Skip to main content

When Ancestors Died While Visiting Their Children

I noticed a pattern of some of my ancestors dying at their children's homes. It seemed strange to me at first, and I wondered how common this was in my family. I found more cases like this and the thought of some bizarre family curse briefly passed through my mind. It still seems odd to me, but it is understandable. It was normal for a parent to move in with a child when they couldn't care for themselves. Nursing homes just weren't used the way they are today. And visits to children's homes sometimes involved a long trip. Travel was more difficult then than now, perhaps leaving them in a weakened condition. There are probably many reasons for the timing that caused ancestors to die at their children's house's.

My great grandfather, Jonathan Stephenson, who lived near Arion, Iowa, died of a stroke in 1919 while visiting his son, my grandfather, Fred Stephenson, who lived about 30 miles away near Castana.

My great great grandmother, Salucia Squibb, died in 1917 while visiting her daughter, my great grandmother, Blanche Turner. Salucia lived in Scranton, Iowa, but died after a short bout with pneumonia at the Turner's house in Dow City, about 50 miles away. I assume she was just visiting as she had other children around Scranton who she could have stayed with had she needed care, and the obituary said she had a short illness.

My great grandfather, James Turner, died in 1945 while staying at his daughter, Grace Swede's, home. In this case, he had been ill for several years, and he and his wife had been living with his daughter for a short time.

My great grandmother, Augusta Nipkow Mesenbrink, who lived in Dunlap, Iowa died in 1929 while visiting her son, Rudolph in Omaha, Nebraska, about 60 miles away.

My second great grandmother, Mary Flier Mesenbrink, died in 1914 while visiting her son, Henry, my great grandfather. If I understand the obituary right, she had had a stroke five years earlier, also while visiting her son, Henry, but she had been living with another son, Ed, in Earling, for the past year.

So in my examples, ancestors died after fairly long trips or while getting care from family members. Or maybe the family curse has set my destiny, in which case my children had better visit me so I don't have to go to their houses.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Where Did That Dark Complexion Come From?

When I got my DNA results back, the biggest surprise I had was in all the people from the southern states who I shared DNA with. I'm pretty sure that a lot of it is from Salucia Sophronia Squibb , but that certainly doesn't explain it all. The only other unknown line, is that of Martha Brennan Davis , mother of Lillian Davis Stephenson, who was mother of my grandfather, Fred Stephenson. I have thought she was Irish, probably an Irish immigrant, and probably related to other Brennans of Galesburg, Illinois, but there is evidence she was from Indiana. Besides the unexplained southern DNA matches, I have little Irish DNA on this line, not enough for Martha Brennan to be full blooded Irish. But more importantly, the Stephensons had dark complexions. I honestly don't know beyond that where the dark hair and eyes came from. Here is a picture of Lillian Davis Stephenson, my great grandmother. Notice the dark hair, deep set, dark eyes. She doesn't look Irish. Her featur...
1 comment
Read more

John Griest - A Pennsylvania Pioneer

On my mother's side, is an ancestor named John Griest. He lived in Pennsylvania from 1694 to 1751. John's daughter, Sarah, married William Squibb. While most of us will leave no evidence of our existence, John Griest did leave a few things to remember him by. Probably most significant is the office building at the Susquehanna Memorial Gardens near York, Pennsylvania. This building was originally larger, and at another location in York. This beautiful picture was taken by Diane Bowders and published on Yorkblog.com. John Griest built this building around 1740 at its original location on what is now the Lincoln Highway in York. In 1962 it was taken down to make way for a shopping mall and rebuilt at the cemetery. At that time the building looked something like this: The sturdy building was known as Ye Olde Valley Inn, Beard's Inn, etc. and was originally built to protect John's family from Indians, with whom he didn't always have the best relationship. Gries...
Post a Comment
Read more

Origins of the Squibb Family

By all accounts, the Squibbs came from England. According to Lawrence G. Blochman, in his book  Doctor Squibb , "The earliest known English Squibb is believed to have been made a yeoman by Edward IV in the fifteenth century. His grandson was Great John the Yeoman of Dorsetshire. Great John's grandson, Nathaniel Squibb, came to Pennsylvania early in the eighteenth century, settled in Chester County and founded a populous family...." Most Squibb families today would trace their ancestry to this Nathaniel or at least to Robert Squibb who is thought to be his son. There are few records of him, despite the generally thorough records kept by his Quaker faith. Nevertheless, later Squibbs were in fact Quakers. But exactly when they took on this faith isn't clear. One early Robert Squibb actually held title to a large part of New Jersey in the late 1600s. Whether he ever set foot on that soil is doubtful. Some of the Squibbs were important officials and served in various ...
3 comments
Read more