Grande Grande Grande Avo Maria Bettencourt

I have one photo of my great, great, great grandmother on my Mom's side.  It was taken on either the island of Sao George in the Azores.  I've always been so struck by the photo and what a classic Portuguese woman she is.  I know the young boy on the left is my great, great uncle Jack, her grandson.  I wish I knew who the other men were and what the occasion was.  They are sure to all be relatives.  But who????  My uncle Jack was born in the United States and this was one of their travels back to the islands.  It's interesting since they weren't a wealthy family or even a middle class family to be travelling, at least a handful of times, back to the old country. 

Maria Bettencourt>>Francisco Silveira Alvernaz>>Alice Alvernaz Silva Thurber (Uncle Jack's older sister)>>Gloria Silva DelaMere da Silva (my Mom's mom)

Holy Multiples!

My Grandpa Joe is a twin.  That's not so remarkable, particularly given the number of twins being born in our time. 

Twins, Catherine & Joe Stanish

But, what is remarkable is that among the siblings, who preceeded Joe and his twin Catherine, there were a set of triplets and two sets of twins.  So, if you're counting, that's four sets of multiples out of fifteen (or sixteen) kids.  Can you imagine that?  This was obviously at a time when there were no ultrasounds or tests to determine such things.  I wonder what my great-grandparents were thinking when the fourth set of multiples arrived, let alone the second and third set.  I think I kind of have an idea of what they were thinking...holy schnikeys (or insert your own exclamation here)!

I was fortunate to come across a photo at my Grandma's last year that has most of the Stanish kids in it.  Turns out the babies held in the photo are my Grandpa Joe and Aunt Catherine.  I can definitely see a family resemblance in the Stanish kids.

Front right, Michael Stanish (his triplet sisters had passed away), Joe and Catherine are the babies being held.   Julia Stanish is the little dark haired girl holding one of the infant twins to the right of Michael.  Twins Ann and Annette are the blonds directly behind Julia and the other dark haired girl.  Sophie Stanish is in the black dress on the right and she is holding on to Frances, whose twin John is third from her right.  Don't know who the other cute kids are, sadly.



You Ought To Be In Pictures

As I have been going through and scanning more photos from my Grandma's collection, I keep seeing these great photos of my Dad as a young boy.  He was a pretty cute little guy.  But, as I look through these photos, I keep having movie title run through my head as I view them.  See what you think:

Seabiscuit

A Christmas Story

American Graffiti

The Three Amigos

Children of the Corn

Little Rascals

Family Members I Would Like to Meet - Part II

Anna Figunes Nunes Lopes
b. 29 June 1863 - d. 9 Jan 1961
Born in Sao Jorge, Azores

Anna Lopes is my Great Great Grandmother's (Maria da Gloria Figunes Alvernaz) older half sister.  She was born in the Azores and came to the United States in 1909 at the age of 46.  She was travelling with her 12 year old daughter, Lizzie. 

What I know about her from family stories is that she came to the United States to join her husband, Manuel Nunes Lopes, in the gold fields of Nevada City, California.  Apparently they made a little bit of money.  One of the stories my Mom told me is that when she was little, she was playing in her family's front yard digging holes with a spoon made of gold from Anna and Manuel's claim.  The spoon was lost that day and my Mom got into a LOT of trouble.

Somewhere along the line, Aunt Anna ended up in San Francisco, CA without Manuel.  It's not known if they divorced or if he passed away.  Lizzie was with her in 1910, but I don't know what happened to her after that or if she had any siblings.  Anyhow, San Francisco is another interesting piece of Aunt Anna's story. 

Aunt Anna lived with a man named Bernard Dickman.  They never married!  Oh, the scandal!  How was it that she arrived in the States in 1909 and by 1910 she was living with a man who wasn't her husband?  She ended up with profits from the gold claim.  What happened to Manuel?  Who was Bernard?  How did they meet?  They lived together until Bernard's death.

The 1930 census shows Bernard and Anna living in an apartment in San Francisco where they worked as a waiter and waitress. 

My Mom remembers going to visit Anna in San Francisco.  She remembers that she had no refrigerator and that she kept her groceries out on the terrace of her apartment.  My Mom and her sister were offered Saltines as snacks when they came to visit and if anyone knows San Francisco, it's usually foggy.  Saltines on terrace = stale...ick.

The times that my Aunt Anna lived, she did some unconventional things.  I would love to know how she met her husband, why she left the Azores, how did she come to live with a man she wasn't married to. 

Family Members I Would Like to Meet - Part I

Over the years, I have heard stories of different family members.  Some have been more prominent in family oral history than others and as their stories unfold in front of me the more I wish I could sit down over a cup of coffee cold beer and ask questions of them.  Sophie Stanish is one of those people. 

Sophie is my grandpa Joe's oldest sister.  She was either the oldest or second oldest (a brother Tim may have preceeded her) of 15 (or 16) children.  She was born in Austria in, or around, a town named (or sounds like) Shonak.  Her father Michael left for the United States leaving Sophie and her mom Sophia behind.  Apparently when he arrived in Pennsylvania he had no plans to send for Sophie or her mother because he was having far too much fun as bachelor.  After some persuading by his brother, Profir Stanish, he finally sent for his family.  That is how Sophie made it to the United States.  I haven't found which year yet, though.

Through family history it seems that Sophie became the somewhat matriarch of the family.  What is interesting to me is that she ran a successful restaurant in Oil City, PA called the Penn Restaurant.  I would love to know how long that business ran.  Out of it she was able to purchase enough land for the large Stanish family to live on, on Shaffer Run Road.  She had her own large house built by my Grandpa Joe and one of her man friends, which still stands today.  With her finances, she built a house for her parents to live in, which subsequently my grandparents, dad, aunt, uncle, and their cousin grew up in - and is still in the family. 

She obviously played an importent role in her family.  I'm sure that her status in the family was elevated as she was the oldest child and first to primarily speak english.  She probably had a huge sense of responsibility.  I'm amazed at her industrious nature and strength.  Sophie didn't even have a high school education. 

I just wish I could find out how she did it.  What kind of struggles did she have to deal with, particularly being a woman?  What led her to running a restaurant?  How was the food?  How was she able to buy so much property? 

Beyond that, she was married twice.  Archie Purdy was her first husband, followed by Tom Thomas.  She had no children.  She passed away at a relatively young age.  Researching archived newspaper articles it is apparent that she was clearly missed by her family.

Sophie Stanish Thomas

(b. 14 Nov 1899 - d. 23 Dec 1952)

Pennies From Heaven

I have this thing about pennies.  I don't recall quite how it started, but after my Papa (Harold Thurber) passed away, whenever I saw a penny on the ground I would pick it up - no matter if it was tails or heads up.  I had come to believe that it's his way of saying "Hello" to me.

As time has gone on, I've lost other special people in my family - my Nana (Alice Thurber), Grandpa Joe Stanish, and Grandma Da Silva. One by one they have joined my pennies from heaven club.  It gives me a warm feeling to still feel their presence.  The great thing is that at times when I've been troubled and needed someone on my side, I would find a penny, and my problems would wash away.  And of course, I would hear Louis Prima in my head singing "Pennies from Heaven" as well.....shoobie doobie.  Tell me that song doesn't make you happy.  I have quite the collection of pennies now which all amount to good memories. 

Today, another very special person has joined the club.  My sweet Grandma Stanish will now be sending me pennies from heaven.

Although we lived across the country from each other and rarely saw each other, we had a special relationship.  We shared some great conversations and laughs.  Her sense of humor was dry and unexpected.  One of my favorite memories was sitting in her living room watching "Tommy Boy" together, just Gram and me.  She laughed through the whole movie and commented quite often "what an idiot" Chris Farley's character was.  She cracked me up with that.  It still makes me smile. 

I'm glad I made it out to Pennsylvania for an all too quick trip this past summer.  She shared old family photos and stories with me, which was immensely special.  I bawled like a baby when I said goodbye to her on that trip...and she just looked up at me with her sweet, mischievous, knowing smile. 

I'll miss our talks, Grandma, and I look forward to your first penny from heaven.

Bernette Elizabeth Stanish
October 7, 1919 - March 6, 2011

My Great Uncle, Maurice Daniel Silva

My great uncle Maurice is my maternal grandmother's younger brother. It's been said that my great-grandmother named him after her favorite actor, Maurice Chevalier. Having been blessed with the good looks of an actor, he is a typical Portuguese man in that he always has a good story probably because he's always up to something mischievous. The love he has for his family is directly proportional to our admiration of him.    

Uncle Maurice and Aunt Mary's wedding day, March 25, 1951- Easter Sunday

In honor of his upcoming 80th birthday (b. February 26, 1931) I thought I would post some photos of him. Happy Birthday Uncle Maurice! 

Maurice as a baby, held by cousin Edwina and
flanked by big sister (my grandmother), Gloria

First Communion

Graduation Day
with his mother Alice and niece
(my mother) Maureen