Harvey Snell with (daughter from first marraige)Cecile Warden nee Snell
By Connie Sychowski
Genealogy Corner
The theme for the August issue is Grandparents. I was a late-in-life child and never had a chance to know my grandfather, so why would I choose to write about him? Over the years from my childhood on I have heard so many stories about the man who was my mother’s father. Though short in stature, standing only 5’1”, nothing seemed to hold him down for long. He was a self-made man, more then once.
My grandfather, Harvey Aldelbert Snell, was one of 16 children born to George and Harriett Snell. He had an 8th grade education with a diploma of which he was very proud. He married twice; his second marriage was to Mary M. Bosman, my grandmother. He learned all about the building industry and decorating, which in those days was referred to as painting and paperhanging. He was successful with this line of work and built the home my mother was born in. About 1926 or 1927 he built another house on the street behind their first home.
Winter came and around October 1927 my grandparents, his brother, my mother and her sister piled into what was called a touring truck and headed for the west coast of Florida. My mama recalled how good the oysters were in those day and how her mother would flour and fry them in a greased pan.
Then the CRASH came, New York was a mess, people jumped out of windows because they had lost all their money. My grandfather decided to go back to Michigan, went to the bank and all the money was gone. Mama said she never did know how much they really had except that they were worth a lot in those days. So all they had to go home on was a fifty dollar gold piece. There was no work when they returned so Grandpa sold both houses and with that he rented a farm and bought a team of horses, a couple cows, pigs and chickens. So farming became the way of life with painting and papering hanging as time would allow.
Eventually my grandfather became a Christian and an Evangelist. He certainly sounded like a very big man to me and I wish I would have had the pleasure to have known him. Grandparents are a very valuable asset in our lives. They are the keys that unlock our history. Make time to enjoy and learn from them while they are around.
Connie Sychowski
Genealogy How To #3
Talk to your Grandparents
Write down your grandparents names, birth dates, who their parents were and where they were born. Write down when and where they were married. How many children did they have? It is best to write down as much detailed information as you can about their past. Write a story about your grandparents - your fondest memory of them and what they mean to you.
Have them write a story of how they met and what they thought when they first saw you as a baby. Using a tape recorder is also another useful tool. It can be easier than trying to write as they speak and in turn this helps you to focus on them as they speak and gives you an idea as to the feelings they express as they relive their past. Here are some questions you can ask your parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles.
1. Ask them their full names, including any nicknames they have or may have had in their past.
2. Ask them for their birth date, marriage date and locations of each.
3. Ask them for their parents names and their grandparents names. Also ask about any nicknames they may have had in the past.
4. What was it like for them growing up in such and such time period?
5. Did the family move often and if so where and what time periods?
6. What is their fondest memory (of whomever you want to know about or they want to share)?
7. What kind of house did they live in when they were children?
8. Did your parents or grandparents come to this state from another state?
9. When did they come to this state?
10. What was the city, county, and state?
Published in U. S. Legacies August 2003
- Log in to post comments