Prairie-Lakes Journeys from a Two Spirited View: Genealogy and the mystery of name changes - Looking for clarity about great grandma Rehbein-Rhebein in the Johnson Family Story

GENEALOGY WORK - How Story Telling and Finding the Truth, has been healing to My Family Dysfunction.

Today, my personal mission includes "Through Spirit I develop trust and safety in relationships through curious listening and reflecting, freeing myself and others to be fully alive! "

THE LEGACY of Margaret G Weaver, 1910-2007, and her sharing her experiences in writing

REMEMBERINGS OF A 83-YEAR OLD GRANDMA - Self published Memoir 1994

In an addenda written May 2007 when she agreed to share here writing with local history centers, she wrote "My biography, Rememberings of an Eighty-Three Old Grandma, was written for my children and grandchildren. I wrote it and self-published it from discs of my PC in Brainerd in 1994. Since that time I have become aware of how the printed word captures memories and events from past generations that are valuable for future generations when they are available through history centers. My son, Torn, has shared with me the satisfaction he has received doing research at history centers throughout the eastern US, which has provided more insight about the Glessner, Chase, Bixby and Chappelear roots on my side, and more recently, the Weaver, Eicher, Brandt, and Paul roots on my husband's family tree. In addition, since 1994, he has connected through the Internet to valuable information that will allow creation of more thorough family legacy genealogy resources. Tom has recently has shared with me the Chappelear Genealogy placed on line by a Chappelear in Alabama, that extends the tree three generations beyond what my Aunt Mary had done, to Virginia, all the way back to Uzes, Languedoc, France in the 1600's in Southern France.
I know what I have written is my truth and my story. It is my hope that my descendants and others will take this work to heart and write their own stories to benefit their families and the planet in a good way."

CONTINUING THE LEGACY of FUN Story Telling

I see myself, Building on the Work of Grandma Peg Weaver - Building Family Trust to share stories over the generations. And to name some of the family shadows (addictions) that may not just be alchohol and drugs., also co-dependency. One of the jokes that has been useful for me in this work Q"What happens to a non-recovering co dependent when we die? A Other peoples lives, flash before my eyes! " :-)

Sharing ancestral stories for the health and happiness of the next 7 generations in a good way. It has been 32 years since my father Paul H Weaver MD died of bowel cancer (alcohol and nicotine addiction) in January 1982, at age 72 at St Joseph's Hospital in Brainerd MN. I am committed to sharing stories of health and recovery in my biological family and beyond, as a long term beneficiary of 12 step recovery, in Al Anon since 1981, after Susan and I attended counseling sessions with an ex priest Geno Beniek, MSW. We began to look at family patterns and emotional sharing, as we stepped into becoming new parents. Nathan Blair Weaver, our first born son, was born June 18 1981, just 6 months prior to his grandfather's death.

Our last family photo taken Aug 1981, prior to the death of Paul H Weaver. L to R Tom, Sue, Nate, Melanie, Peg, Harold Williams, Jack, "Pete" Paul Henry, Val, Kris, Nellie, Jim, Ken and John, at Sunset Beach Cottage of Peg and Pete Weaver. Some visionaries, like the late Virginia Satir - She believed that a healthy family life involved an open and reciprocal sharing of affection, feelings, and love. Satir made enormous contributions to family therapy in her clinical practice and training "

Feelings of worth can flourish only in an atmosphere where individual differences are appreciated, mistakes are tolerated, communication is open, and rules are flexible - the kind of atmosphere that is found in a nurturing family.

Virginia Satir

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/v/virginia_satir.html#9EjrJzZbEIw9bZ0y.99

From Peg Weaver's Rememberings of an 83- year old Grandma, published 1994 :
"PETE'S HEALTH PROBLEMS AND DEATH Looking back, it was most fortunate that Jim, Jack and Tom and their families were all here in the summer of 1981 for a sort of family reunion, since Pete died the following January. I am thankful for the wonderful pictures that Tom took of the happy group (See 1981 picture, p. 14,.): Jim, Melanie, Valerie (seven years old) and Kenneth (one year); Jack, Nellie, Kristin (seven) and John (five); Tom, Sue, and Nathan (two months); Pete and me; Harold Williams (Nellie's father)."p104

In 1984, Sue Weaver left (taking this photo likely Jo Eicher), here are me, with beard shaven, Nate age 3 with Bill Eicher, my cousin born in 1927, the last surviving of my fathers generation greeting us in Kettering OH, where we shared stories of the Weaver-Eicher family lineage. He informed me of so much my fathers view, had hidden from me, living in Minnesota, some 600 miles from the family homestead.

Clarity has been very helpful in being open to listening and reflecting on others experiences. Bill is the one, that when I was coming out as a gay father and son, here in 1984 said to me without judgement "It must be genetic, as my sister Betty was in a lesbian relationship for 40 years!" What I sense of relief to be heard and acknowledged by my flesh and blood cousin and then having him work with me to deepen our family genealogy understanding. Always working to know, who to take a risk with, and face my fears of rejection, and nothing ventured, nothing gained. Now, more fearless. :-)

Here is Betty Eicher (b 1913), Grandpa Henry Eicher and my father Paul Henry Weaver (b 1910), CA 1915 in a photo taken by Noah Elwood Weaver looks like the stairs to his place of employment, the Friend Paper Company in West Carrollton OHIO.

OPEN TO SUPPORT from other Cousins and family - To discover more about the Johnson Family from Wisconsin

Being Free of old judgements, resentments and fears (From doing many 4th and 5th steps in Al Anon and Debtors Anonymous, as opened me up to new ways of occurring in the world in the 21st Century.

The promises of AA -Al Anon, have come true in my life, one day at a time. "We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others. That feeling of uselessness and selfpity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows. Self-seeking will slip away. Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us. We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us. We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.
Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us—sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them."

THE JOYS OF LEARNING FROM FAMILY HISTORY - Health and Illness, Embodied Self Awareness. More life in my body....As my elders say "The only thing the Creator gave us, is our body, and it is important to take good care of it"

ROOTS and SHOOTs . Leaving a legacy of understanding about Risk Taking and Being Open to New Technology and Learning -

I have been working on my family genealogy since the death of my grandfather Noah Elwood Weaver in 1973. I inherited his extensive photograph collection from a century ago, and have sought out relatives to help label the photos, soon after my fathers death, as he only helped label a few of the photos. Like recovery, no one researches their family by ourselves, it takes research, communication and endurance with a vision and mission to keep going. Thanks for those who have supported this in the past, and those emerging from our growing and thriving family tree. As we say in D/Lakota "we are all related and connected"

My dad, Paul Henry Weaver, in 1922 (age 12) on a sled in rural Ohio, Montgomery County, pulled on his sled by by the family 1918 Oldsmobile. (NEW Album)

JOHNSON FAMILY HISTORY QUEST

Over the past year, I have begun a deeper search into the history of the Gust and Christina Johnson, Swedish Lineage of Susan E Johnson's family in Wisconsin. I have found considerable information on line, regarding Gust and Christina's location in the south side of Chicago in the 1900 Census and that Edward Johnson was born in Chicago

22 Aug 1893. Interesting his wife, Geneveive M “Jennie” Babino Cook, was also born in 1893, Bear Creek and that all the family members I have contacted remember that grandma Jennie Cook Johnson was likely born out of wedlock and the actual history is hard to discern. Ron Sedo from The Jane Dolores Johnson side, talked of "Grandma Rehbein", just like Sue always described her, without a first name, and that she was the mother of Jennie, with another man. The story thickens as many call her Jennie Cook, as she was adopted and taken in by a lumberman Henry F Cook, which is documented in the city directory I have recently found on Ancestry.com . Also a Jenna Babino, age 6, is listed on the 1900 Census for a Babino family in Deer Creek in Outagamie County and in 1905 and then by 1910, a Jennie Babino was living with the Henry Cook Family of Black Creek. Finally by 1920, Edward Johnson and Jennie Cook -Babino were married and the Census of 1920 has them living on Klein St in Kaukauna, with three children, Lucille b 1914, Clifford b 1915, and Ralph b 1918.

This photo from 1918, Susan found with her parents things. It was labeled Ellen Geneva, ____?, Lucille, Jennie and Ralph.

This is a photo of Lucille Johnson I scanned from Ron Sedo's album Jan 15, 2015. Likely a high school portrait taken around 1930, at age 16, a year or so before her fatal car crash
30 May 1931, Sherwood, Wisconsin. I am not finding photos of Clifford Johnson, the second born here.

CA 1938 Ralph Johnson and mom, Jenny Babino Cook Johnson. From Susan E Johnson Weaver files

Grandma Rehbein, labeled 1943, age 73 in Ron Sedo's album scanned Jan 14, 2015. Since then, I have discovered that Grandma Rehbein, most surely the mother of Jennie Babino Cook Johnson, lived with the Lehman's as a young girl in Sect 20-29 of Deer Creek Township, Outagamie County Wisconsin. A near neighbor was A.L. Babino to the Lehman's.

Scanned at Ron Sedo's home Jan 2015, Ronny Sedo with dad Norbert Sedo, Louis Jankowski, grandma Rehbein's husband taken at King Veteran's Home Waupaca, WI.

Photo from Ron Sedo's album labeled Uncle Herman Cook.

1950's Grandma Rehbein, Edward and Jennie Johnson at Veterans Home -King Home Waupaca, scanned at Ron Sedo's home Jan 2015 by Tom Weaver

Oct 5, 1920 Baptism Certificate for Jane Delores Johnson child of Edward Johnson and Jennie (nee) Cook New London Ev Lutheran with Sponsors Herman and Mrs Herman Rhebein (same handwriting)

April 1, 1920 Birth Certificate for Jane Delores Johnson, Kaukauna Wi, Father Ed Johnson, Mother Jennie Babinau (?)

1952 Louie Jankowski, Dick and Ron Sedo, Jane Johnson Sedo, Grandma Rehbein Waupaca Kings Vets Home, scanned at Ron Sedo's home, Jan 2014 by Tom Weaver.