Leaves & Branches

I’ll always remember the day I stood in the Wardlow Cemetery, looking at my great-grandfather Hite Ballein’s grave and telling my parents that if I would ever do any family history research, I would like to research the Ballein family.   At that time, I was most interested in the Ballein family for a couple of reasons.   First, I bear a resemblance to my grandmother, Jennie Esther Ballein, who died when I was a toddler and whom I don’t remember.   Second, I was intrigued with the unusual Ballein surname, as well as the name Hite.   Of course, I did begin researching my family history, starting with my paternal grandmother’s branch of the family, which includes the Balleins.   I then branched out to the other side of my dad’s family and later to my mom’s family also.   Along the way I have met a lot of distant relatives with whom I have shared information and am always excited when I meet a “new” relative. Unfortunately, I haven’t had much success ...

One family heirloom in my possession is " Detsie's cup." I don't know anything about this cup, except that it supposedly belonged to Detsie Ballein (pictured at right), the eldest child of Elma and Hite Ballein and the sister of my paternal grandmother, Jennie Esther Ballein . It's just a small metal cup with a little handle and some engraving on it. Perhaps it was a gift from first time parents to their little girl. Detsie was born January 10, 1897 and died on August 27, 1899. It occurs to me for the first time that I don't even know where Detsie is buried. A little lost life; one of many in the days before advances in medicine. And, sadly, a life often forgotten in the course of genealogical research. My maternal grandparents, Mary and Edd Donaldson, also lost two children. Ernest Mitchell Donaldson, known as Mitchell, was born in 1922 and died as an infant on January 8, 1923 from pneumonia. I don't believe I have ever seen a picture of Mitchell...