Happy Birthday, Christina [Orth] Herr - November 17th 1876

Last Tuesday, November 17th, would have been my great, great grandmother's 139th birthday. She was the mother of Lydia Herr, grandmother to Annette Roehm and great grandmother to my mother, Carole Connors.

George Orth and Maria Delger Orth, Christina's parents

Christina Orth was born November 17th 1876, in Odessa, Ukraine. At the time she was born, it was considered a part of Russia. The Orth family has been hard to find a paper trail on. What is interesting is Christina is not even listed on the passenger list to New York from Hamburg that the rest of her family is on. At this point, it is unknown if she left before or after them to America, but either way, she got here! I will need to review a few census records and her death record to see what it states as how long she'd been in America.

There is little known of Christina's childhood in the Ukraine. Her parents were also German's from Russia, so they did not have any Russian in their ethnicity despite being born in that country.

There is a rumor (unconfirmed) that Christina met her future husband, Jacob Herr Jr, at the Chicago World's Fair (aka World's Columbian Exhibition)  in 1893. If this were true, it would seem to make sense, as they were married and had their first child by 1896 and this would have given them enough time to meet one another and have a formal courtship, although both were very young. Even if this is not how they met, it is a little romantic to think that's how it happened!

The photo below is the youngest photo we have of both Jacob and Christina Herr from about 1896-1897, holding their first born, Lydia Herr (my great grandmother). Christina's clothing is very practical. It's a dress, but it's hard to place of what time frame. It is embellished with lace at the top and a brooch in the center of the neck. She is also wearing earrings. She has an interesting looking belt across her dress which is hard to make out why she has it, but it could be for maybe an expanding belly and she could have been pregnant with her next child when this photo was taken.

Jacob Jr. once asked Christina if she'd like to go back home to visit family in Russia by boat, and she said "No". The ship she was on when coming to America (around the age of 13) made her so sick because it rocked back and forth so much, she said. They had to be at the bottom of the ship, in the steerage area.

Christina and Jacob would continue to have 12 more children, until the last one was born in 1921. Seen below, Christina is holding her first granddaughter Doris (Lydia's first born), with her own two younger sons Soloman and Orville Herr in 1916. In this photo, her hair appears to be a light brown. Her clothing had style looks different in this photo and is more befitting of the Edwardian era. It looks like she is wearing a cameo on her neck and that there may be some lace on the neck line of her dress. In this picture, she would have been 40 years old.

This photo is of Christina [Orth] Herr holding her grand-daughter Doris Roehm, circa 1917, However, part of me thinks this photo was taken in the 1920's. She looks older in this picture than the one above. She may actually be holding Lydia's other daughter, Joyce, who would have been about this age in 1920.

Here is another photo of Christina holding her grand-daughter and her grandson is to the right. That may be Alwin Roehm to her right and she may possibly be holding my Grandma Annette, circa 1930-31. Her younger sons would be sitting on top of the car.

Donald Babitzke, Alwin Roehm, Douglas Babitzke, Doris Roehm, Christina [Orth] Herr, Sophie Babitkze, Louise Babitzke, Annette Roehm (dark hair), Izetta Roehm, Hank Wolf and Yvonne Babitzke, circa 1936-37, on the North Dakota Prairie.

Lydia [Herr] Roehm, mother Christina [Orth] Herr, Joyce [Roehm] Wolf, with her daughter Doris Jean Wolf, circa 1938-39 - Wishek, North Dakota.

Izetta Roehm [Purviance], Sophie [Herr] Babitzke, Christina [Orth] Herr and Christ Babitzke in Wishek, where the Babitzkes lived.

Lydia [Herr Roehm] Murphy with her mother, Christina [Orth] Herr, inside Sophie and Christ Babitzke's home in Wishek, ND, circa 1959-60.

One of Christina's last photographs, circa 1961-63, in Wishek, ND.

Christina died on October 1st, 1966, just a little over a month shy of turning 90. Before she died, she lived with her youngest daughter, Sophie Babitzke. 

Christina, I hope you had a wonderful birthday! 

Throwback Thursday - Then and Now

Ida Roehm - My Great, Great Aunt (2nd Great Aunt)

Ida Roehm was my Great Grandfather's sister, She was born August 15th, 1890 and married Ezra Bastien in 1925. It appears they did not have children. She lived in Illinois most of her adult life until she passed away in 1987. 

Here are two photos from when Ida was young and one photo when she was much older. I cannot locate any of her between this time. However, I hope to find some photos of her when she was more middle-aged. My Grandma said she was a nice lady. I will have to find out more about Ida. I'd like to keep her memory alive. 

 Ida Roehm in Wishek with a cat and her dog. This appears to be where her brother (my great grandfather, George) and his wife (Lydia Herr), lived. This was likely taken sometime between 1915-1920.

Ida Roehm, Lydia [Herr] Roehm and a friend, showing off the men's hunt for the day, circa 1920-21. 

Lydia [Herr] Roehm Murphy with her sister-in-law, Ida Roehm Bastien, in Illinois, circa 1981.

Thankful Thursday - The Ranch

Today, I honor the ranch that has brought our family together over the last near 70 years and has given us grandkids, great grandkids and now great-great grandkids countless and unforgettable memories of hiking the beautiful hills, dunking our feet into the cool creek waters during the late Spring months, playing baseball on the property land, perusing the old chicken coops and barns, and many more wonderful memories- this was and still is - the Murphy Ranch in Brentwood, CA.

This beautiful land was inherited into our family when my Great Grandmother, Lydia Roehm, remarried in 1950 to William "Bill" Murphy, a few years after her first husband, George Roehm, had passed away in 1948. Bill had never married up until this point. My Grandmother has told me that Bill met Lydia at a dance hall in Oakland.

Bill Murphy was living with his mother in Oakland at the time of meeting Lydia. The Murphy's still owned their large family home in downtown Brentwood and also many acres of land on the outer skirts of Brentwood, which was being shared between Bill and his siblings. Bill owned the portion that had many of the almond trees, the barns and the creek running behind the nice little valley, with an old tannery building made of stone across the creek-  it once had a wood door and roof, which has since caved in and has now been overrun with cottontail bunnies.

Here is a little photographic tribute with narration:

The Murphy children, Arthur, Katie, William and Esther Murphy, circa 1900

Esther Murphy, circa 1903-04, age 8-9

Katie (age 13-14) and Esther Murphy, circa 1903-04

 Katie Murphy with possibly younger sister, Esther, circa 1898-1899 

Esther Murphy in front of Murpy Home, circa 1896-1897

Mrs. (Christiana Braun &) William Murphy, circa  mid-1880's, San Jose, CA.

Christiana Braun was from a well-to family from San Jose, CA. She graduated High School and also went to college - a rarity for women in her time. 

  

Here is Bill Murphy as a young boy, a teen and a little older as a young man, in the late 1890's through the early 1900s. (click on each picture to enlarge)

Bill Murphy as a teenager, about 14-15 years old, circa 1906-1907

Bill Murphy entered the fight in World War I, and fought for his country, as seen below.

My grandmother, mother, Aunt Penny, Uncle Terry (on horse), Aunt Diane and Grandfather, with my Grandma's youngest brother, Jimmy Roehm, on the Murphy Ranch almond tree orchard, circa 1955.

My Aunt Diane and Penny, uncle Terry, Bill and Lydia Murphy, Joyce Wolf with son and Jimmy Roehm, at Bill and Lydia's home on the Ranch, built in 1951 by my grandfather and my Grandma's brothers. This picture is from around 1959-1960.

A family gathering on the ranch, with hills in the background. My mother is the little girl next to her Aunt Doris who was in a wheelchair - Lydia is kneeling down to the right of Doris, and my Grandma and grandpa are next to Lydia, circa 1955-56.

Same family gathering, circa 1955-56 (Bill Murphy is man standing, back row, 4th from left)

Same family gathering, circa 1955-56 (Aunt Diane in front, pretending to a take a picture)

Murphy home being built, circa 1950-51 (It still stands today)

My cousin Ross Jr. (Izetta and Ross Sr's son), circa early 1958-59, age 15-16, standing on a foggy day in an almond orchard.

Althought not a photo of the ranch, this is a photo of Bill and Lydia together with my Aunts Diane and Penny, with a family member, circa 1956-57

Some years later, my grandfather Vibert, being caught on camera on a typical sunny day at the ranch, circa 1993.

My cousin Melissa with my grandparent's dog, Bozo, along the banks of Marsh Creek, circa 1993.

My cousin Tiffany poses for her mother on the ranch, near Marsh creek, on a lovely Spring or Fall day (our Summers never have grassy fields - by the time late May/early June arrive, our green fields have turned golden brown.

Aerial views of the ranch in the 1980's

Second part of the aerial view, 1980s

My Uncle using a very old tractor to till the land, circa 2014

Springtime at the ranch, circa 2013

Surprisingly, this is sometime in November, as California hadn't had hardly any rain in months, and the earth was very dry and parched, circa 2014.

 Such a difference - 1st barn photo was taken in October of 2014, and the 2nd barn photo was taken in April of 2014. California only really has two seasons - Hot and Dry and Wet and Green

And, taken from Marsh Creek, a view of the hills up against the creek and land, as driving into the driveway, the beauty never ceases to amaze me with each visit, circa 2014.

This land is truly a treasure and I will do everything I can to try and keep it in our family during my lifetime, maybe even getting to live out here and experience life on a ranch someday. Who knows! This is the one place I can still come back to and feel like time has stood still. I no longer have my childhood homes to return to, so to me, this is home - our one last surviving home in our whole family that remains a constant.

I feel so fortunate that we've inherited this land and each time I drive up to it, I feel luckier and luckier.

Workday Wednesday - Great Grandpa George Roehm, circa 1915-1916

Great Grandfather George Roehm was a carpenter. He built homes, barns, commercial buildings and various other things. He built the home that he and my Great Grandmother lived in and also in which my Grandma was born and raised in. Here he is, captured by his wife, Lydia, who was the photographer in the family.