Charlemagne, The First Holy Roman Emperor. Our 36th Great Grandfather. Born 2 April 742. Died 28 January 814

Hello Family,
Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor was our 36th Great Grandfather. The relation comes through Grandma Mattson and then through her mother Vesta.  Here are the basics on Charlemagne.

I should also come clean about this and tell you that our relation to this very famous historical figure comes through his bastard son (he had two) Hugo "L'Abbe" Bastard of the Holy Roman Empire. Yes, that is his real historical title.  Hugo was therefore our 35th Great Grandfather. Hugo's mother was named Regina. History tells us she never married.

Here is a written description of Charlemagne from one of his associates.
He was heavily built, sturdy, and of considerable stature, although not exceptionally so, since his height was seven times the length of his own foot. He had a round head, large and lively eyes, a slightly larger nose than usual, white but still attractive hair, a bright and cheerful expression, a short and fat neck, and a slightly protruding stomach. His voice was clear, but a little higher than one would have expected for a man of his build. He enjoyed good health, except for the fevers that affected him in the last few years of his life. Toward the end he dragged one leg. Even then, he stubbornly did what he wanted and refused to listen to doctors, indeed he detested them, because they wanted to persuade him to stop eating roast meat, as was his wont, and to be content with boiled meat.

Charlemagne was also called Charles I, Charles the Great (in French, Charlemagne; in German, Karl der Grosse; in Latin, Carolus Magnus) was King of the Franks, King of the Lombards, and is generally considered the first Holy Roman Emperor. Charlemagne consolidated a large portion of Europe under his rule, promoted learning, and instituted innovative administrative concepts.

Charlemagne was the son of Pippin III (the Short), who officially put an end to the Merovingian line of kings when he negotiated with the pope to be crowned King of the Franks. When Pippin died, the kingdom of Francia was divided between Charlemagne and his brother Carloman. Charles proved himself a capable leader from early on, but his brother was less so, and their relationship was tense until Carloman's death in 771.



Once Charlemagne had sole rule of the government of Francia, he expanded his territory through conquest. He conquered the Lombards in northern Italy, acquired Bavaria, and campaigned in Spain and Hungary. Charles used harsh measures in subduing the Saxons and virtually exterminating the Avars of presnt-day Austria and Hungary. Though he had essentially amassed an empire, Charlemagne did not style himself "emperor," but called himself the King of the Franks and Lombards.

Charles was an able administrator who delegated authority over his conquered provinces to Frankish nobles. At the same time, he recognized the diverse ethnic groups he'd brought together, and allowed each to retain its own local laws. To ensure justice, Charlemagne had these laws set down in writing and strictly enforced. He issued capitularies that applied to all citizens, and kept an eye on events in his empire through the use of missi dominici, representatives who acted with his authority.

Though never able to master writing himself, Charlemagne was an enthusiastic patron of learning. He attracted noted scholars to his court, including Alcuin, who became his private tutor, and Einhard, who was his biographer. Charles was responsible for reforming the palace school and setting up monastic schools throughout the empire. The monasteries he sponsored preserved and copied ancient books. The flowering of learning under his patronage has come to be known as the "Carolingian Renaissance."

Charlemagne took his role as a Christian seriously, and in 800, he came to the aid of Pope Leo III, who had been attacked in the streets of Rome. Charlemagne went to Rome to restore order and, after Leo purged himself of the charges against him, the pope unexpectedly crowned him emperor.

According to his biographer Einhard, Charlemagne wasn't pleased with this development, because it established the precedent of papal ascendancy over secular leadership; but though he still often referred to himself as a king he now also styled himself "Emperor," as well.

Charlemagne died in January, 814. His achievements stand among the most significant of the early Middle Ages, and although the empire he built (called "the Carolingian Empire" after him) would not long outlast his son Louis, his consolidation of lands marked a watershed in the development of Europe.

Tonight's Picture Palace Presentation. Before Dad and Dad's Early Years.

Hello Family,
Tonight's offer takes us back to the 1930's for the first picture and then a few other pictures of dad before he started school.

A family photo taken in 1932/33.

The people in this picture are Left to Right, William Jonathon Williamson - Dad's Grandfather.
Francis Plato Williamson, Mary Anne Good (Baby) Aunt Josie Williamson Good's daughter, Walt Williamson - Dad's Uncle and oldest boy born to William Jonathon Williamson. Francis and Walt were married.

This picture was taken at the family's Conaco Station in Sundance Wyoming. The station is on the old original highway through Sundance. It is long gone, replaced by a cleaners.

If you look closely at the gasoline pump you'll see a big long handle. At the top of the pump was a glass tank that held the gas. To fill a car you took the handle and pumped the gas out of the underground tank into the glass cylinder on top of the pump. The glass cylinder is marked by gallon and half gallon. You hand to decided how many gallons you wanted before you started pumping. Then you took the hose off the handle, put it in your tank and my gravity it ran back down the hose into the tank. Of course, you didn't pump your own gas, it was pumped for you by attendants in uniform. One pump was for regular gas and the other was for Ethyl (Premium gas with lead). The attendant also checked your oil and water and cleaned your windshield. If requested they'd check your tire's air.

Dad on a petrified tree stump. This picture was taken in 1942 on the Mauch Ranch in Sundance Wyoming. He's sitting on a pillow but you can tell it isn't that comfortable on dad's skinny butt.




These two pictures are of dad when he was 4 1/2 years old taken in 1940. He is standing on the steps outside the door into the kitchen. Grandma Elda is with him in one. That house was brand new. It was off Porman Road in Lead, South Dakota. It sat at the end of the road. That house was built by Ted Pascoe and Dad's Dad Charlie. It had a living room, kitchen, washroom, bathroom and one bedroom on the main level. Upstairs it had one bedroom (dad's) and storage space. They paid $18.00 per month rent. In the dead of winter the heat bill was $3.00 per month and the lights were $2.00 per month. Dad had a small deck outside of his upstairs bedroom. He used to jump from the porch onto the lawn. He also used to jump from the deck into the chicken coop. Dad watched when they'd cut the chicken's head off to have a chicken supper.

Dad had a cat named Fuzz. She had kittens. Dad remembers his father Charlie sitting on the porch chloroforming the kittens to kill them, putting them in a sack and throwing them into the lake the next time he when fishing. Such lovely memories........

They moved out of the house in 1947 when dad's parents divorced.

Simply,
Victor

The Obituary for Nadine Williamson.

Hello Everyone,
Nadine Williamson Rankin died last week. Nadine's first husband was Delbert Williamson. Delbert was the son of dad's great uncle, Glenn Williamson (brother to his Grandfather, William Jonathan Williamson).

I want to thank Karin Martin for sending this to me. This is Nadine's obituary from the Rapid City Journal.

Nadine L. Williamson-Rankin
RAPID CITY - Nadine L. Williamson-Rankin, 88, Rapid City, died Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010, at Rapid City Regional Hospital. Survivors include seven sons, Leedel Williamson and Denis Williamson, both of Rapid City, Marvin Rankin, North Platte, Neb., Douglas Rankin and Martin Rankin, Gillette, Wyo., Larry Rankin, Lawrence, Kan., and Bill Tolson, Ariz.; two daughters, Inez Maxner, Rapid City, and Debra Newlin, Pine Haven, Wyo.; eight grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husbands, Delbert P. Williamson, Tom Tolson and Harold C. Rankin. Services were held Saturday, Jan. 16 at the Free Methodist Church with the Rev. Doug Heck officiating.

Please take a moment and visit the online guest book and memorial to Nadine:
http://obit.wordenfuneraldirectors.com/obit-745632

Published in the Rapid City Journal on 1/17/2010

Little Lisa Williamson. A Darling for the Camera. 1974/75. Oh, And a Few Other Things - As if That Mattered.

Lisa on her 2nd Birthday. July 1974

Dear sweet Lisa was always a darling for the camera. As soon as she saw the lens she was all over it. Mention the word "camera" and she immediately broke into pose. Even at the young age of two she had rehearsed smiles spiced with innocent charm.



In this photo we see her preparing to dive into her delicious store bought cake right from Safeway's Bakery. I think I still remember that cake, strawberry topping, whipped cream, white frosting sprinkled heavily in coconut.

Did you notice the absence of friends? A birthday party for one. Just what we could afford in those days :) Our family philosophy was one of budget simplicity - if they were too young to realize what a proper birthday party was then why waste the money and throw one? Better to tell them its their birthday, dress them in their swim suit so you could hose them down before letting them back into the house if they make a mess with the frosting and cake Present the cake while telling them how lucky they are to get their very own cake - but you're sure she'd want to share it with her six other brothers and sisters hungrily standing just out of camera range, also in their swimming suits and ready and wanting to partake of the luxury of a store bought cake - a treat indeed even if it was off the week old shelf! Once she agreeed to share you brought out the cake, holding it in one hand and using your other (plus one foot if necessary) to fight off the starving siblings clawing to get at the pastry. You presented the cake, told her to smile and snapped the picture. You had to step back quickly, for at the sound of the shutter the cake was attacked and devoured in a frenzy of kicking, screaming, flying hair and bloody noses. Present was unnecessary. She was only two for Pete's sake.

Here we have Lisa's third birthday party in 1975. You'll see that Glenn and David (the boys from next door) were invited. At three years old, Lisa was old enough to understand what a party meant. That understanding included friends, cake, ice cream and singing. Mother did her best to accommodate the normalcy of a typical Midwestern party.

You'll see Janice and Jilane were present in the picture. Once again notice Lisa's perfect smile compared with her sister's. Yea........ You see what I mean - Lisa was born for the camera. Janice and Jilane, on the other hand, seemed uncomfortable. Jilane was straining to make 'just one good picture..... just one' and Janice seemed to have given up.

Mother looked good in this picture. She was in the grips of another diet - Weight Watchers I believe. She did well.

Glenn was a bit 'off'. David was the normal one of the two. No matter how many I times I asked Glenn to look at me he wouldn't. I can't decide who he was checking out in this photo. I'd like to think it was Lisa - someone near his chronological age but I think it was Jilane. I'm thinking Glenn was smart enough to know Lisa was out of his league. He had a chance with Jilane, even though she was older and more mature. Well, everyone was more mature than Glenn.

Here they are again. Lisa is opening her one and only birthday gifts. You'll be happy to see that we weren't spoiled as children. Mother was actually brilliant in the giving of gifts. If you cold kill two birds with oe stone - she did. Because Lisa's birthday was in July, mom purchased a few of her back to school clothes early and give them to her for her birthday. That's why Lisa was the only one of us that got pencils, pens and erasers on her birthday as she was growing up and the rest of us didn't.

David is still perplexed by the after taste of her birthday cake. We religiously skipped the day old bin at the Safeway and dug this one out of the special 'bin' in the back of the store for speciality items. We were used to the 'off' taste but our neighborhood friends found it 'interesting'.

Glenn is practicing his Barnabas Collins vampire stare from the 1970's hit TV show "Dark Shadows". I think he plunged for Lisa's neck after the picture was taken. I pulled him away from her and gave him a pound of thawed hamburger to suck on instead. Our goulash supper that night was meatless - just elbow macaroni, tomato sauce and lots of salt.

Our final picture is that of a lazy afternoon spent deseeding Bing cherries. My, doesn't Jilane have a high forehead? She has her nose curled as well. It was her normal reaction to work. That little blond boy is Shane Mattson. I'm not sure how many cherries her added to the final tally. I think most of his were digested as soon as the pit was released.

This photo shows one of the few times Lisa was NOT in perfect pose for the camera. She was having a bad day. The cherries were getting more attention than her and that was inexcusable.

There you have it troops. A few pictures from our time at 2214 38th Street.

Simply,
Victor

P.S. Aren't I the smart one for always being the one taking the pictures?

Music of our Ancestors. The Music of the Tudor Court

Our 15th Great Uncle Edward and Henry VIII. Brotherhood and Betrayal

Edward Stafford, Anne's Brother, our 15th Great Uncle

Hello Family,
Today we discuss our 15th Great Uncle and brother of our 15th Great Grandmother Anne Stafford and his relationship with Henry VIII of England.

Edward was the 3rd Duke of Buckingham. Born on 3 February 1478 and executed by order of King Henry VIII on 17 May 1521. His father, our 16th Great Grandfather was executed for rebelling against King Richard III when Edward was 5 years old. When his cousin, King Henry VII (Henry VIII's father) became King he was accepted into the royal household and made a ward of the Queen, the Countess of Richmond and Derby (Henry VIII's mother). He later married and built Thornbury Castle pictured below.

Thornbury Castle Today

As a young man, our Great Uncle was made a Knight of the Garter (1495), and had various ceremonial roles at the Royal Court of Henry VII. He was given further honors following the crowning of King Henry VIII: Buckingham was Lord High Steward at the King's coronation in 1509, where he also carried the King's crown, and in 1514 he became Lord High Constable.

Henry VIII

Buckingham fell out dramatically with the King in 1510, when he discovered that the King was having an affair with the Anne, his sister, our 15th Great Grandmother. As we already know, Anne was taken to a convent sixty miles away. There are some suggestions that the affair continued until 1513. However, Edward returned to the King's graces, being present at the marriage of Henry's sister and served in Parliament.

Betrayal and Execution

The real power in King Henry VIII's court was not with the great nobles but with low-born men. Buckingham, with his royal blood and numerous connections by descent or marriage with the rest of the aristocracy became a leader of the disaffected nobles. During 1520, suspicions were raised about potentially treasonous actions and investigations began. Henry VIII personally examined witnesses against him and gathering enough evidence for a trial. Edward was finally brought to Court in April 1521 and arrested and placed in the Tower of London. Buckingham was tried before a panel of 17 peers, being accused of listening to the prophecies of the King's death and intending to kill the King; however, the King's mind appeared to be decided and conviction was certain. He was executed on at the Tower on 17 May 1521.

Henry Stafford, Our 16th Great Grandfather and the Murderer of Princes?

Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham (4 September 1455 – 2 November 1483) was Anne Stafford’s father and our 16th Great Grandfather. When he was young he was the ward of Queen Elizabeth Woodville, Consort of Edward IV of England. In May 1465 he married the Queen’s sister Catherine. He spent much of his life plotting to take the throne of England. He eventually supported the claim of his second cousin Henry VII for king. Henry VII later became King. Henry VII’s son Henry VIII eventually became king. We all know about Henry VIII (The Six Wives of Henry VIII). Yes, this makes Henry VIII a distant cousin. Ahhhh, the plot thickens.

Our 1st cousins 16 Times Removed, The Two Young Princes, children of King Edward IV and our 16th Great Aunt His Queen Consort Elizabeth Woodville. Murdered in the Tower of London? History seems to support the fact, and most likely our Great Grandfather either did it or played a major role in the murder.

It is rumored that our Great Grandfather was the murderer of the Princes in the Tower. The Princes in the Tower were Edward V of England (November 4, 1470 – 1483?) and his brother, Richard (17 August 1473 – 1483?), were the only sons of Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville (our 16th Great Aunt, thus our 1st cousins 16 times removed). They disappeared without a trace from the Tower of London 1483. Their uncle, Richard III of England, placed them both in the Tower in 1483. There are no records of them having been seen after the summer of 1483. Their fate remains unknown, and it is presumed that they were killed there. There is no record of a funeral.

In 1674, the skeletons of two children were discovered under the staircase leading to the chapel, during the course of renovations to the White Tower. At that time, these were believed to have been the remains of the two princes.

Did our 16th Great Grandfather have our two young cousins killed? Henry Stafford was third in line to the throne, behind Henry Tudor and Henry's mother. He also had loyalties to the current king. He in fact had the perfect opportunity to play both sides against each other. And so, in a matter of course, he did. He gave away battle positions (discreetly, through "spies") to both sides, allowing them to war each other down. When the Yorks began making large headways, he stepped in - though on the side of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, rather than Edward IV. He remained beneath the scenes, though he wrote his cousin Henry Tudor (Henry VIII’s Father) on occasion. When Edward IV passed away unexpectedly, Stafford saw his chance. Many believe he murdered the boys, and when Richard took the blame, he defected to the Lancasters, who used the deaths as a reason to declare Richard unfit for the crown. Were it not for a freak storm in which Henry's armada was soundly destroyed and Stafford's army demoralized perhaps he, and not Henry Tudor, would have become the next king of England.

Our Naughty 15th Great Grandmother Anne, Mistress to Henry VIII

Our Beautiful but Naughty 15th Great Grandmother Anne Stafford. She was 52 at the time of this painting.

Family Tie: Through the Mattson Family Lines.

Tonight we explore our family tree and spotlight a 15th Great Grandmother. Her name was Anne Stafford. She was born in 1483 and died in 1544. The year she was born her father (a 16th great grandfather to us) was executed for teason by order of King Richard III. Her mother Catherine was queen consort to King Edward IV.

Anne married twice, first in 1503 to Sir Walter Herbert. He died in Spetember 1507. They were childless. Her second husband, our 15th Great Grandfather was George Hastings. They married in 1509. He later became Earl of Huntingdon. They had eight children. Their oldest son Francis was our 14th Great Grandfather.

Anne was a lady in waiting to Queen Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's fist wife. She had a well documented affair with King Henry VIII around 1510, only one year after Henry wed Catherine. Their adultery became a scandal when it was made public. Queen Catherine was enraged along with her brother, the Duke of Buckingham. Her husband sent her to a convent. There are suggestions that her relationship with the King continued until 1513.

After her ‘time‘ with King Henry, she entered into an affair with Sir William Compton. He wrote in his will in 1522, leaving her many lands. He died in 1528 of the sweating sickness. Our dear Anne seems to have developed a strong and loving relationship with her husband, as evidenced by letters he wrote to her, and she was named as one of the executors in his will. They lived primarily at Asby-de-la-Zouche, Huntingdonshire and at Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire. Anne was present at the Field of Cloth of Gold in 1520. She may have been at court when her brother was executed for treason in 1521. She became countess of Huntingdon in 1529 when Hastings was elevated in the peerage and from the late 1530s was part of the household of Henry VIII's daughter, Mary Tudor.

June 24, 1974. The Family Conquers Harney Peak

The one and only time we climbed Harney Peak as a family occurred on June 24, 1974. There is something universal about our Dakota family - we all love the Black Hills. That love came from spending so much of our free time in the hills. There is something magical about the Black Hills on a warm summer's day. If we had the chance we were out soaking it all in.

I don't remember much about this outing. Let's face it, my memory is pretty shot anyway. What I do remember sparks from seeing these pictures.

In the above picture you'll see Janice, little Lisa and Dad on their way up the mountain. The hike starts from Sylvan Lake. You follow this road for awhile and then you start up. Dad always set the pace. He really didn't care if you kept up or not but one thing is for sure, you didn't pass him. He wouldn't allow it.

Here we are at the top. Mom (Luella) is at the top of the steps, coming down are Jilane, squinting in the sun (either that or hiding her lazy eye, not wanting it captured on film only to surface some day is some demented blog). Behind Jilane is Kevin with shirt open. Don't know why, he was the very definition of toothpick thin. Janice is next and last comes Jon, drinking the last of our water. Poor kid was so skinny he needed the water to add ballast. Without a bit of extra weight the boy could have been blown away in the next gust of wind. Funny but I remember that white blouse mother is wearing. She wore it with a blue slacks if my memory is correct.

Here we are again, resting at the top of Harney Peak. Notice we succeeded without the use of extra oxygen or warm clothing. We didn't even stop at the various base camps along the way. What do you think of that Brandon!? Lisa is looking a bit confused. She doesn't seem to know where to look. I blame the altitude or severe ADD. Jon is happy in this picture. Jon was always happy. Why was that? Come on Jon - just look at you. You've got the worst hair cut on the planet - a Luella special. You're so skinny not even a misquito could get a decent meal off you yet you're happy. There's a lesson to be learned there somewhere. Dad looks detached. Sometimes he was involved and sometimes he wasn't. By the way, if you're looking for Grandma Mattson forget it. She tired to climb but gave up early in the morning.

Here are the youngest looking from the Fire Lookout Station at the very top of Harney Peak. The station wasn't manned in 1974, but in its day a ranger staffed it every day. From this lookout the Ranger could see smoke from a new fire somewhere in the Hills and report it so it could be extinguished before it spread.

And finally we have Grandma Mattson and Mom at the end of the hike. Grandma nearly made it to the top. I've got to hand it to her for giving it her best effort. She waited below the peak for our return then walked down with mom. I took this picture at the end of the trail at Sylvan Lake. Grandma's face was almost a perfect purple red from the heat and the climb. She was a fantastic ole gal. I'm sorry many of you never got to know her.

There you have it - another trip to the Hills through the eye of the camera and the wisps of memory.

Simply,
Victor

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