Wait, Isn't One Royal House Enough?

Coat of Arms of the House of Capet – a blue field strewn with Lilies

Hello Family,
No, one royal house isn't enough. Let's keep going with our famous ancestors. Yesterday we introduced ourselves to our 27th Great Grandfather William I of England. Tonight I introduce you to another 27th Great Grandfather from another line. Drum Roll Please.............

King Henry I of France of the Capetian house - our 27th Great Grandfather. I know, I know. You knew it all along didn't you? You just knew there was something special about you but try as you might, you could never get anyone else to agree. Well, here is all the proof you need, and we haven't even started. There are still names down the line that will shock you.................And you thought we were all descendants of some dirt farmers from the high plains of Montana. Well, we are but how nice to have our humble origins seasoned with a bit of the silver, gold, glitter and snobbery of the finest Royal houses in Europe.

OK, Let's get back to King Henry I. This Great Grandfather was born in May 4, 1008 and died August 4, 1060. He became the King of France in 1031 and remained so until his death.

During his reign France dimenished in size to its smallest land area in history, gobbled up by everyone else that had more 'determination'. Some historians regard him as a strong but realistic king, who was forced to conduct a policy mindful of the limitations of the French monarchy.

To defend his throne against his mother, his brothers Robert and Eudes, and subsequently against the Count of Blois, he secured, at the cost of territorial concessions, the aid of Robert I, Duke of Normandy, and of Geoffrey Martel, Count of Anjou. After Robert admitted defeat, Henry unwisely granted him the Duchy of Burgundy. It was a mistake because it set him up to be a powerful rival to the French kingdom and his throne.

Now this is interesting because our two 27th Great Grandfathers had a bit of a falling out. First understand that our Great Grandfather William I was the nephew in law of Henry I. William, later William I of England, became Henry's number one enemy. Grandpa William successfully resisted two invasions by Grandpa Henry. Well, it seems there are problems even in the finest families.

Simply,
Victor

Seal of Henry I

King William I (William the Conqueror) Our 27th Great Grandfather

May I introduce you to King William I of England our famous 27th Great Grandfather coming from Grandma Mattson's family line. He is on that short list of history's famous people. He is known as William the Conqueror. Here are a few interesting facts on our famous Great Grandfather.

WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR
William I (c. 1027 or 1028^[1] – 9 September 1087), better known as William the Conqueror, was the King of England from Christmas, 1066 until his death. He was also William II, Duke of Normandy, from 3 July 1035 until his death. Before his conquest of England, he was known as "William the Bastard" (French: Guillaume le Bâtard) because of the illegitimacy of his birth. William was already known as "the Conqueror" before 1066 due to his military success in Brittany.

To press his claim to the English crown, William invaded England in 1066, leading an army of Normans, Bretons, Flemish people, and Frenchmen (from Paris and Île-de-France) to victory over the English forces of King Harold Godwinson (who died in the conflict) at the Battle of Hastings, and suppressed subsequent English revolts in what has become known as the Norman Conquest.^[2]

His reign, which brought Norman-French culture to England, had an impact on the subsequent course of England in the Middle Ages. The details of that impact and the extent of the changes have been debated by scholars for over a century. In addition to the obvious change of ruler, his reign also saw a programme of building and fortification, changes to the English language, a shift in the upper levels of society and the church, and adoption of some aspects of continental church reform.

And a few pictures to illustrate some of his minor accomplishments.

William I built the central White Tower in the Tower of London.

William the Conqueror invades England

The signatures of William I and Matilda are the first two large crosses on the Accord of Winchester from 1072.

The castle of William, Château Guillaume-Le-Conquérant, in Falaise, Calvados, France.

The Duke of Normandy in the Bayeux Tapestry

English coin of William the Conqueror (1066–1087).

Folks, This is just the beginning. Check back daily. You'll never know what else I dig up.
I want to thank my sisters Kim and Jilane for doing a lot of the painstaking genealogy work on the church's web site that let to this discovery.

The Rapid City 2nd Ward's Church Outing, August 1975 Continues.

Hello Family,
You'll notice this blog jumps from family to family and decade to decade. Why? Because I don't always have Mom or Dad on hand to answer questions about certain pictures. I go to my own albums and slides if neither mom or day are here to question. Besides, I'm sure you all enjoy a bit of the old with a bit of the less old :)

Please notice there is a box in the right side bar for questions, comments and requests for pictures. If I have pictures of you and you'd like them posted let me know. If you have questions concerning posted pictures - ask away. My point in doing this blog is not to have something else to occupy my time. My point is to archive our Dakota pictures and tell the stories that go with them. This gives us roots and firmly plants us in a time. From this South Dakota start we've all gone our separate ways, creating lives for ourselves. Let's get this done right. Let's post all our pictures, accompanied with stories that go with them for all to read and see.

And now, the new pictures for today. The Rapid City 2nd Ward's Campout. August 1975.

Jon and Lisa in Sheridan Lake. Lisa is running from Jon. Everybody ends up running from Jon at some point. He could never leave well enough alone. Always looking for mischief.

Ah yes. Here we have three year old Lisa a bit shocked at seeing Bishop Bateman's youngest minus a swimsuit.

I don't remember who all these people are. Perhaps you do and can help.

Kevin and Brad Haugen. I think they are taking down the tent.

And finally, here we have mom, relaxing on a bench. The others in this picture are, Left to Right:
Sister Sorenson
Sister Lamphere
Sister Bergeron
Mom (Luella)
Sister Olmstead
Randy Berquist
Kathy Berquist

And to wrap up our Ward Outing for 1975, we set out our lawn chairs, sit on the beach and watch Kevin and Brad try their hand at fishing. It's a beautiful night. August's pine scented air is cooled as it blows in from the lake. Tomorrow we strike up camp, load the Rambler and head back to Rapid City. The 1975-1976 school year will start in a few weeks. I'll be a senior at Steven's High.



Simply,
Victor

Five Generations. 1973/74

Hello All,
This is our five generation photograph taken in 1973/74. Luella is on the right. Grandma Violet Mattson (Luella's mother) stands beside her. Great Grandma Logan is seated. Great Grandma Logan was Grandma Mattson's mother. Kim stands to their left. She is holding Forrest. That makes 5 generations. Isn't that something. Forrest was Grandma Logan's Great Great Grandchild!

We have 4 generations today with all of Charles and Luella's Great Grandchildren. Wouldn't it be cool to get a picture of all the Great Grandchildren with them? Perhaps at the next family gathering.

I didn't know Grandma Logan very well, having only spoken to her a few times before she passed away.

The picture was taken in Rapid City, South Dakota. We were living at 2214 38th Street then.

Simply,
Victor

The Williamson's Gather for Thanksgiving and Life in a Wyoming Ranch House.

The Williamsons gathered for Thanksgiving Dinner. This picture was taken at Alfred and Inez Mauch's ranch in Sundance Wyoming in 1942, 43 or 44.
From Left to Right the feasters are

• Walt Williamson (Dad's Uncle partially blurred)
• Gene Madison
  
• Lester Mauch is next. He was dad's first cousin and son of Inez and Alfred. (The baby in Lester's arms is Pat Williamson, Walt and Francis's girl).
• Francis Williamson, Walt's Wife.
• Inez Mauch.
• Teresa Madison.
• Grandma Plato (Francis's mother)
• Woody Williamson (little boy in front of Grandma Plato). Woody is Walt and Francis's son.
• Elda Williamson (Dad's mother)
• Esther Mauch
• Mystery Woman
• Tracy Martin (man in the back. He is Vinny Martin's son. Dad's first cousin)
• Vinny Martin (Dad's aunt)
• Alfred Mauch
• Charles Williamson (Dad's dad).
• Dad, in the very front standing in front of Vinny.
• Mystery man in the suit and glasses.
• Grandma Williamson (Dad's grandma. Effie Helen Victor Williamson)
• Gayle Williamson (in front of the suited man. Daughter of Walt and Francis)
• Finally, Maurice Williamson. He is wearing his Conoco Service Station Uniform. Their station was closed just for Thanksgiving Dinner.

The home had no electricity, no running water and used wood to heat the home. There was no bathroom. They used an outhouse. It was a two holer, the holes were side by side. Only the high up ranch homes had two holers. There was no toilet paper. You used the Sear's Roebuck Catalog. Or there was always the corn cob. Every bed in the home had a chamber pot for nighttime peeing. In the morning you threw it out. They had a pot to pee in and a window to throw it out of. The outhouse was 50 feet or so from the house. In the winter you didn't stay too long.

The fire was always going in the cook stove. Not only did they cook in the stove but they used it to heat the iron for ironing. There were always two irons on the stove. The well was inside the house. They had a pump in the kitchen. You pumped your water. Nice ice cold water dad remembers.

Clothes were washed by hand. Once a week they made butter using an old churn. What was left on top was sweet cream. Once in a very great while they made ice cream. They'd go to town to buy ice and rock salt.

Dad stayed there one summer in 1945. He rode their horse all summer. He remembers they drank raw milk. Dad had a room all to himself upstairs. You went to bed at sundown. If you wanted to read you needed the kerosene lamp. In the winter you went to bed early. They had an old Victrola record player that had to be cranked to work. As the spring unwound the music played slower and slower so you'd have to recrank the machine.

Comments:

Thanks for the memories. Inez and Alfred's home didn't change from the 1940's to the 1950's. I recall the chamber pots under the beds and the hand pump in the kitchen as a child. We loved to spend the night at Grandma's (Inez) in the early l950's. A note of correction: Their ranch was not "sold", it was divided amongst their children, Esther, William, and Lester. The property is still owned by their descendants.

Posted by Cheryl (Mauch) Bullock, Lester's daughter

I have a house, about a 135 ft, from the old house, where my grand parents, Alfred, and Inez lived. My brother Dennis, has a house on the old Hoffer homestead, that my great grand father, Lorenz, had purchased for pasture, and has been a part of the place since the early 1900's. The only part we don't still have in the family, is the acre, that Aunt Mary sold, with the house she and Bill built, in the old corral spot. Everything else is still in tact, it just has several of us owning smaller parts.
A Post Update from Steve Mauch

A Small Family Gathering in Sundance.

Hello All on a cold January evening in Utah. Just got back from school. This was our first day back from Christmas Vacation. You could tell, the kids were in their new clothes Santa brought them. Several had new shoes and of course, what they got for Christmas was the primary topic of conversation.

My advance math kids were sharp and on the ball. They said they were happy to be back to school because they missed math. Ahhhhh, how I've taught them well. They know that if I'm in a good mood I give less homework. Bless their hearts.

Well, Here is this evening's picture from the past. This picture was taken in 1942 or 43 according to dad. It was taken on the Mauch Ranch near Sundance Wyo.
The people are, from left to right,
Maurice Williamson, Dad's uncle. Josie Williamson Maurice's wife. Charles Williamson, dad's dad. Sitting on top of the car was none other than our dad Charlie at the ripe old age of 6 or 7.
Then Alfred Mauch and his wife Inez. Finally we end with Grandma Elda, dad's mother.

Inez Mauch was dad's aunt. The sister to dad's dad - Charles Williamson. She was older than Charlies. Maurice was the youngest. The Mauch's owned 640 acres, including Sugarloaf Hill. The ranch is gone, sold several years ago. Inez died in 1955. They had 3 children,Lester (everyone called him 'Buster'), William (Bill), and Esther. Esther is the only one still alive of the Inez children. She lives in an assisted living home in Spearfish. Her married name is Esther Mauch Acerman. She and her husband had a ranch around Aladdin Wyo. Her son runs the ranch now. Her daughter Judy owns a chain of Taco John's throughout South Dakota, Montana and Wyoming.

For your information, here are the Williamsons,
Parents: William Jonathan Williamson, and Effie Victor
Josie Williamson
Ethel Williamson
Della Williamson
Vennie Williamson
Inez Williamson
Emmett Williamson
Walt Williamson
Charlies Williamson (Dad's Dad).
Maurice Williamson

Rapid City 2nd Ward Camp Out. August 1975. Sheridan Lake

Now this is something you didn't see often. The Williamsons on a family outing. The Rapid City 2nd Ward had a camp out. Don't know why but I remember it was at Sheridan Lake. For some strange reason we decided to go up as a family. Now you wonder why that was odd. Because we normally didn't do things like that. Both mom and dad worked and it was difficult to organize something that involved more than a few hours. If we did go anywhere as a family it was usually church on Sunday and, the occasional trip into the Hills whenever company came to call.

A few things to ponder.

What happened to that deformed cake pan that haunted us our whole lives growing up? Does someone still have it? (By the way, Jilane has the handleless, warped pan we always used to pop dad's popcorn at night).

Look at the pop cans. Yes they have the pull off tabs that eventually were banned because of small animals and littering. Notice the brand? Remember "Cragmont Soda", the generic Safeway brand? I remember my favorite was Grapefruit Soda. Mother was on her Weight Watchers diet. Notice her pop is Weight Watchers.

And now the names. Let's start on the left at top. Dad, then Jon - enjoying his soda, and finally Janice - the one all blurred out. On the right from the top. Kevin, his friend Brad Haugen, Jilane - with her pretty pink hat and watch, and finally mom, eating her half of tomato. Look how skinny she is. Dad is 39 years old. Mom is 36.

We were enjoying some of mom's fantastic fried chicken. I know mom didn't cook much in the 80's and 90's but she really knew how to make a really good fried chicken. I most likely made the cake. The rest of the clan ran through the house raising cane. Missing from this picture is our older sister Kim. She was married to Mike Hendrickson at the time and had one baby, Forrest. Religion wasn't her thing back then. Neither were family get togethers. No Annette either.

Now, Lisa is another story. Where is she? I know we took her on this outing. Ahhh. there is she, we are eating and she is out enjoying the sun on the lake front. Lis is three in this photo. She's the one pulling her little air mattress across the water

Oh, wait, there she is again. Hanging around other people's tables and food. If you look closely you'll see here on the right of the picture eating away. Funny I seem to the be the one looking out for her. Everyone else enjoys their lunch while Victor is watching Lisa and taking the pictures.

And one last thing. Who of us can ever forget our yellow Rambler Station Wagon with wood panelling?

Well, here it is again. Ah yes........... Remember riding in the back of that thing? Come to think of it, it really wasn't that bad, was it? At least it made it up the hills, didn't honk when you turned corners, and didn't give away as it went down the road by leaving thick blue smoke! Oh, and you couldn't see the road through its floorboards either. That car was Williamson luxury at its best. We'd made it to the big times.

Simply,
Victor

Charles Williamson, the Infant

Hello All,
This picture was taken at the 322 Smith Apartments in Lead, South Dakota in 1936. Dad is a new born so I'm assuming the picture was taken in June or July. Quite the nappy he is wearing. I'm guessing Grandma didn't want spillage.

Now for your reference. Besides the birth of Charles Williamson, the following minor events also transpired in 1936.

• German troops occupy the Rhineland.
• Italy completes conquest of Abyssinia (Ethiopia).
• Hitler and Mussolini agree Rome-Berlin Axis.
• Spanish Civil War breaks out when garrison in Spanish Morocco revolts.
• Abdication crisis in Great Britain, when Edward VIII resolves to marry Mrs Wallis Simpson.
• Olympic Games held in Berlin. African-American athlete, Jesse Owens, wins 4 gold medals.
• The Hoover Dam is completed.

Annette Williamson Enjoys the Yard

Hello All,
And here we have a picture of little Annette taken by yours truly in 1978 (?). She's outside in the winter in her snow suit. I'm guessing we were about to go somewhere. I had my camera and thought I'd shoot a memory. It's either that, or she was out of control, driving Ma crazy leaving me no choice but to bundle her up and get her outside if we wanted to have supper.

Some fun things to notice....

• Look closely in the bedroom window. What do you see? Bring back memories?
• Look in the living room window. Remember that old lamp? Yes, here come the memories.

You know, that house was small at 2214 38th Street but we all got along pretty well. The only time things got 'heated' was in the early A.M. when we would fight for the most coveted place in the house, the furnace vent in the living room. We'd huddle around it, several at a time, in an attempt to ward off the bone chilling cold of a South Dakota winter.

That furnace vent was our fireplace (at least until Dad came up with the brilliant scheme of warming the house with a Kerosene heater, sat right down in the center of the Living Room). You know, isn't it a wonder we are all alive today considering how easily we could of snuffed it due to carbon monoxide poisoning?

Remember the place you never wanted to be on a cold winter's night? Did you say "The Kitchen"? Yes you did. Now remember, that kitchen wasn't heated by the furnace. It was an add on after the home was built. The Kitchen had its own heater that worked on natural gas. Now I said 'worked'. Let me adjust that slightly. It worked for the first few years we lived in the house. And then, only if you babied it, caressed it, and struggled to light it's pilot light when it went out every time the wind blew.

I just remember that kitchen floor was cooooold! I remember how often the pipes froze. I remember running the kitchen sink all night long in a steady but small stream of water to try to keep it from freezing.

Anyway, on this cold winter's night in Utah I send you all my warmest greetings. Take a second and join me right now back at 2214 in front of that furnace vent. We're laying down on stomach first on the carpet. Everyone else is walking over us to get to the bathroom and the bedroom. It's dark outside. Mom's in the kitchen cooking up her famous potato soup (boiled potatoes, condensed milk and onions.... Oh, lots of salt). Dad is home. In the bathroom of course and we are watching our old, mud encrusted color TV (rescued from the 1972 flood). Every time someone comes into the house they bring with them the cold, so we're up and sitting closer to the vent.

Now look around you. Look how far you've come since those simple days. Look how easy your kids have it.

Wow.......


Simply,
Victor

Vercellino Geneology. Grandma Elda's Father.

Hello All,

I want to thank Tharon Peterson (Family Tie: Son of Karen who is the daughter of Ed and Iris Vercellino, Elda's youngest brother) for sending the following information on John Vercellino (Family Tie: Father of Elda).


John (Giovanni) Vercellino

His Father: Giovanni Domenico Vercellino, born 21 May 1830 Salto, Torino, Piedmont, Italy

His Mother: Catterina Gianetto, born 2 Dec 1835 Salto, Torino, Piedmont, Italy

Their Children:

Giovanni Vercellino

b. 13 Sep 1858 Salto, Torino, Piedmont, Italy

d. 14 Sep 1858 Salto, Torino, Piedmont, Italy

Giovanni (John) Vercellino (Family Tie: Elda's father)

b. 6 Aug 1860 Salto, Torino, Piedmont, Italy

d. 24 Nov 1924 Lead, Lawrence, South Dakota

This is a charcoal etching of John Vercellino done by his brother Antonio. He is in his Italian Military Uniform

Photograph of John Vercellion in his Italian Uniform.

Fidele (Fred) Vercellino

b. 23 Jul 1863 Salto, Torino, Piedmont, Italy

d. 14 Sep 1914 Lead, Lawrence, South Dakota

Antonio (Tony) Vercellino

b. 23 Jul 1863 Salto, Torino, Piedmont, Italy

he lived in Lead for awhile, but moved back to Italy

d. 18 Jun 1928 Salto, Torino, Piedmont, Italy

Onorata (Elearnora) Vercellino

b. 06 Jun 1868 Salto, Torino, Piedmont, Italy

d. 03 Apr 1892 Lead, Lawrence, South Dakota

Cecilia Vercellino

b. 01 Sep 1872 Salto, Torino, Piedmont, Italy

d. Abt 1892 Lead, Lawrence, South Dakota (Suicide)

Margarita Vercellino

b. 12 Jun 1875 Salto, Torino, Piedmont, Italy

Maria Antionette Dominique Vercellino

b. 12 Oct 1877 Salto, Torino, Piedmont, Italy

d. in France