[1] Midge (Grace) Stone Iveson was a member of a railroad family.
Midge Stone Iveson, Lillian Snodgrass Raber, George Eduard Raber |
Obituary for Midge Stone Iveson[34] |
Tomb for Charles & Midge Iveson and their daughter Charlene Miles Mt. View Cemetery, San Bernardino, California |
- My maternal grandmother, Midge "Grace" Stone Iveson, was a remarkable woman for many reasons. She was a seven-month premi- in a day when children were not expected to survive. For that reason she was never given a name, and was christened Midge, for midget. After her birth, she was placed in a shoebox lined with cotton, and later was placed into a cabinet drawer. Her head was so small it fit into a tea cup. And although she had many things stacked against her, she was tough and survived into adult hood and died at age 86, going on 87.
- In grade school, her teacher would not accept "Midge" as a proper given name, so my grandmother named herself "Grace." She never used that name except on official documentation. When my grandmother retired, I recall she had two of her sisters verify her date of birth for Social Security, because she had no birth certificate. Many children born in that day had no birth certificates, because most were born at home.
- My grandmother was born in White Cloud, Kansas. She always believed she was born in Kansas when it was still a territory. However, it had statehood many years before she was born. The family later moved to St. Joseph, Missouri. She grew up there and was about 22 years old when she moved with her family to Southern California.
The Name of the Scots-Irish Rose
- I would like to return to the subject of my grandmother's name. One name that was given to her, was the name I gave her. In infancy, I named her Gommy, because I could not lisp the title, Grandmother. This was the name she went by in our very close-knit family group. Even my boyfriend - later - husband fancied the name, and used it when he spoke of his own grandmother. Later, toward the end of my grandmother's days, she told me she might forget all of the names she had carried during her lifetime, but she would never forget the name I had given her: Gommy. Looking back now, I ponder the peculiarity of her words. But it may be grounded in her strong Baptist faith in God. My name for her was the only name she cared to take with her into eternity.
Gathering on Memories
- I have to carefully gather my thoughts upon other stories my grandmother told us. What probably happened in childhood, my grandmother talked about the farm her family owned, and bringing in the cows each night. She would scramble up on the back of the lead cow, the one that wore a bell, and lead the herd home. At another time, my grandmother got caught in some barbed wire and still had the scars to prove it.
- This third story, I have to be careful, as it later played out in time. My grandmother was riding a bike. I don’t know exactly when she was taken with a pain in her side. But she must have been suffering the pain while riding her bike. Whether it was a freak accident, or just blacking out from the pain, she fell head over heels onto the dirt road. Her parents were called, and she was taken home. They may have had a doctor come to see her. Short story, she was unconscious for three days.
- This is where the story gets stranger. In her mid- to late-fifties, her doctor told her she would have to have a full hysterectomy. But when in the midst of the surgery, the doctor discovered many of my grandmother's organs were grown together with a material that turned out to be from an old burst appendix. It was from the time of her bike accident when she was unconscious for those three days. I tell you, my grandmother was amazing for many reasons. It is a wonder she made it through childhood!
Dance the Night Away
Midge Stone Iveson and Lillian Snodgrass Raber:
My two grandmothers
- My grandmother lived in the day of dance: the Flapper Era. We have some family pictures with her wearing her Flapper dress (Unfortunately, I just can't get a grasp on them yet -- my sister has all the family photos).
- Gommy told us stories about traveling miles and miles just to dance the night away. Her generation did not think anything of it, or that it might be extraordinary. But think of it! First traveling half-way across the continent by rail to California, then driving in rickety old Model-T cars, on roads little more than jackrabbit trails -- just to dance! OMG!
- One weekend they would go to San Diego, the next, Los Angeles, or any of the other towns in Southern California. And she loved music. Later she confided in us, her grandchildren, that she was born too early. She wished she had been born in our age, the Age of Rock-and-Roll, the Beatles, and all the other music-storms that shook the world in the 1960s and 1970s. But through her we knew all of the music she had loved from her youth. In my estimation, I don't think she was mis-born in an earlier age, because we benefited so much by her experience. She died over 40 years ago, and every day I miss her more and more.
On Liberty’s Shore
- The following is an excerpt from a book on the Iveson Family, my mother’s own words regarding her mother, my Gommy:
- “Grace Stone was born prematurely on 29th of July, 1895, and wasn’t expected to live. She was swaddled in cotton and placed in a grape basket at the back of a wood stove to keep her warm. She wasn’t actually named, but was called The Midget, which soon became her name, Midge.
- “When she went to school the teacher told her Midge wasn’t a proper name, so she named herself Grace. Oh, and yes the place was White Cloud, Kansas. She was one of 8 children, 5 girls and 3 boys, Her father, William Sherman Stone worked the railroads all over the mid-west. They lived in St. Joseph (St. Joe) and Kansas City, Missouri, as well as El Reno, Oklahoma (when it was still Indian territory). The 3 boys were the youngest, 2 of which were in WWI (World War I). One daughter, Nelly Bly, had come to California for her health (asthma) and family liked what she had to report. So, my wonderful grandmother Susie Alys Peace Stone told her servicemen boys that when they got discharged from the service they could come hone to California, and that’s what they did. My grandfather went to work in the Santa Fe yards in San Bernardino. A son, Robert worked there as well.
- “My mother worked as a bookkeeper in various businesses. When working at the banks she mostly worked as a bookkeeper in customer accounts. In WWII (World War II) she went back to work at a bomb plant right after my father died. Her employer, the Western Holly Stove Company put their effort into the war by operating an incendiary bomb plant.
- “There was no heat in the warehouses and nobody could wear anything metal (not hair pins, nails in heels of shoes, etc.). One evening I watched one of the buildings blow up while we were visiting friends. My mother called her boss to report it. It turned out that there was no loss of life, because there wasn’t a night shift. She had several more jobs during the war years, one of which was keeping supply records at Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino, California. Before she retired she worked at a beer distributor as a bookkeeper and also at a Firestone Tire Store. ~ As recounted by Charlene Iveson Miles.” (On Liberty’s Shore, by Brad Hess, page 88, lulu.com)
My Grandmother Screaming for Lesley
- When my sister, Lesley, was about five years old, we lived on a nice, quiet street. Especially, in the summer, we would not see her from sun up to sun down, as she was playing with friends in the neighborhood. Leave it to say, our grandmother, Midge Iveson, would invariably stand out in front of the house yelling, "Les---ley!" over and over until she saw she was coming. Usually, Lesley would not hear her, (playing indoors, of course) and her friends' family would tell her, "Lesley, your grandmother wants you." She would then scurry home for dinner. (22 Feb 2021).
COVID-19 & the Spanish Flu
- As COVID-19 appeared in late 2019, there was more conversations and articles on the Spanish Flu Pandemic in the early 1900s. I began to wonder about my grandmother's family and how they endured. But more importantly, I wondered why my grandmother, nor her brother, Fred Stone, never spoke about it. Fred fought in World War I France. He would most assuredly have been exposed to it. But there was never a word about it. I can only surmise that Fred passed it off as just another flu, and by then, the family had moved to Southern California. California was more sparsely populated at that time, and they may have been spared much of the pandemic. (22 Feb 2021)
My Grandmother Meets Her Uncle
- See Thomas K, Stone for my story about my grandmother and her father's brother.
San Bernardino
The Arrowhead Landmark
- One of the most famous landmarks in the Inland Empire (Southern California) is the Arrowhead. Located in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains directly above the City of San Bernardino, the Arrowhead can be seen for miles around. This important landmark has for centuries been a symbol of the San Bernardino Valley to the Native Indians [1] and then to the pioneers and settlers that followed. The Arrowhead is 1,375 feet in length and 449 feet in width. Though the outline is so perfect, it may appear to be man-made or artificial; the phenomenon is, in fact, natural. The face of the Arrowhead consists of light quartz, supporting a growth of short white sage. This lighter vegetation shows in sharp contrast to the surrounding chaparral and greasewood.
- Many legends exist about the Arrowhead. The most ancient legend, perhaps, is one handed down from the Indians [2]. The story goes that the Great Spirit had an arrow, which, like the Israelite's Pillar of Fire, was to guide them to the spot where they were to live. The Great Spirit having selected the place, fixed the arrow to mark it forever.
- It has been said the Native Americans [3] who inhabited the San Bernardino Valley believed the Arrowhead pointed the way to the hot springs below, with healing qualities, and thus considered it holy ground. Through the years, numerous forest fires have caused some erosion. However, the Arrowhead landmark continues to preserve its uniqueness and remains a symbol of the 'pioneer spirit' of the San Bernardino Valley.The Arrowhead is located in the foothills just north of San Bernardino's Wildwood Park (40th Street and Waterman Avenue). As an aside, and continuation of my family's story, my brother Chris once walked up to the Arrowhead. My brother is not given to speak about spirituality, but he described the place as having a holy feeling, and a peace came over him that he had never felt before.
They're San'tanas, Darn It!
- Living in California all my life, and being third-generation, I know a great deal about Old California, Native American Indian lore, names, and place names. As we were growing up, we were taught the huge yearly winds were called san'tanas, a Native American word meaning devil-winds. But over the years, with the influx of eastern folk and media-hype, the winds were soon re-christened Santa Anas. I have to grit my teeth and stew over those ignorant people that never learned how to correctly pronounce local names. So, I thought to set the record straight in the only way I can - as the Family Historian. Lynden Castle Rodriguez
- Comparing Kit A073602 Lynden Castle Rodriguez and A126156 Marsha (Young) Arnall.
- Minimum threshold size to be included in total = 500 SNPs
- Mismatch-bunching Limit = 250 SNPs
- Minimum segment cM to be included in total = 7.0 cM
- Chr: 17
- Start Location: 68,903,231
- End Location: 78,625,057
- Centimorgans (cM): 27.7
- SNPs: 1,772
- Chr: 20
- Start Location: 11,799
- End Location: 2,959,188
- Centimorgans (cM): 9.9
- SNPs: 858
- Chr: 22
- Start Location: 46,097,341
- End Location: 48,253,935
- Centimorgans (cM): 12.1
- SNPs: 694
- Largest segment = 27.7 cM
- Total of segments > 7 cM = 49.6 cM
- 3 matching segments
- Estimated number of generations to MRCA = 4.1
- 402877 SNPs used for this comparison.
- Comparison took 0.17770 seconds.
- Ver: Apr 23 2017 21:26:52
- Marsha and Lynden are third cousins once removed
- Marsha (Young) Arnall and Lynden (Raber) Rodriguez OCDS are both descendants of Shelton Stone.
- 1. Marsha is the daughter of Shirley Bledsoe [unknown confidence]
- 2. Shirley is the daughter of Bernice Beatrice Wilson [unknown confidence]
- 3. Bernice is the daughter of Martha Elizabeth (Stone) Wilson [unknown confidence]
- 4. Martha is the daughter of Elias Edmond Elisha Stone [unknown confidence]
- 5. E. E. is the son of Shelton Allen Stone [unknown confidence]
- This makes Shelton the third great grandfather of Marsha.
- 1. Lynden is the daughter of Charlene Sue (Iveson) Miles
- 2. Charlene is the daughter of Midge Grace (Stone) Iveson [confident]
- 3. Midge is the daughter of William Sherman Stone [confident]
- 4. William is the son of Shelton Allen Stone [confident]
- This makes Shelton the second great grandfather of Lynden.
- Midge is the grandmother of Lynden (Confident)
- 1. Lynden is the daughter of Charlene Sue (Iveson) Miles
- 2. Charlene is the daughter of Midge Grace (Stone) Iveson [confident]
- This makes Midge the grandmother of Lynden.
- Marsha and Midge are first cousins three times removed
- Marsha (Young) Arnall and Midge (Stone) Iveson are both descendants of Shelton Stone.
- 1. Marsha is the daughter of Shirley Bledsoe [unknown confidence]
- 2. Shirley is the daughter of Bernice Beatrice Wilson [unknown confidence]
- 3. Bernice is the daughter of Martha Elizabeth (Stone) Wilson [unknown confidence]
- 4. Martha is the daughter of Elias Edmond Elisha Stone [unknown confidence]
- 5. E. E. is the son of Shelton Allen Stone [unknown confidence]
- This makes Shelton the third great grandfather of Marsha.
- 1. Midge is the daughter of William Sherman Stone [confident]
- 2. William is the son of Shelton Allen Stone [confident]
- This makes Shelton the grandfather of Midge.
- Relationships are supported by a GEDmatch test match between Lynden Castle Rodriguez GEDmatch A073602 and her third cousin x1 Marsha (Young) Arnall GEDmatch A126156. Their MRCA is Shelton Allen Stone
- Lynden Castle Rodriguez and Marsha (Young) Arnall. Estimated number of generations to MRCA = 4.1, based on sharing 49.6 cM across 3 segments.
Featured German connections: Midge is 20 degrees from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 23 degrees from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 23 degrees from Lucas Cranach, 20 degrees from Stefanie Graf, 23 degrees from Wilhelm Grimm, 23 degrees from Fanny Hensel, 23 degrees from Theodor Heuss, 16 degrees from Alexander Mack, 31 degrees from Carl Miele, 18 degrees from Nathan Rothschild, 22 degrees from Hermann Friedrich Albert von Ihering and 21 degrees from Ferdinand von Zeppelin on our single family tree. Login to see how you relate to 33 million family members.
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