Heinrich Carl Harmann 1860-1933 (Jeff's Great Grandfather)

Heinrich (Henry) Carl Harmann was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on August 18, 1860 to blacksmith/farmer Heinrich Harmann (1824-1886) and Albertina Dobratz (1832-1900).  His father was born 1824 in Mecklenburg (Germany) and his mother was from Prussia (Germany).   Heinrich (Henry) was one of five known children, with two sisters, Augusta Rose and Martha; and two brothers, Frank and Edward.

Henry and Eliza married on Tuesday, February 15, 1887 (See the photo), the day after Valentine's Day (yes, it was celebrated then)!  Their marriage lasted over 40 years (when Eliza died) and they had eleven children: Henry Jacob, Meta Martha, Lilian Albertina, Flora, Paul, William, Clarence, Norman David, Cora Lorraine, Arthur (Jeff's grandfather) and his twin sister, Rose.

The 1870 and 1880 census reports show Henry living in Wauwatosa, WI with his parents.  Following his 1887 wedding to Eliza, we find him in the 1900 census in Racine, Wisconsin and in 1905 his residence is specifically listed as Mount Pleasant, where some of his ancestors still reside in 2014.  His 1910 residence was on Union Grove Road in Mount Pleasant.  In 1930 his residence is listed as Sturtevant.

The following information is from notes provided by Betty Luebke and it is not clear whether this is referring to our Henry or his son, Henry Jacob, born 1888.  Henry worked as a farmer and also as President of the Corliss State Bank.  Henry Harmann was president.  (Corliss is part of the area now known as Sturtevant, WI).  In 1835 Ives Grove was a small part of the wilderness in the northwest territory now the southeastern part of Wisconsin.  In this area were many wild animals.  Native American tribes, the Sac and the Fox, cleared the land in small areas so the land was generally heavily wooded.  In 1845 Mr. Royal Beach moved to Ives Grove from Massachusetts and bought a farm west of Ives Groves which he sold to Mr. Harmann. (this is from a book of area history and was noted years ago - if anyone has the book name/author/etc please let me know so I can add that info).

Henry passed away March 19, 1933 in Wisconsin and was buried in Graceland Cemetery.

Verna Madden (1923-2014)

earliest known photo of Verna,
with her dad George Madden ca 1927

Verna Madden was born on November 9, 1923 to 18 year old Dora Thomas Madden and 26 year old George W. Madden, their first child.  Verna lived primarily in Kentucky and briefly in Michigan during her 90 years.  "Monkey" was her nickname among many of her nieces and nephews.  Verna's outstanding traits included her humor, kindness, wisdom, and love of God.  She was an accomplished seamstress and has sewn many quilts for her family, working with her Aunt Callie and others.  She was such a blessing in my life.

Verna was married at a young age to Paris Charles, Jr. but they separated early.  She was single until her later years when she was briefly married to Mr. Troglen of the Harlan area.  Though Verna's only two children were lost to miscarriages, she served as an additional mother to many of her siblings' children.  Ruth

One of the many quilts
Verna made 

and Fay's children and grandchildren lived in the same neighborhood on Bill's Creek (Dizney, Harlan County, Kentucky) much of their life and share many wonderful stories of how Verna was there for them and they were certainly a great blessing to her.  Ed and Ewell's children lived further away but cherished the visits, phone calls or sweet cards from Aunt Verna during the years.  As long as she lived in the old family homeplace on Bill's Creek, extended family was welcomed back with open arms and, as long as she was able, she would always cook the guests' favorite foods or have their favorite drinks ready.

It was a real treat when Verna came to visit us in Tennessee, usually accompanied by Ruth or Fay.  When brother Ed passed away, Verna was so broken hearted.  She spent many years caring for elderly or sick people in the community.  She would help those struggling financially or in other ways as much as she could.  She was faithful to pray for others and I believe that God blessed me and many others through her prayers over the years.

Verna had a great memory right up until the end - able to recall things from throughout her life with great clarity.  Our family tree research was greatly helped through her memories, photos and tales.  She would surprise me from time to time with a new "old" photo that she had found in her green trunk!

Verna loved the Lord and would share sweet testimonies of how God had blessed her life, even through hard times.  She was faithful to the Lord and to the little church on the hill behind her house, a Pentecostal church.  She would never speak ill of others religious beliefs.  She shared with me during an August 2013 visit a story of how she was lying in bed, praying one night and asking God if He could really love her, when she heard Him speak to her.  When she was telling this story, I turned on my phone recorder and got the last little bit - it is included below and I hope when family and friends hear it, they will be able to remember her sweet voice telling you that she loves you and reassuring you of God's love, too!  When she was in the hospital a few weeks before her death, she told me that she was praying and reached up to heaven and she saw Jesus reaching down to her and telling her that He was with her.

When Verna turned 80 we had a big birthday party and started counting off to the 90th birthday party.  She was often in severe pain from arthritis and osteoporosis (degenerative discs, etc.) and had some heart issues but when she would talk about being ready to 'go home' to heaven, we would remind her that she had a 90th birthday party to attend.  She helped us with the planning of that 90th birthday party which was held on November 2, 2013 and it was such a blessing for many family and friends to be with her on that special day, sharing their love.  Here are some links related to that last birthday party with her.

1) The collection of 90 years of photos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmj2s9AFqyQ
2) The various photos from the 90th birthday party:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWpZrOiMAEU

A few months after her 90th birthday, Verna fell and broke her hip.  She went through surgery and rehab but had complications and began failing and passed away February 10, 2014 in Kingsport, TN at the hospital, with family at her bedside.  Her funeral service was at Locust Grove Baptist Church and she was laid to rest on the hill behind her house, near her parents and grandparents.  

Verna and her great-niece,
Elizabeth Harmann Lisic

Lauren Smith (great niece), Verna, sister Ruth Smith,
great nieces Veronica Shackleford Carlson
 and WhitleyShackleford Blair

The Barn Charlie Built

Today, I took Evan to my mom's and we spent some time out on the farm.  I'm thankful that we are able to visit the land where 5 generations have lived (6 if you count the occasional visits from the previous generation).  Such family historical spots are increasingly rare with today's mobile families.

Evan played in the barn built by his great great grandfather, Charlie Ramsey, who owned this land from about 1930 until he passed it on to his daughter, Betty Madden. I remember Granddaddy Charlie building the barn soon after the house was built in the late 1960's.  My brother Randy Madden and later my son Joey have maintained it over the years. It is amazing how entering the barn takes me back to childhood and the times we played there and the animals that we had through the years - the pony Taffy, the pigs, goats, assorted birds including turkeys, guinea fowl, ducks, geese, peacocks, quail, easter egg chickens, Bantam (aggressive banty rooster), domineckers, and assorted others. A favorite game was to try to lock one another in the barn/stalls and then try to escape. I learned that i could crawl through the little adjoining doors (tiny doors for baby animals), then climb up the hay drop (what's the word for that area), then go through the loft and to the opposite row of stalls where I could work the lock loose. What adventures we had!

The old feed room is still in good shape, as is the tack room and the stairway.  It is a touching experience to spend time there, knowing that Charlie built it, his daughter Betty and husband Ed worked in it, his grandchildren Randy, Mike, and I kept animals there and played in it.  His great grandchildren Joey, Elizabeth, Randall, Jessica, Tyler, Zac and Eric played there and Joey has kept goats there for several years.  Now the great great grandchildren have the chance to visit and play.