LET NONE BUT FRIENDS PRESUME TO WRITE"
ACCUSTOMED, CEREMONIOUS
glancing over the girlish remembrances
from grade school
mostly from 1901, when Rovilla was 10 years old
mostly from 1904, when Rovilla was 13 years old
and then -- an inscription that surprised me:
1886? Rovilla wasn't even born yet!
However, 1886 was the year
of Anna and William's marriage
thus, "Mr. & Mrs. Heideman"
Maybe a wedding present?
locating all of the older autographs,
preceding the days when little Rovilla
must have been allowed by her mother
to bring the book to school.
This is the oldest dated entry,
a piece of advice penned on July 8th, 1885
to William from his brother-in-law Nathaniel,
complete with one of his personalized postage stamps:
from his mother Catherine Shank Heidemann
“My child, if wicked companions entice you, do not follow them.
Follow my counsel, do not go astray.” [Proverbs 1:10]
Your Mother
month & days are given: March 23rd & April 30th
but not the year. I'm guessing 1886,
knowing that Anna Mary and William
were married on March 9, 1886
Let none but friends presume to write
And may each line in
friendship given, direct the
reader's thoughts to heaven."
perhaps what she wrote after Rovilla had claimed
the book for her own and asked her mother to sign:
"Home's not merely roof and rooms;
It needs something to endear it.
Home is where the heart can bloom;
Where there's some kind lip to cheer it.
What is home with none to meet,
None to welcome, none to greet us?
Home is sweet -- and only sweet --
Where there's one we love to meet us."
Mrs. Wm Heideman
[also signed Anna Mary's book -- see previous post]
Harry had the special distinction of being a "double" first cousin.
His mother Sadie was the younger sister of William Michael Heideman!
His father Henry was the older brother of Anna Mary Miller.
So, a Heideman brother married a Miller sister --
and a Miller brother married a Heideman sister!
[I bet he used his familial middle name only rarely,
and struggled with the spelling.
I'm just thinking of it as a typo.]
You've gotta love his marginalia: "reindeer me"
Enroute from Waunika, Oklahoma to Canon City, Colorado
Willie and Rovilla were first cousin on her father's side.
Willie's parents were Allen Golder and
Augusta Heideman (sister of William Michael Heideman)
[See also July]
Rovilla's younger brother
He signed his mother's book in 1907 . . .
and one page to his sister, Rovilla.
(November 14, 1932 - August 15, 1983)
Rovilla's middle son, my mother's brother
Awwww . . .
*********************
MORE FAMILY STORIES TO COME
in the meantime . . .
Lots of Family Pictures: Calendar 2024
Calendar 2025: #1 ~ #2 ~ #3
Photo Ablums: Gravestones & Grandparents
There's no vocabulary for love within a family,
love that's lived in but not looked at,
love within the light of which all else is seen,
the love within which all other love finds speech.
This love is silent." ~ T. S. Eliot
ENTIRE SERIES:
Family History #1
Family History #2
Family History #3
Family History #4
Family History #5
Family History #6
Family History #7
Family History #8
Family History #9
Family History #10
Family History #11
Family History #12
Next Fortnightly Post: Family History #13
Saturday, November 14, 2026
Between now and then, read
THE QUOTIDIAN KIT
my shorter, almost daily blogs
www.dailykitticarriker.blogspot.com
Looking for a good book? Try
KITTI'S LIST
my running list of recent reading
www.kittislist.blogsppot.com
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