A longer obituary, what I’d rather call a remembrance, for my aunt was sent to several newspapers in eastern South Dakota, near where she grew up, including the Lake Preston Times, which published a shorter version. I am including it here. My mom forwarded it to me. One of my aunt’s cousins had sent it to her. The cousin briefly described the memorial service.

The service was wonderfully upbeat just as Carol wanted it to be. Nearly half of those attending wore purple, including the funeral home directors’ ties and the minister’s shirt. The service was inspirational, and the food (planned by Carol) was wonderful, including purple (Grape) jello, purple napkins, and Carol’s favorite Reese’s peanut butter cups. One thing Carol always told James and Mary Lou was that since they were usually late for events, they could NOT be late to her funeral. The minister ended the service by telling Carol that the kids were on time, so not to worry. It was a fitting ending for a wonderful service.

The longer obituary gives a more complete view of her quirky personality. I will be writing more about her, my memories and thoughts, at some point.

Carol Hill Chitty, 66, of Colo, Iowa,  passed away Monday, February 13, 2012, at Prime Nursing and Rehab in Des Moines after a long battle with cancer. Funeral services were held at the United Methodist Church in Colo, Iowa on February 17, 2012.

Carol Hill was born in Huron, South Dakota, on December 2, 1945 to Raymond and Marilyn (Hay) Hill. Carol grew up on a farm near Erwin, South Dakota and graduated from high school in 1963.  Childhood weekends were spent playing softball with her brothers and her Rasmussen cousins from Lake Preston. Carol never lost the ability to hit the ball out of the park, as evidenced at family reunion softball games through the years.  Following high school graduation, Carol worked part-time at a grocery store in Bryant, South Dakota.  She also spent three summers working in Salem, Oregon picking berries and working as a cook. She later worked  summers in Yellowstone National Park.  In 1969, Carol moved with her family to Colo, Iowa where she met the love of her life, Robert Chitty.  They were engaged on Halloween 1970, and were married on Valentine’s Day 1971.  To this union were born two children, James and Mary Lou.  Sadly, Bob passed away in 1977 from heart disease, leaving Carol to raise their two young children.

During these years, Carol worked first at a local hospital as a cook, and later with her mother, Marilyn, cooking for the Colo School system. Carol was first diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the late 1990’s, and after treatment, was in remission for several years before the cancer returned.  Carol was always more concerned about other people and how they were dealing with her cancer than she was for herself. She touched the lives of doctors, nurses and other patients and became their friend.   Her personal relationship with God sustained her through her illness and was an inspiration to those who knew her.

Carol loved all things purple, playing ball, bowling, Yahtzee, lions, tiger, butterflies and all of nature.  She loved telling jokes and was the master of puns. Carol loved bright colors, as evidenced by the wild, often mismatched patterned socks she wore during her chemo treatments and hospitalizations.  Wearing these socks was one example of Carol’s optimistic personality. She always looked on the bright side of life, being thankful for what she had.  A visit with Carol was sure to leave you with a smile on your face and a happy heart. Even though her body was ravaged by illness, her spirit never wavered.  One of her greatest joys was spending time with her children and grandchildren.

Carol is survived by her son, James Chitty, of Colo, Iowa; her daughter Mary Lou Chitty and friend Tim Anderson of Des Moines, Iowa, her mother Marilyn (Bill) Geisler of Salem, Oregon; her brothers Loren Hill of Contoocook, NH and Leslie (Audrey) Hill of Salem, Oregon; her sister Cindy Hill of Carroll, Iowa, and two grandchildren, Tim and Tiffany Nguyen of Des Moines, Iowa.

Others who were blessed to have shared her life are aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and many friends. She was preceded in death by her father Raymond Hill and her husband Robert Chitty.

ajh

Hello,

I saw your webpage for Martin Tidd, good job and great for you to have your lineage.

I am [a] direct descendant of Captain Thomas Robinson (after several years of on and off line research), and now belong to the SAR with my 3 sons. I have some info on the unit of Rangers if you like.

I am looking forward to seeing the pedigree and other material he has acquired so far. After I responded, he wrote again.

. . . I do have an image of a receipt signed by Capt. Robinson, I will look for that. He came from Hanover, Pa. area (date ?), before reaching the Northumberland Co. area mid 1700s maybe, then enlisted men around 1781-1782. His Lt. Moses Van Campen was one, and he left a lot of history on the Rangers. . . .

AJH

Today in 1965 Nation of Islam members assassinated Malcolm Little, who had adopted the name Malcolm X.

Born . . . in 1925, he adopted the last name “X” to symbolize the rejection of his slave name. While criticized by the likes of Martin Luther King Jr. for promoting violence in his quest to improve the lives of African-Americans, Malcolm X seemed to become more conciliatory in his last two years. He left the Nation of Islam in 1963, converted to orthodox Islam and founded the more moderate Organization of Afro-American Unity in 1964. His life and death have been the subject of numerous books and movies, including Spike Lee’s Malcolm X, starring Denzel Washington, in 1992.

ajh

This morning, after waking up very, very early, which is another long, drawn-out story itself, I sat down to eat breakfast and discovered one of my favorite old school actors playing a Roman Catholic priest named Father Brown, which was also the title of the film in Britain. Alec Guinness is the man.

At first I thought it might be one of the Ealing Studio treasures, but then realized that it must have been made by another company, as I once owned the DVD collection of these films.

It’s a fine and funny film. I wish more were made like this today. Guinness knew how to play the odd, yet lovable characters.

ajh

I vote boring and unoriginal, although it does look better larger rather than smaller.

ajh

While searching for the birth and death dates of my great grandfather, Charles Martin Hill, I happened upon a record of him at the personal site of an Englishman named John Antill. It’s odd to see the family listed on a website in the United Kingdom, so naturally I was more curious than what is normal for me.

I followed the arrows back on the various lines, to learn that, according to Mr. Antill, Charles, and thus me too, is a descendant of a James Hinds, who was born in 1613 in Bedfordshire, England, and William Baldwin, from an even earlier generation.

Baldwin was born in about 1441 in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England. He married Jane Aylesbury sometime around 1467 in Aylesbury. He died there, as a young man in his thirties, perhaps in 1475.

James — whose surname is recorded variously as Hinds, Hains, Haines, Haynes, and Hindes — married a woman named Mary in 1638. He died in March of 1653 in Southold on Long Island in New York, at the age of 40.

ajh

Her obituary was printed in the Ames Tribune and the Des Moines Register.

ajh

Until We Again Rendezvous

This life has now passed away
They are with the Lord today
Enjoying a better life anew
Their memory shall we carry through
Until we again rendezvous

Psalm 23: 1-6, Ecclesiastes 12: 7, 1 Corinthians 15: 42-55

ajh

I have been asking people on various mailing lists if anyone has ever looked through some of these, but have yet to find anyone who has.

Captured German and Related Records on Microform in the National Archives
National Archives Collection of Foreign Records Seized (Record Group 242)

Here are two from under the heading Civil Records. These could have a good deal of personal information, including passport files.

• Miscellaneous German Records Collection, 1892-1945
• Records of Former German and Japanese Embassies and Consulates, 1890-1945

Another heading, Records of Private Individuals and Enterprises, sounds intriguing. Some of this will be cronies of the Nazis et al.

The most interesting to me, and perhaps the most genealogically useful, is from the subgroup titled German Military Records Antedating World War II. Among the groupings are:

• An Exhibit of German Military Documents from the Heeresarchiv Potsdam, 1679-1935 PDF
• Records of the Royal Bavarian War Ministry and Other Bavarian Military Authorities, 1866-1913 PDF
• Prussian Mobilization Records, 1866-1918 PDF
• Official and Personal Papers of Prussian Military Leaders

The Prussian Mobilization Records are broken up into time periods relating to wars. The first roll of microfilm is from 1866, when Prussia declared war on Austria. This was a sort of German civil war per se, with various factions aligning with one side or the other.

The second roll is documents from the war against France in 1870. Upon the defeat of France, the German Empire was declared and a unified German state emerged for the first time since the zenith of the Holy Roman Empire.

The final three rolls of microfilm are about World War I.

I’ll be writing more about this extensive collection in the coming days. One section has a collection of letters and documents of Bismarck’s son Herbert.

AJH

MARVIN-RANDALL-TIDD: David Randall, 1765-1835, is son of David Randall, 1742-1820 and wife Sarah Ann Marvin, Dec 1748-1822 Kinsman, OH; she dau. of Samuel John Marvin and wife Sarahann Elizabeth. Her sister Elizabeth Marvin Jan 1748-1825, m. Martin Tidd, 1739-1823, d. Kinsman, OH.—Mrs. Wayne P. Hughes, c/o Prairie Club, Harbert, MI 49115.

I remember seeing the name David Randall among the records of the first settlers of Youngstown and Kinsman. However, I didn’t know he had married a Marvin, specifically Betsy’s sister.¹

ajh

1. Elizabeth Marvin went by the name Betsy or Betsey.