While going thru stuff, I found a newspaper article copy that my late aunt sent to me [my mom's sister in law]. My mother told me I was named after her sister, Annie, but I never really got the gist of it all until now when I was sitting down and stumbling through it all. While reading this [which I must admit, I never did before...just stuffed it in my genealogy folders and let it go for decades]. It dawned on me--------this is the Annie!!! This is who I was named after. It all happened in 1911. A family tragedy!! Here is a copy of the article I'm adding to one section of my genealogy that will show some of the history, without being a direct blood line from parents/grandparents/great grandparents and further back. My mother's sister died. Burned to death. The article reads as follows [with names omitted]:
LITTLE GIRL BURNED TO DEATH
Annie, the five year old daughter of ..[omitted].., who lives two and a half miles from ..[omitted].. was burned to death last Saturday afternoon. She was playing in the corn field where her father was burning corn stalks when her dress caught fire. Before assistance could reach her the flames had reached all over her body and in spite of the frantic efforts of her father and mother who were near, her body was burned to a crisp. The little girl died before she was carried from the field and before the doctor arrived. ..[omitted].. were both badly burned about the face and hands in a desperate struggle to save their daughter. The funeral was held Saturday and the body was taken to ..[omitted].. for burial. The family has the sympathy of the entire community in their time of sorrow and bereavement.
This is dated April 1911.
My mother was born the summer of 1911 which means my grandmother was pregnant when this happened to Annie.
How very sad for your parents Anni. It must have been quite a shock to make this discovery.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness I have goosebumps Anni - my middle name is Louise and I was named after my paternal grandmother`s sister Louise who also burned to death after her nightdress caught fire. I only learned this shortly before my father died and I should try and find out more about it but isn`t that uncanny? What a sad and so tragic thing to happen to 5 year old Anni and you just hope she (and indeed Louise) were overcome by smoke and didn`t suffer too much. Thanks for sharing such a personal and sad part of your family`s history.
ReplyDeleteBless her heart and theirs. How terrible it must have been to live with that all those years. I'm sure, however, that Annie looks down with much pride on her namesake.
ReplyDeleteOh, my, what a tragic story! It hurts even to read about such sad and difficult times in people's lives. There's so much in our families' histories that we don't know, isn't there!
ReplyDeleteSo your mom never knew her big sister? What a frightening and sorrowful story! Were there any pictures or paintings of her?
ReplyDeleteWow that was a sad story... my heart hurts for them!
ReplyDelete{{{HUGS}}}
Donna
What a tragic thing! I can't imagine how your grandparents dealt with this.
ReplyDeleteHow very, very sad, yet you lived on with her name and gave it life. What a lovely connection to the past.
ReplyDeleteMy husband is named for a young relative who drowned in Oslo Fjord when he fell through the ice. I am named for an aunt who is now near death at age 92. There is something very connecting about being named for a a loved relative.
Hugs,
Lois
That is so fascinating. I have been wanting to begin a genealogy search but fear I will become obsessed with it. Everytime I read something like I really wantt o start!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness what a terrible tragedy! I remember as kids we used to help Dad burn the fields to keep the weeds down. I guess we are very lucky that didn't happen more often then. I don't think we wore dresses though when we did the farm work like they did in 1911. Must have been a shock to you to come across that!
ReplyDeleteSuch sadness but your bless to have her name.
ReplyDeleteWow, what a sad sad story. But what a great thing to know your heritage from so long ago. What an honor to be named for this sweet little girl.
ReplyDeleteSuch a tragic story, how desperate your grandparents must have been trying to save little Annie...!
ReplyDeleteMy song today is a sad one. It can be for your annie's mum. Losing a child is the saddest tragedy.
ReplyDeleteOh, Anni, this so sad, and I can only imagine your shock. Not only that, your grandparents must have been scarred and reminded forever after of the day she died when they looked in the mirror. I'm sure that Anni was so pleased when you were named in memory of her, though.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting the things we learn, that others don't mention. When I read my great-grandfather's obit, I thought that they had 5 kids, but learned that they actually had 9 ... how did the others die and at what age? Nobody ever mentioned that.
Kathy M.
Anni isn't it amazing the things you can discover when doing family research....good luck with your project. Intermitten internet issues here this week. I hope to be able to link up to TTS tonight. Sometimes I can get on the intenet effortlessly others not so easily.
ReplyDeleteHugs C
What a very sad story !
ReplyDeleteI read the above .It is heartstopping.You were named after Annie as a sign of hope in the future.To turn a terrible tragedy into something positive , in rememberance of a little girl who would definitely have gone straight to that place they call heaven.Annie I will never forget reading this blog.
ReplyDeleteOh Anni, what a tragic story. The family must have been devastated. That also means your mother never got to know her sister, that is so sad.
ReplyDeleteHi dear friend. OMG - that is such a sad, sad thing to happen to a child. But you have carried on her name with honor - so, I hope that is some comfort.
ReplyDeleteHugs Lisa
Oh how awful. I'm so sorry anyone, much less someone in your own family, had to go through something like that.
ReplyDeleteAmy @ A Little Nosh
Anni, what a terrible tragedy. I'm sure you were surprised when you realized that this is the little girl you were named after.
ReplyDeleteI can't get to my blog. I keep being sent to an advertising page or an error page. I'm hoping it's still there and that things will rectify themselves. It's been like this for a couple of days now.
Hope you and Bud are doing well.
Blessings,
Mary
Hi Anni,
ReplyDeleteI came here on a link from a comment you made on my blog long ago. I'm happy to see you are still blogging! What a sad story, but thank you for sharing it. She lives on in you, and now her memory continues because you shared it with us!
How tragic that little Annie died in this way. You must have gotten the chills when reading this for the first time. I'm glad that her namesake has lived a good, long life!!
ReplyDelete