Roma Clara Josephine Rasa Siegel (1909-1988) was my maternal grandmother. She passed away when I was a senior in high school but has nevertheless remained a presence in my life for a number of reasons. The biggest reason, perhaps, is that I’m fascinated with her life story.
Although he was born Lewis Arthur Mothersbaugh (1875-1941), our family knew him affectionately as “Uncle Bud.” Bud was married to my great-grand aunt, Maria Magdalena Raiffeisen. I never had the chance to meet him but I have gotten to know him through his own words written in a diary and letters he sent home when he served in the U.S. Marine Corps. This is the beginning of our shared story…
Genealogy is so much more than family trees, records and dates. People’s lives are shaped by the events of their time. One such event is the Spanish Influenza Pandemic. This post is the first of many on the influenza pandemic 1918-1920.
See my lecture at the National World War One Memorial & Museum in Kansas City, MO on the 1918 Influenza Pandemic. Hear how the illness affected the war and the …
National World War I Musuem Lecture on the 1918 Influenza Pandemic Read More »
I have researched several buildings at Fort Leavenworth, two of the most interesting are the Post Chapel and the Interurban Trolley Depot.