grandpa Lew went on to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and began his life with Vera. He left the military and worked in the grocery business. They had three children. Grandpa loved to be outdoors going on pack horse trips, climbing Grand Teton Peak, and receiving his pilot’s license.
Learning about my family has been a privilege, and I mean that sincerely. I love them and hope I have done their stories justice. I can’t wait for more opportunities to learn more about my family and share what I learn with my family. As silly as it sounds, when the book finally came and I opened it, I felt like it was truly one of the greatest things I have ever created. And to see the happy faces of my children as they each took their own copies to their room, made everything I had hoped for come true.
