Here, gathered in our beloved South Dakota, are a few members of our Williamson / Mattson Clan. Charles and Luella are to be blamed (be kind, they didn't know what they were doing). We're generally a happy bunch and somewhat intelligent (notwithstanding our tenuous grasp on reality). I'm also proud to say that most of us still have our teeth.
Luella and Charles. 1956 and 2010 After 54 Years, They're Still Talking to Each Other! Click to Enlarge
From the Fortress of Solitude Pleasant Grove
Fifty four years ago Charles Williamson married Luella Mattson in Spearfish, South Dakota at the Methodist Church.
They celebrated the event by having a quiet night at home. Luella sat in their living room with her television on in the background to keep her company in between phone calls.
Charles sat in his "study" watching his television. Their opposite taste in television keeps them apart most evenings. Charles is a news, history and documentary fan. Mother watches "Dancing with the Stars...." . Need I say more.
I decided to take a few pictures to help them celebrate the occasion. Mother quickly ended an overlong long phone call, happy I was willing to document the event. "Get your father. He's in his room," she ordered. I walked down the hallway and told Charles his presence was required for photographs. I knew his next question would be a request for the reason. "For your anniversary," I said to answer his question before it was asked. Charles and Luella met each other in the hallway. "Let's go out to the gazebo," Luella suggested. "Should we go out the door?" Charles asked. He seemed confused. Their front door was further away than the sliding patio door. "Well, we could go out the sliding door," Luella said. "Why should we go out the patio door?" Charles questioned. "I guess we can go out any door we'd like," Luella said. I stood in the hallway beside them amazed they were having a conversation at all about which door to use to go out to the gazebo.
Luella took the lead and led Charles out through the sliding glass patio door. Charles was still in his WalMart clothes. His name tag proudly introduced him to Walmart's customers as "Charlie".
Ma and Pa Williamson on the Homesteadin Pleasant Grove
Luella Insisted, They Puckered Up and Went for it. Easy, Considering Neither of them had their teeth in. Disturbing - yet Romantic, in an Antiques Roadshow Way
I took several pictures of the loving couple in the gazebo. Luella suggested I take a few more on their deck.
"The Donner Party is on TV," Charles protested. A special on the Donner party is like watching a special on the Titanic. We all know what happened. The ship sank and the Donners ate each other. Time to get over it and move on.
Ma and Pa Williamson on the Patio in their Wicker Chairs. I'm tempted to sell the chairs. They're never used because of the lack of an accessible television!
It was their anniversary and Charles humored his wife of 54 years by giving her a few more pictures sitting in their wicker chairs.
And that was that. I got my pictures and walked back to the school to get them posted. I'm in the thick of another Summer Space Camp. I left Charles and Luella in their separate rooms. Luella was dialing another number on her cell phone and Charles was safely tucked away in his room engrossed in a winter storm a long time ago.
Luella said they would be driving to Wendover tomorrow for a couple hours to celebrate.
Happy Anniversary Charles and Luella. May your steps never falter. May your teeth never slip. May you remember to turn off the stove so you don't burn down the house!
Tonight we hold our virtual reunion inside the Fortress. We've got a powerful northwesterly wind blowing outside. There is no rain, just wind - and plenty of it.
Tonight we celebrate the sacrifice made by our 9th Great Grandfather, Hans Landis and introduce you to our ancestors from Switzerland. I'm please to find Swiss blood in my veins. I love Switzerland and wished my travels through Europe would have permitted more time spent in the beautiful Alps.
Hans Landis was a Swiss Brethren, an Anabaptists (Mennonites). He was beheaded for his religious convictions in Switzerland.
Mennonites Today
Let's begin with the Relationship Chart:
9th Great Grandparents.
Hans Landis b. 1578. d. September 29, 1614 marriedElizabeth Erzinger b. 1582 in Zurich Switzerland. d. October 16, 1593. Zurich.
to
Jacob Landis married Barbara Buehler to Johannes Landis married Margaretha Nassen to Elizabeth Landis married Heinrich Henry Mohler to Salome Mohler married Martin Keller to Susanna Keller married Abraham Fiddler to Henry Fiddler married Frances George to Eldora Elizabeth Fiddler married Edwin Sherman Pierce to Walter Edwin Pierce married Vesta Althea Dennis to Violet Mae Pierce married Walter Albert Mattson to Luella Mae Mattson married Charles Williamson to US
And now, the life of this true Christian Martyr.
Simply, Victor
Hans Landis, our 9th Great Grandfather was a Swiss Brethren martyr, a preacher from Wadenswil in the canton of Zürich, Switzerland, was imprisoned in the Wellenberg in 1608. After a few months his fellow prisoners managed to release him from the chains, and all escaped. The others were soon captured, but Hans reached his native village. The Swiss government made another attempt to indoctrinate the Anabaptists (Mennonites) to win them to the state church. On 21 January 1613 the first meeting of the government with them took place at Wadenswil. It was fruitless, as was also the second one, held on 23 February. Thereupon Hans Landis was arrested and put in prison with five other Brethren. In early August negotiations were begun. Landis remained "stiff-necked." He refused to emigrate, saying that the earth was the Lord's; no one had authority to send them away out of the country; they were going to stay in Switzerland.
On 25 August 1613 all six Brethren were condemned to galley service and were to be delivered to the French minister at Solothurn on the next day. Once more they were given permission to emigrate, with a week's time to decide. Three wavered and consented; the others encouraged Landis to be faithful. These three (Hans Landis, Galli Fuchs, and Stephan Zehender) were taken to Solothurn and lodged in prison to await transport. In three days they escaped.
In December 1613 Hans Landis, having returned to minister to his flock, was again seized. In prison he wrote to his church and his friends. He asked his wife for the Doms-büchli (the Confessio of the martyr Thomas von Imbroich). He was questioned on the rack. On 29 September 1614 he was sentenced to death and was beheaded the next day. This was the last Anabaptist execution in Zürich.
Hans Landis had a stately figure, "a long black beard mixed with gray and a manly voice." The executioner asked his pardon for what he was about to do; Landis replied that "he had already forgiven him; may God also forgive him; he knew very well that he must carry out the government's orders." When his wife and children came to the place of execution with "sorrowful crying and mourning, to bid him at the end an eternal good night," he asked that they leave him, so that "his good resolution and his good courage for the death facing him might not be moved or hindered." In the Ausbund, No. 132, is a song of 46 stanzas commemorating his death. It begins "Ich hab ein schön neu Lied gemacht."
A letter written by a preacher of Zurich, dated July 19-29, 1659, describes the person and character of Hans Landis and the manner of his execution.
"Havavier Salr, was present at the decapitation of Hans Landis, which circumstance is still fresh in my memory, having witnessed it at the Wolfs-statt, and the whole transaction seems as vivid to me now as though it had transpired but a few weeks ago." In the sequel he describes his person and the manner of his death as follows: "Hans Landis was tall of stature, had a long black beard, a little gray, and a masculine voice. Being led out cheerfully with a rope, to Wolfs-statt the place of decollation, the executioner, Mr. Paul Volmar, let the rope fall, raised both hands to heaven, and said: O! God of mercy, to thee be it complained, that you, Hans have fallen into my hands: for God's sake forgive me for what I must do to you. Hans consoled the executioner, saying: I have already forgiven you, may God forgive you also: I am well aware that you must execute the sentence of the magistracy, be undismayed and see that nothing hinders you in this matter. Whereupon he was beheaded. The people were of the opinion that when the executioner let the rope go he wanted to give Hans an opportunity to escape; and moreover , it was a common saying that if he had run off no one would have pursued him."
The following, from credible witnesses may be added, namely;
that when the oft-mentioned Hans Landis was awaiting his doom at the place of execution, his wife and child came to him with tears and lamentation, to bid him a last farewell. But when he saw them he entreated them to depart, so that his resolution to meet his impending fate might not be shaken, and his tranquiltiy of mind disturbed by tears and sorrowing. This done, and having commended his soul to God, a stroke of the sword put a speedy termination to his life."
Although Hans Landis was the last person in that vicinity to be beheaded for religious convictions, persecutions did not cease with his death.
The Anabaptists were followers of Menno Simon and are commonly called Mennonites. Their tenets include the eschewing of infant baptism, refusal to take oaths, bear arms, or to fill civil offices, and the practice of humility. This constituted a challenge to the thinking of church-dominated governments and naturally called for suppression, in the exercise of which thousands lost their lives and liberty.
The farmers on the isolated hillsides along the western shore of Lake Zurich, including our Landis ancestors, were long a thorn in the side of the civil and ecclesiastical authorities. They resisted the Reformed Church, the state Church of Switzerland. Finally when the residents refused to honor a property tax increase to pay for strengthening military forces in the canton, a massive military sweep was conducted in the mid 1640s. Residents were fined and imprisoned. The state also confiscated many of the farms. The revenue from these farms was held in trust to pay costs of imprisonment. Any residue was to be given back to heirs if they agreed to join the state church.
By mid-century most of the resources of the Anabaptists had been seized. Their leaders were either dead or imprisoned and emigration seemed the only recourse. It soon began on a massive scale and it is estimated that nearly 1700 Anabaptists fled Zurich after 1649.
Most of the descendants of Hans Landis, the martyr, died in prison or from harrassment by the authorities. Several of his grandchildren managed to immigrate from Switzerland and went to Alsace, paralleling the Rhine River, and at that time a part of Germany. Today Alsace is a part of France and that is why you sometimes see their heritage given erroneously as French.
This is a Anabaptist, Mennonite Hymn honoring our Great Grandfather and other martyrs.
Hello Williamsons Everywhere! You'll recognize this photograph from our family reunion a few years ago. The people you see are the Patriarchs and Matriarchs of our extended Williamson family. At that time, they were the only surviving grandchildren of William Jonathon and Effie Helen, our common Grandparents. They are first cousins to each other and represent living bridges to the family's past. Sadly, Woody Williamson (pictured top row far right), son of Walt and Frances Williamson, past away earlier this year. Also recently lost, Shirley Williamson Hunt, daughter of Emmett Williamson.
There are now ten.
What amazed me at our last family reunion was my lack of knowledge concerning my Williamson cousins. I hardly knew anyone, as I'm sure was your experience if you attended. I've tried to change that. This blog is the result. I'm hoping it has helped you understand our family's American Experience and given you a sense of pride in what we've accomplished over the many generations.
Tonight, I'd like to reintroduce you to the Wise Ones of our family. I've grouped them in a convenient way to help you understand how they are related to each other and to you (refer to the Relationship Charts).
I want to thank Pat and Corlis for their invaluable help in getting this post prepared. I hope I got it right. If not, I'm counting on you to let me know.
Hello Williamsons, OK, we have a mystery that needs resolving. I found this series of pictures taken by one of my brothers and sisters (I can tell because of the poor, grainy shots) at a family event held in the late 1970's at the Catholic Church in Deadwood, South Dakota. I know my Williamson Aunts, Uncles and Cousins must have the answers so I'm relying on your memory to fill in the event and the names of the people in the photos. The pictures are numbered for reference. Oh, and if you have photos of this same event would you send them to me so I can post them to this post?
All help is appreciated.
Simply, Victor
Update. Pat and Corlis responded. The mystery event is identified as Walt and Frances' 50th wedding anniversary held in 1979 at St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Deadwood. Walt and Frances were married on July 20, 1929.
Photo 1. Great Aunt Frances in the Center
Photo 2. Great Uncle Walt standing next to the piano.
Photo 3. Great Aunt Josie walking in the background. Annette showing off her dress
Photo 4 - Frances is visiting with Marian Thompson and ? from Sundance, WY. Old friends from childhood.
Photo 5. Luella, Annette, Janice and Jilane sitting on the wall outside Deadwood's Courthouse.
Photo 6. Great Uncle Walt on the right
Photo 7. Great Aunt Frances Standing
Photo 8. Mother, Great Aunt Ethel
Photo 9. Annette, Luella and Janice
Photo 11. Annette Photo 12 - Aunt Laura (Emmett's wife, sister-in-law to Frances Williamson) and Woody Williamson.
It was a Happy Birthday Celebration at the Fortress tonight for one of Pleasant Grove's most distinguished citizens. Charles Williamson, a transplant from South Dakota, turned 74 today. He was born on June 11, 1936 at 7:30 P.M. at St. Joseph's Hospital in Deadwood, South Dakota.
Let's Start with a Happy Birthday Video to Grandpa Charlie on behalf of all of his grand and great grand children.
Now wasn't that sweet, and disturbing, at the same time.......?
Moving on...
To celebrate the event I decided to post a series of pictures of Dad's early childhood. Dad got home from work around 7:30 P.M. I waited with pictures and computer in hand. I asked him if he remembered anything about that day. "1936 had the hottest summer on record," he said as he stood in the kitchen in his red bath robe. He'd just returned from a full day spent suffering '"fools and their offspring" at our local WalMart where he works in the Garden Center. He was preparing his first course of the evening, consisting of an assortment of lunch meat, and to wash it down, a half gallon of green tea. Luella sat in her easy chair restating the questions I was directing toward Dad thinking Dad wasn't understanding them.
"Are you going to sit down so Victor can ask you about these pictures?" she asked for the fourth time. "I won't if you ask that question one more time," he said to his wife of over fifty years. I sat on the green leather sofa near the picture window and waited. I had two things to accomplish and it was getting late (which is after 9:00 P.M. for me). First, get dad to talk about his birthday and secondly, have a nice helping of strawberry short cake (a favorite of dad's - just for his birthday. Mom spared no expense).
Dad finally sat down and began working on the lunch meat. Mother got up to prepare his second course. Something you don't see too often. You see, Mother doesn't cook anymore. I think she stopped when the microwave oven was invented. For birthdays she'll make exceptions. For tonight's birthday dinner she prepared Dad's favorite, a microwaved meat loaf and mashed potatoes TV dinner served with a spoon. "How am I suppose to eat this with a spoon?" he questioned. "The meat loaf was a bit runny," she replied. Her response seemed logical yet gross at the same time. "You're suppose to eat meat with a fork," dad reminded her of another basic fact of life she'd obviously forgotten. Again, I sat on the sofa waiting for his recollections and my helping of shortcake. "Are you ready to answer his questions?" she shot back. "Not if you ask me that one more time," he responded. I sighed.
To ease dad into a conversation I thought of saying something about Walmart. He loves to talk about Walmart. It is his one true weakness. "I stopped at the new WinCo in Orem to check out their grocery prices," I said. The room grew quiet. "Cheap?" mother asked. "Cheaper than WalMart," I replied. Mother seemed fascinated. I could tell WinCo would become another one of her daily stops in her attempt to fill her days with mini field trips. Mother has a routine she sticks to religiously. Its up, complete a word puzzle or two, watch CPAN (God only knows why) and then its off to WalMart for a stroll and some shopping for the evening's microwaved delights. Winco would be added as another stop on her grand tour of the shops in her never ending quest for a penny off here and a nickel off there.
"Where is it?" she asked. I explained. She got confused. Dad explained, which made the confusion worse. I jumped in and gave her its exact position in relation to the two Walmarts and the one Target we have nearby, thus creating a triangle - necessary for geographical locations. "Are you only going to shop there from now on?" she asked after getting its location firmly planted in her memory. "Walmart does price matching so if I can get Walmart to price match then maybe not. Winco's one drawback is they won't take credit cards."
From that point the discussion turned to the stupidity of WalMart for not asking for proof of competitor's pricing at the check out when seeking a price match. "All you have to do is tell the cashier that the item in your cart sells for this price at another store. You don't have to prove anything! Yesterday one woman got $300 worth of groceries for $80 bucks!" Dad stated while folding another slice of lunch meat. "Today a woman told me she could buy our $200 swing set for $39 dollars elsewhere. I told her bologna and wouldn't match the price," he said shaking his head at how ridiculous it had become.
Mom saw me yawning. "Talk to him about those pictures. He needs to get to bed."
At that point, our discussion about the pictures began.
"So, what do we say about your birthday?" I asked again.
"Let's just say he was born," mother answered for him. "They went on a lot of picnics," mom remembered. Once again, something very random, but I'm used to that.
Dad was raised near his Williamson and Vercellino relatives. They had spontaneous picnics in the afternoons when the men would come home from work. Dad's dad and his brothers would come home from work and announce it was a picnic day and everyone was to bring whatever was quick and available to eat. These afternoon picnics consisted of Walt and Francis, Morris and Josie, Charlie and Elda and their children.
I typed as I enjoyed my anxiously awaited strawberry shortcake. We finally got to the photographs. Here they are so enjoy and please appreciated the time and effort it took to get them captioned...... :)
Simply, Victor
Grandpa Charles holding Charles. The picture was taken in their front yard.
Charles is 22 months old in this picture. That wasn't their car in the background. They didn't own a car until dad was six years old. The car belonged to Uncle Ed (Elda's brother). It was his Model A.
Charles is 20 months in this picture. The Texaco Station in the background. The steps in the background lead up to a house. Everyone walked in those days, not many had cars. It was the Great Depression. In those days Highway 85 (the road in front of Dad's house) was the longest highway in the United States. It stretched from Canada to Mexico.
Charles is 18 months old in this picture. He remembers his dad got mad at Grandma for sticking her hand out to keep him from falling. What a memory!
Grandpa Charles holding his first born son, Charles is 24 months old. Grandpa Charles was 30 years old when the picture was taken. He was on his way to work. In those days everyone went home for lunch. All stores closed at noon for lunch. The Homestake Mine blew the whistle and the mine stopped for lunch. Another whistle blew at 3:30 P.M. to call the end of the first shift. If two whistles blew there was a baseball game. If the whistle blew any other time there was an accident.
Charles is standing at a pump. It was the water pump the Pascoe's got their water from before they had plumbing in Lead. Charles is 16 months old.
Charles again at 16 months old.
Charles is 16 months old in this picture. The Texaco Gas Station and Lead Auto Body is behind him. The owners of the station lived behind the station. Dad lived next to the station. Dad is wearing a painter's cap from the Hearst Mercantile, it was the first WalMart, so to speak. It sold just about everything - a general Dept. Store. Grandpa Charles was a sales clerk for the Mercantile.
Charles is 15 months old in this picture sitting on his front porch.
Charles is 15 months old in this picture.
Charles standing in his Grandmother Marie Vercellino's front yard (Elda's mother). Dad is 16 months old. Great Grandmother Marie died of stroke three weeks after this picture was taken while sweeping her front porch.
Charles is sitting on Jessie lap. Jessie was a friend of Elda's. They lived in Hot Springs and came visiting from time to time. They owned the Coast to Coast Hardware Store.
Charles standing in the Pascoe's front yard (didn't have much of a yard). The Round House is the large brick building in the background. It is a nice restaurant in Lead today. There is a Arco Grocery Store today where Charles is standing.
Charles at 1 years old standing outside his home in Lead.
In this picture Charles is standing with his mother Elda and Uncle Ed. Uncle Ed didn't visit that often.
Hello Family,
I just complete my first three day Space Camp for the summer season. Exhausted is a good descriptive word for my current state. I'm about to head back to the school for another one night camp. Crazy, but this is the time the Center makes much of its operating budget for the year so its "All Hands on Deck!"
I was fortunate to locate a relative of ours, Sara Abramowitz-Hill, a descendant of Levi Dennis and his first wife - Sarah Crippen. She had more information on our Great Great Grandfather and was happy to send it along for our history. Thank you Sara!
First, the relationship chart
This is the new information we have on John Dennis and his family, including John Dennis' work on the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City.
Simply,
Victor
John Dennis
Dennis Family History
We first fine the Dennis family in Knoxville, Tennessee. Levi Dennis met a young Lady, Sarah Crippen, who had been born in that city in 1816. Sarah was 26 years old when she and Levi were married in 1842. They had two sons, Jon and Edward. In 1846 the Dennis family moved to Sullivan County, Missouri. Levi died three weeks after they arrived in Missouri. In 1847 Sarah remarried Samuel Bingham.
The family lived in Missouri about 18 years. Sarah and Samuel had five more children, Mathew, Tom Jesse, Eliza and Barbara. Samuel served as Justice of the Peace.
In 1864, Edward joined the Confederate Army. After the war he moved to Montana. His descendants were lost to the family until 1957 when a letter was received from an Alic Irwin, a daughter of Edward.
John Dennis met Julia Spurlock in Missouri and he was married to her when he was 18 years old. They had six children, Sarah Martha, Nancy Jane, Minnie, Annie, Allie and John Jr. The oldest was Sarah Martha who was born in Union, Missouri in 1863.
When Sarah Martha was one years old the family left Missouri. They traveled in a covered wagon drawn by oxen and were part of a freight train. They headed for California but ended up in Utah and Wyoming. Nancy Jane and Annie were born at Fr. Bridger, Wyoming. During that time John Dennis worked in Salt Lake City helping to build the Mormon Tabernacle. They lived in the area six years.
The family moved to Ft. Collins, Colorado. John and Julia had three more children born in Colorado, Minnie, Allie and John Jr. On January 10, 1873, their son John Jr. was born. Julia died eleven days later and the little baby, John Jr. died in September of that same year. They were buried there in Bingham Hill Cemetery. Also buried there was Barbara, Samuel and Sarah’s youngest daughter. She died at the age of 19 from a nosebleed just before her planned wedding.
In 1878, John and his three oldest daughters, Mattie, Nancy and Annie left Colorado.. They traveled by train to a tie-camp in Wyoming. John left his two youngest girls, Minnie and Allie with relatives in Colorado.
From Wyoming, John and his three oldest daughters journeyed to Custer or Hill City in the Black Hills of South Dakota. They lived in that area for awhile while John worked in the mines. Then he became interested in Hot Springs and the family moved farther south.
Annie Tallent, who was the first white woman in the Black Hills, mentioned John Dennis in her writings. It seems that Col. Thornby and Professor Jennie, both prominent in the Hill’s History, had explored the area where Hot Springs would soon be. On their way back to Deadwood they stopped in Hill City and met a George Trimmer and a John Dennis who became the first settlers in Hot Springs.
John arrived at Hot Springs in 1880 and is considered to be the third settler in that valley. The 1880 census lists 28 people, among them John, his oldest three daughters and Thomas Bingham, who would be John’s half brother.
In 1883, John married our Great Great Grandmother, Mrs. Belle Helgerson who had a daughter Myra from a previous marriage. John and Belle had five more children, Joseph, Vesta, Raymond, Emma and John. At some time, John also became reunited with his other two younger daughters, Minnie and Allie. Belle was the first school teacher in the Hot Springs area.
John’s mother, Sarah, her husband and their family were also in Hot Springs at that time. Their oldest son, Matthew, played the fiddle and was said to make music for many dances in the town. Matthew’s son Fred, was married to Edna, Sarah and Samuel’s next son Tom, discovered Wind Cave in 1881 when he was out hunting. Their sister, Eliza was married and remained in Colorado.
John and Belle had a wonderful garden in Hot Springs. It was reported that he harvested 24000 pounds of onions and he must have cultivated quite an area ash he also had ten foot high corn and harvested grain. He also promised a July picnic for which he would furnish the watermelon. It was said that it would be for “Everybody and his dog!” During that time he made many trips back to Custer to sell his produce.
In 1880, John, Belle and family moved to a ranch near Cascade. One account said that he traded his property in Hot Springs for the ranch which his son-in-law George Turner, had owned. His third Great Grandson, Alan Hill, now owns that property.
The Dennis family lived at the Cascade ranch for about seven years. During that time they had many tragedies. In 1891, their six year old son, John, died. John’s mother, Sarah Bingham, died at their three year old son, Raymond, drowned in the Cheyenne River. That same year, John’s daughter, Annie, from his first marriage, died - leaving a three month old baby who also died in January of 1892. Then in February of 1892, John and Belle’s little five year old daughter, Emma, also died.
Our Great Great Grandmother Belle died in 1896 after which John just lived a few months over a year. He had pneumonia and Charles Row, his son-in-law, moved him to Hot Springs in a closed carriage to be nearer the doctor but he died in April 1897. He was only 53 years old. He had led such an interesting life and been so many different places in such a short life. It is simply amazing to contemplate. John was a member of the 7th Day Adventist Church.
John wrote a will stating that if he died before his children, James and Vesta, that they should be cared for by his daughter, Nancy Roe.
Luella and Charles. 1956 and 2010
Ma and Pa Williamson on the Homestead in Pleasant Grove
Luella Insisted, They Puckered Up and Went for it.
Ma and Pa Williamson on the Patio in their Wicker Chairs.
