Wedding Wednesday

Today is Wedding Wednesday at Geneabloggers.........so here's my tidbit for today:

                                Above is a photo of my grandparents while they were courting!

Alfred Tennyson & Naomi Eileen (Herzog) Vaughn's Engagement photo

Alfred Tennyson & Naomi Eileen (Herzog) Vaughn were married November 17, 1943 in Seattle, Washington while Alfred was on Military (Army) medical emergency leave to be with his family while his father was dying in Entiat, Washington (outside of Wenatchee).  This precious couple was my maternal grandparents.  Grandpa loved to write poetry and was very gifted at writing stories.

Grandpa met Grandma in December 1942 at the First Church of the Nazarene in Seattle.  She was playing her violin, when they were introduced by a man named Bill Campbell, a mutual friend.  In Early 1943, Grandpa asked for Grandma's hand in marriage.  He asked her if she would accept a "special ring" and become his bride.  Being raised in a conservative home, she asked for "time to consider", but with a kindly "twinkle" in her eye she said "Yes!"  They were married at the First Nazarene church in Seattle.  The reception was held at the Reverend Edward's home.

Joseph George Vaughn, age 20

          Here are the children that were present at Joseph George Vaughn's funeral.  

On November the 18th,   Grandpa & Grandma Vaughn left to visit his father, Joseph George Vaughn in Entiat, Washington, who was ill. Grandpa Joseph George Vaughn, then presented Grandpa Alfred Tennyson Vaughn with the Gold Headed Cane he received from his father Cornelius Vaughn, a book of Bible Studies written by his Grandfather George Hand.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Wisdom Wednesday: Family: How the Little things can change your family tree!

This is part of a Genealogy blogging series hosted by Geneabloggers.  Another article for today is Wisdom Wednesdays: Family: How the Little things can change your family Tree!


*I will be using initials for the actual families involved. This is based on ACTUAL and true events!*


Several months ago, our family & I went out to dinner at Chili’s after church with several other families. As we were sitting there, the husbands of the G & P family were to my left and LG was to my right. We were eating and having a great conversation. The husbands had gotten into this conversation that started over a photo of an armadillo that was pictured above RG’s head. They began to talk when PP & RG realized that they might have been from the same very VERY small and VERY tiny town. As LG puts a bite of food into her mouth, PP asks her if she knows the “Browns”. She replies, “They are my grandparents! She then begins to drop her fork!” As PP & LG keep talking, it was in no time that they realized that they were COUSINS and had no idea that each other existed OR that they went to the same church, both homeschooled and both had 5 children! A TOTAL “God Thing!” Let’s back up about 30 years or so……..LG’s mother had gotten into a squabble & argument with LG’s family (Aunts, grandmother etc) when she was 6 years old. Because of this squabble, she had cut off ALL contact with the family. LG had no contact with her cousins, with her aunts & uncles, nor with her grandparents. She was told horrible things about her family (which were not true). Because her mother chose to hold a grudge, she changed her family tree. She made LG (& her brother) miss the joy of being with her aunts, uncles, cousins & grandparents. She missed time with her grandparents and didn’t even associate with them when they had died L This made me incredibly sad. I am going to be completely transparent here. I am not going to pretend that my family is perfect. My brother & I, in fact, have had our fair share of issues. We always had this battle going on back & forth (since we were little) etc….until one day it came to a head. A HUGE, ugly head. It was a heated debate for 1 ½ - 2 hours. Lots of tears……..lots of Tears! But after that I wrote him a 14 page letter and I went all the way back to our childhoods. ALL the way back and unleashed it ALL. We were able to talk about it & get past it! Today, we have a great relationship. We can talk calmly without it getting heated. We can have a good conversation. We can help each other & build each other up. I am THANKFUL today that we have that relationship. I am thankful that I have a great relationship with his wife, Angie and I love those 3 kids of his………dearly! I am so blessed that our boys have such an awesome and good relationship with his children & their aunt & uncle. BUT…….if Eddie & I hadn’t worked it out a few years ago, that wouldn’t be the case. It would have changed our family dynamics. It would have changed our family tree. I can’t imagine my life, my family’s life or my children’s life, without their family! All in all, regardless of the issue, IT’S NOT WORTH IT ! What maybe “trivial” to you, might be devastating to someone else. Blood is thicker than water is SO true. People need to know that when all else fails, that their family will be there for them no matter what (besides the Lord!). They need to know that they can trust you, depend on you and that you would be there for them & visa versa. So when you are having family disagreements, issues, confrontations or squabbles, In light of eternity, it’s not worth it. It’s not worth the anger & the bitterness. It just breaks my heart that LG has missed out on SO much of her family. It just brought me to tears that the P family & G family didn’t know each other before that (especially because I love my cousins SO much!). The telling thing was that PP’s father is huge into genealogy, as am I. All that his father had for LG was her name & birthdate. Everything else was BLANK! Just think about that……..because of the actions of her mother so many years ago, LG was robbed of her family. It changed her family tree! Just some things that are weighing on my heart today! Hope this helps someone! Remember we are not promised tomorrow, so make everyday count!

REMINISCING the Vaughn Heritage 1

Looking Towards Heaven (Pictured above is a well-loved man, named Dad and Grandpa.)


**Note** This is the first of 10 articles that were written by my maternal Grandfather, Alfred Tennyson Vaughn before his death July 25, 1999. I didn't know they existed, until I did some family searching on the net and they came up. They were published in 2000 after his death. Needless to say, since I didn't know these were out there, I was in tears when I saw them. They are a cherished gift from Grandpa, who was a wonderful writer and poet! We love and miss you Grandpa!

You can find the first parts of these series here:

Entiat #1
Entiat #2
Entiat #3
Entiat #4
Entiat #5
Entiat #6 
That Old House 
Entiat Pioneers 
The Newcomer 
Neighbors of the Valley


REMINISCING
The Vaughn Heritage
by
Alfred Tennyson Vaughn
Editor's note: This week we begin publishing a history of remembrances of the Entiat Valley written by Alfred Tennyson Vaughn before he passed away in July of 1999. Alfred was the son of Joseph and Eva (Stanley) Vaughn who came to North Central Washington in 1888. Alfred had 10 siblings, seven of them born in the Entiat Valley. The Vaughn schoolhouse which was near Cooper's Store was named after the family.

Home on the Missouri

It would be wonderful if each member of our family could record their lifetime memories on tape, or in story form. As the youngest child of Joseph G. and Eva (Stanley) Vaughn, I realize how much my memories have become part of my life.

And so, I shall try to recall and record as much as possible from my experience, and those things I remember that were told to me by my parents and relatives.

Father was fond of relating events from his boyhood days in Missouri where he was raised by his grandparents, Cornelius and Mary Vaughn.

His grandfather had moved from the old homestead in Lexington, Kentucky that he had inherited from his father, Cornelius, Sr., in 1859. I am not sure of the year in which they moved, but it was near the end of the Civil War. All former slaves were left behind except one couple who asked to go with the growing family.

The family settled in Northwestern Missouri in Richmond, Ray County, on a large farm located on the banks of the Missouri River.

Father was orphaned at an early age, the only son of Joseph T. and Mary Louise Hand Vaughn. And, as the custom was, he was raised along with his uncles and cousins in Grandfather Cornelius' home.
After a few years, they moved to another place which provided better ground on which to raise a family that was growing smaller as they grew up.

Father sometimes told about the tasks that became his when he became old enough to do his share of work.

One of the unpleasant tasks was working out in the tobacco fields in the humid climate where he picked worms off of the tobacco leaves. The sickening smell of the tobacco made it the most difficult of tasks. Hoeing in the cornfields was preferable by far.

In autumn time, harvesting kept them all busy. They would gather to make apple butter in a large 40-gallon copper kettle that hung over a fire pit. Father told of how the apples were cut and trimmed and then put into the kettle to cook for long hours over the fire.

Father helped by keeping the fire supplied with wood, and sometimes stood by the kettle stirring the mixture with a long-handled ladle.

The family also butchered hogs outdoors, dipping them into a long trough of scalding hot water heated over a fire. The ham and bacon meat was treated and cured in smokehouses in hickory smoke. (I remember how we did that at the farm where I grew up.)

Father told about a pet raccoon that was always into mischief of some kind. One day, while they were butchering, the coon watched them test the temperature of the water by quickly dipping their finger in and out of the water.

While their backs were turned, the coon apparently tried to mimic the way they tested the water. Being small, the coon reached too far and fell into the tank of scalding water. Its pitiful cry of pain came too late to save him, even though they pulled it out at once.

Of course, there were many times between tasks when they found pleasure in fishing for catfish, and coon hunting at night, as well as skinny-dipping in backwater ponds.

No doubt there was a bit of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer in the youngsters who grew up along the Missouri. Perhaps the coon hunting at night was one of the more challenging pastimes.

When the wild coons became too troublesome, by raiding their chicken house, they would take their hounds, guns and lanterns and track the coon between the chicken house and the swamp.

Next week-- Coon and turkey hunting and the move West.

Obituary: Paul Andrew Herzog

Paul Andrew Herzog, formerly of Bothell, passed away peacefully in the wee hours of Sunday morning, November 28, 2010, in his Camano Island home. Born in August 10, 1925, grew up in the Depression, Paul served in the Army in WWII, and came home to marry, raise a family of five and live a life full of love and laughter.

He was preceded in death in 1992 by his wife of 40 years, Elaine B. (Anderson) Herzog, and will be laid to rest next to her at Sunset Hills of Bellevue. He is survived by his five children, Kathy, Steve, Karen, Stan and Stewart, and by his precious sister Esther, to whom we extend gratitude for so much loving care of our father Paul. He considered his offspring and extended family to be his greatest treasure, including each of his 11 grandchildren, 31 nieces and nephews, and large network of cousins, in-laws and shirt-tail relatives, most of whom he stayed in contact with up to the end. He was the most faithful kind of friend. If you were in this network, then you probably got a Christmas card every year from Paul.

We will be celebrating Paul’s life on Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010, at Camano Chapel (867 S., West Camano Drive, Camano Island, WA 98282) beginning at 2 pm.

Obituary: Anna Ruth Klein Clemans

Anna Ruth Clemans

Anna Ruth Clemans, 70, went to be with her Lord and Savior on Thursday, November 11, 2010. She was born April 5, 1940. She lived in Bothell, Washington graduating from Bothell High School in 1958. Anna was employed by the Northshore School District for many years.
Gifted in music, Anna played the piano and organ for the Bothell Free Methodist until she and her husband, Bob, moved to Camano Island in 1990. Bob and Anna loved to travel, especially to Alaska. Anna continued her love for music as a musician and conductor of the orchestra at Camano Chapel.


Anna was preceded in death by he father, Fred Klein; mother Ruth Klein; and husband, Robert Clemans.
She is survived by a sister, Linda Walla (Steve), of Snohomish, WA; two step children, Cher Sanchez and David Clemans; six grandchildren; and one great-grandson.


A celebration of her life will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 20, 2010, at Camano Chapel, 867 S. West Camano Dr. Camano Island, WA 98282.

Flora Louise Vaughn Overman

Descendants of Flora Louise Vaughn

Generation No. 1

FLORA LOUISE VAUGHN (JOSEPH GEORGE, JOSEPH THOMAS, CORNELIUS, CORNELIUS, JAMES CORNELIUS, LORD ROBERT VAUGHAN) was born August 21, 1898 in Medical Lake, WA (Spokane), and died January 07, 1984 in Seattle, King Co, WA. She married ORA OVERMAN. He died April 10, 1979.

This is a story about Flora Louise Vaughn. This was sent by her daughter, Linda.

Where to begin describing FLORA LOUISE, a beloved mother and grandmother? Perhaps with what she loved. She loved the Entiat Valley in the Washington State with all its wildflowers in spring, wind in the leaves, sound of the river rushing over the rocks, picnicking "up the Icicle", poetry, literature, traveling vicariously through travel documentaries, gardens, sweet new mornings, her children, grandchildren and family. Walking (everywhere)--especially to the library--this kept her straight and strong and probably helped through her 3 kinds of cancer. She loved playing the piano that her brother William (Bill) helped her acquire in her early marriage to Ora Anthony Overman in 1921.

Most of all, she loved, leaned and lived all her life on the foundation of her Christian faith gained from her parents Joseph and Eva (Jenny) Vaughn at the "little brown church in the wildwood" along the Entiat River, which empties into the larger Columbiana River in Eastern Washington. Flora's faith was her enduring comfort and joy. Several of Flora's children--like many Vaughns-were baptized in that sparkling river.

As Wenatchee High School Valedictorian of her class in 1919, Flora was unable to use the scholarship she was awarded to Whitman College the following autumn when she became ill with tuberculosis. She later attended a business school in Wenatchee and spent many years in bookkeeping positions associated with the fruit industry, the last being Standard Fruits Co. in Wenatchee. She worked very hard to support her family whether it was in the orchard, garden, home or office and quietly kept in her bible and Indian quotation referencing not to judge a person without walking a mile in their mocassins. Flora remembered welcoming as a young child the Costal Indians who would pass by her parents' homestead up the Entiat Valley enroute to their seasonal hunting. They would stop by, be offered food by the Vaughns, and go on their way. (Once they gave a gift of a doll to Flora.)

Five of the six children Flora and Ora raised had their earliest memories in Entiat before moving to Wenatchee for their high school years. After Grandma Jenny passed away from diabetes, Grandpa Joe went to live with Flora and Ora in their 1016 N. Wenatchee Avenue home. Grandpa passed away in 1943, only a few months after Linda was born. Sister Janet remembers Uncles William and Elmer Vaughn taking turns helping Flora care for Grandpa Joe in the last of his illness as Flora also had her day job.


Children of FLORA VAUGHN and ORA OVERMAN are:

        Charles & Linda Overman with my Grandfather, 

      Alfred Tennyson Vaughn & the Gold Headed Cane

1. CHARLES OVERMAN, b. November 14, 1932 d. May 13, 2008. Buried May 22, 2008, Entiat Cemetery, Entiat, WA. To see Charles Overman's Obituary, Click HERE

                                                                       Gene Overman

2. GENE OVERMAN, b. January 6, 1923 in Wenatchee, WA and d. May 14, 2009 in Spokane, Washington.

3. LORA MAE OVERMAN, b. Private.

4. DORIS OVERMAN, b. Private.



5.  JANET OVERMAN, b. December 11, 1929    d.  October 3, 2015

OBITUARY: Jerry DeRosa

Just to let you know that Jerry DeRosa passed away on January 22, 2010.  He was 90 years old.  There will be  a memorial service sometime in March in California.  He is survived by his wife Dottie DeRosa (the daughter of Frances Eveleen Vaughn Ambler)

The Obituary for Jerry DeRosa:

Jerry A. DeRosa

May 4, 1918 - Jan. 22, 2010

Born May 4, 1918, Jerry Alfred DeRosa went home to be with the Lord on Friday January 22. He is survived by his beloved wife of 51 years, Dorothy (Ambler) DeRosa.  Jerry is also survived by his sister, Theresa Minietta of Reno, NV; daughter, Ann Noren and her husband Keith; son, David DeRosa and his wife Sandra; daughter, Concetta Herigstad and her husband Curtis.  Also surviving are grandchildren Todd (Christy Hentz) Noren, Kariann (Gabriel) Virissimo, Brandy (Chris) Lighthall, Robert & Jason DeRosa, Jeromy, Justin, Jordan, Jacob, & Chase Herigstad and great-grandchildren Gabriel & Noah Virissimo, Carter Noren, and Elijah & Eden Lighthall along with several nieces and nephews.  Jerry was born in New York City, NY and Raised in Brooklyn, NY.  He Joined the U.S. Navy in 1937, where he served for 9 years on the Battleship USS Arkansas, Aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, and the Destroyer USS Buck.  When his time of active duty was over he re-enlisted in U.S. Naval Air Reserves for the next 16 years.  He married Dorothy (Dottie) Ambler, the love of his life in 1959 and settled in the California Bay area, where they raised three children.  They based their home in the Santa Cruz Mountains.  He continued to serve his country as a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal service, spreading sunshine and song to whomever he came in contact with, including all the church youth that he continually opened his home to.

He first started showing signs of Alzheimer's about 10 years ago. Praise the Lord it progressed slowly at first.  The official diagnosis came 4 years ago. With the help of medication and a wonderful therapy center, he was able to live at home with his wife until August 2009, at which time they both moved to an assisted living facility.

 The memorial service celebrating the life of Jerry DeRosa will be on Saturday, March 6, 2010 at 1:00 PM (Pacific Time) at Covenant Community Church, 3870 Alamo Drive, Vacaville, CA 95687

In lieu of flowers the Family has asked that a donation be made in Jerry’s named to the Alzheimer’s Association for medical research and assistance. It is listed on the Alzheimer’s association web site as “Jerry A. DeRosa Memorial Fund” or follow the link below.

http://act.alz.org/site/TR/Events/TributesAlzheimersChampions?%20JServSessionIdr004=2ivdkg s404.app245a&pxfid=24870&fr_id=1060&pg=fund