Week 26: Family Gathering (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2024 Version)

The theme for Week 26 is "Family Gathering." It's the time of year for family reunions, holiday cookouts, and other get-togethers. Has your family had a family reunion? Do you have favorite memories of getting together with cousins and other relatives? Click here to se all the 2024 prompts.

My mother’s side of the family is the one I remember having family reunions. These were for the descendants of Johann (John F) Hafenstein (1847-1914) and his wife Augusta Baumann (1845-1908). They had 10 children and 36 grandchildren. My grandfather was one of the grandchildren. 

The first one I find in the newspaper is from 1931. My grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Welsey Hafenstein and children attended. One of these children, is definitely my mother, Orlien.

On Sunday, June 28, 1936, the Hafenstein’s celebrated five couples wedding anniversaries and five birthdays. My mother listed as attending under the name of Emily Orlien. Where Emily came from, I have no idea, her middle name is Mary.

 

In 1952, the Hafenstein reunion is held at my mother’s aunt and her husband’s farm. By this time, my mother is married to her first husband, Quentin McAbee and is expecting her third child. They were living in Auburn, Washington and probably is the reason why they didn’t attend. 

On June 19, 1955, the reunion is again being held at my mother’s aunt and uncle’s farm. They also combined it with a bridal shower for my aunt, Mary Hafenstein who going to be married on July 2, 1955. They didn’t list all the guest but did mention my aunt and her future husband, Russell Reilley by name.

 In 1961, the reunion was held in Beaver Dam (Wisconsin) Park. The traditional reunion post isn’t found, just a brief notice that L. M. Allens and Mrs. Randall (their daughter) and children attended the Hafenstein family reunion.

 In 1992, I was part of the planning committee and it was the first one to jump back two more generations for the Descendants of Gottfried Hafenstein (1782-1866) and his wife Louise Kistenmacher (1796-1860). We gathered at Lakeview Park in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. My aunt, Mary Hafenstein Reilley and I had completed the book, The Generations of Hafensteins.

 

I know there were more reunions, however, this is all I found online. These newspapers articles are interesting, especially the ones that list individuals. I will need to review these and make sure I have accounted for each individual.

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

June’s Theme and Week 23: Health (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2024 Version)

The theme for Week 23 is "Health." Health affects everything we do, and it was no different for our ancestors. This week, consider writing about an ancestor who dealt with health issues or one who the picture of health. Another angle would be to write about an ancestor who was a health professional.

Health is a subject that I am dealing with currently. My sister-in-law, the picture of health was diagnosed in January with Stage 4 bone cancer. She went from being the person who could not sit still for two minutes, always on the go to being stuck in bed or a recliner due to her disease. She is so weak and it breaks my heart.

Then to add to my concerns, one of the sisters, Jackie who I care for and who is intelligently disabled was diagnosed in April with Pancreatic Cancer. And since I am the one who handles everything for her and my other intelligently disabled sister, it has added a level of stress to my life. My sisters are not twins, Jenny (on the right) is 1 year, 2 months and 20 days older than Jackie (on the left).

My sisters had been living with me and my family from 2010 to 2020. When my husband retired and we decided to move from Arizona back to our home state of Wisconsin, I got my sisters their own apartment. This has been the first time they were living independently. I mean, I did all their shopping, take them to all their appointments, dentist, doctor, haircuts, etc. However, they came and went as they pleased. 

When my husband and I finally found where we wanted to settle, I moved them from that apartment into a townhome in the town I moved to. They loved it. It is a 55+ community. It was quieter than living in an apartment building, which was in the heart of downtown Fond du Lac and traffic was heavy.. Their laundry facility is inside their townhome. They have a one car garage, which came in handy for us to store off season items in their garage.

My sister, Jackie is only 11 months and 15 days older than me. Sadly, she doesn’t really understand how serious this diagnosis is. One of the things I had to do was consult a genome specialist to help with treatment and this is when I realized that I might know when someone was born and when they died. However, what they died from wasn’t one thing I really looked into.

I don’t know what the future looks like for either of my sisters, and I hope my health remains good while I deal with this, because my biggest fear wasn’t really of them dying. I am the youngest of nine and we have lost two siblings already. My biggest fear was of me dying before these two sisters and wondering who would care for them in my absence. I have now reached out to the Aging and Disability Resource Center in my county and hopefully this will be figured out in the coming year.

Even though I am dealing with my sister’s health crisis, I am trying my best to find stress relief, such as through my genealogy research. Also, I am trying to take better care of my own health. 

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!