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Ancestry Daily News
2/13/2003 - Archive
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Honoring Our Ancestors: A Bridal Book Goes Home |
Honoring Our Ancestors: A Bridal Book Goes Home
Little did I know what an avalanche I was triggering when I wrote a couple of
articles about rescuing orphan items—those family treasures that somehow go
astray—and invited readers to send descriptions of other photos, Bibles, and
memorabilia that they would like reunited with their families of origin.
I was amazed at how many of us have other people's possessions. It seems there
are a lot of kind souls out there who just can't bear to see an old photograph
abandoned at a flea market, even though it has no connection whatsoever to their
own family. Others items just seem to drift of their own accord until they settle
with someone who tucks them away and resolves to one day seek out the descendants
of the original owners.
I'd like to share a story of one such orphan book that seemed especially appropriate
given that tomorrow is Valentine's Day.
The Bride of Today
Kathy O'Connell of Bakersfield, California wrote of an unexpected find in a
local store:
"A few years ago, I was in a used book store (now defunct) and bought a
slim, leather—bound book with the title The Bride of Today. Imagine my surprise
when I discovered it contained the recordings of the marriage between two young
people in 1915 in North Bend, Nebraska. All the entries are handwritten, probably
by the bride, and the pages contain what gifts she received and from whom, her
attendants, a Kewpie doll bride gift card, the names of guests, the marriage
announcement and invitation to the wedding, newspaper articles about the wedding
and even samples of the fabric in her wedding dress and in two of her bridesmaids'
dresses.
"Well, I thought I had found the mother lode. What a wonderful record of
a young woman's special day! Then I began to wonder about the family and why
this book ended up in a used bookstore. I looked up the name—Luckhardt—in
our local phone book and found one entry, but when I called the number it has
been disconnected. I thought perhaps this person had passed away and someone
had simply boxed up some belongings and sold them or given them away. This does
not sit well with me. This book is a treasure, but it doesn't belong to me.
I would love to get it back to someone in the Luckhardt family who would really
appreciate it."
The Hunt Begins
This sounded like a tantalizing and promising case. I asked Kathy to share some
details from the book and she quickly responded. I was now on the trail of Harry
Alan and Susie Valentine (Sloss) Luckhardt who apparently had ties to Nebraska
and Missouri.
Ever since the release of the every-name 1930 U.S. census index on Ancestry.com,
I start by asking whether anyone in the family might have been alive in 1930.
In this case, the answer was obvious since the couple had married in 1915. Yes,
there was a very good chance I would able to find them.
I searched on their names and was slightly surprised to find them in Tulsa,
Oklahoma where Harry was working in insurance. The couple had three sons born
circa 1916-25 in Nebraska and Missouri. I was confident I had the right family
and decided to try to locate the sons today.
Where Are the Boys?
A quick search at Ancestry.com revealed the unfortunate news that two of the
sons were already deceased as both appeared in the SSDI and California death
index. In fact, one of them had passed away in Bakersfield, so I at least had
an inkling of how the book might have found its way to that shop.
But where was the oldest son? At this point, I took a wrong turn. Searching
online phone directories for the third child, I found a likely candidate and
asked Kathy to contact him. One awkward phone conversation later, she discovered
my mistake and good naturedly asked me to have another go.
Case Solved
Reasoning that Luckhardt was not the most common of names, I tried a long shot
and did a Google.com search on "Luckhardt, Bakersfield." Up popped
an interesting article about a policewoman named Elizabeth Luckhardt (whose
family has kindly allowed me to use their names). A few e-mails and rounds of
phone tag later, I was delighted to receive a message from Kathy declaring,
"MYSTERY SOLVED!!!" She had just spoken with Elizabeth's mother, Caroline
Beebe, who confirmed that the owner of the bride's book was indeed her former
mother-in-law, Susie Luckhardt. The policewoman in the article was a granddaughter
of the couple who had married in Nebraska 88 years ago.
Caroline has kept trunks full of Harry and Susie's things, but says that finding
this bridal book "is just the best thing to have happened." After
learning the news, she quickly spread the word to all three of her children.
As it happens, there is going to be a wedding in the family in May and it's
already been decided to display the bridal book at the reception. How appropriate
that this bride's book has been reunited with her family just in time to make
an appearance at another wedding.
With a bit of luck, the family will have a tad more to be excited about as I
did a little back-up surfing while waiting for Kathy to make the calls. The
USGenWeb site (www.usgenweb.org ) for
Dodge County, Nebraska has a terrific set of cemetery records, which provide
information on the bride's Sloss family back to her immigrant grandfather who
was born in Co. Derry, Ireland in 1820.
As to Kathy, she's having the withdrawal pains that those of us who have given
up the orphans we've adopted all know. Says she, "I'm a little sad to give
the book up since we know so much of the story, but I still believe strongly
that items like this belong with the family. Now it will go to its rightful
heirs, and that makes me very happy and satisfied."
Let's Keep It Going
Once again, I invite you to help send more orphans home. E-mail a brief summary
of the details you have about any such items you might have and perhaps we'll
work together to play detective. I'd like to extend a special thank you to all
who have already written and assure you that more of you will be hearing from
me as I close in on likely descendants. I must offer the caveat that I can't
promise to pursue all that come my way due to the sheer volume of e-mail I receive,
but each rescued orphan is progress.
Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak, author of Honoring Our Ancestors (HOA)
and In Search of Our Ancestors, can be reached here
See an updated list of resources for rescuing orphan photos
and HOA grants.
Upcoming Events
Carpatho-Rusyn Society
23 February 2003, Annandale, VA
Half-day event with talks including "Jump-Starting Your Eastern
European Research" and "Building a Village-Based Community."
March 28, 2003, Elizabeth City, NC, Rotary Club:
"Korean Repatriation Project"
Ohio Genealogical Society 2003 Conference
Ohio: 200 Years of Heritage
25-26 April 2003, Columbus, OH
25—Honoring Our Ancestors 11:30 (luncheon)
26—"Jump-Starting Your Eastern European Research" 2:30-3:30
National Genealogical Society
2003 Conference,
May 28-31, 2003, Pittsburgh, PA
28th at 3:30-4:30—"Maximizing your Results from the Ellis Island Database"
29th at 8:00-9:00—"Jump-Starting Your Eastern European Research"
Lake Erie Chapter of the Carpatho-Rusyn Society—half-day event
"In Search of Our Ancestors"
June 1, 2003, Erie, PA
3-part workshop including:
—"Jump-Starting Your Eastern Europe Research,"
—"Maximizing your Results from the Ellis Island Database,"
—Honoring Our Ancestors.
For details visit Chapters/Lake Erie Chapter at the National Society's website.
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