Walking Down Memory Lane

We interrupt 2013 to take a stroll through the past. The idea for this blog started out small. I was doing some cleaning in my basement and found this!

And this!

This first is a check belonging to my grandfather!  My grandfather died in 1968!  And yet a check (or two) of his was just lying around my basement. The second picture is my grandmother and some man and looks quite scandalous! I know nothing more of the story.

My grandmother! I love those sunglasses and the bathing suits!

Anyhow, I was putting these treasures away in a trunk that I received from my great aunt. The trunk is full of family photos. I knew that, what I didn't know is that it is also has some old newspaper articles and lots of letters that my great grandfather wrote to research the family tree (it seems in the late 1800s/early 1900s this exploration wasn't as easy as an internet search - how is this possible?  Did they not have Ancestry.com then??).

Anyhow, I digress. I found these!!!

86 years ago, on April 30, 1927, my great grandfather Earle Barnett Chinn died. 86 years ago today, he went into the hospital! I remember once asking my great aunt how her father died and she said that he went in for some type of operation (I think digestion related maybe?) and that he died when they operated on him. These articles say that he caught pneumonia when he went into the hospital for something else. And get this, I know Seattle was a much smaller city at the time, but his death made the front page of both the Seattle Daily Times and the Seattle Star. My grandfather moved to seattle in 1900  (yes that makes me 3rd generation!) and was part of the lumber industry. Unfortunately, not the part of the lumber industry that produced multi millionaires.

On other news of lost fortune opportunities, there was also a copy of the Chicago Times-Herald dated (get this!!) February 13, 1898! The headline is 'Possible Heirs to Hundred of Millions Found in Chicago'. An estate estimated at $100,000,000 - $200,000,000 (that's millions baby, and millions in 1898 money) was looking for heirs. It was the estate of Joseph Ball, cousin of George Washington (as in the president) and 'member of the family' of George's mom Mary Ball Washington. Not sure what 'member of the family' means, but who ever saved the article thought we were 'members of the family'. There is also included with that article a family tree starting with a John Chinn who came from England in 1662. It looks like one of his kids (Raleigh Chinn) married Esther Ball who happened to be the SISTER OF MARY BALL. HELLO!!!!! Where are my millions. This Chinn tree eventually produced my grandmother Helen Chinn (see naked lady in the drink glass above). This sounds like a lost opportunity if I have ever heard one.

And in case any of you have not been thrilled by my walk down Chinn family history lane, I will leave you with pictures of moi!

This was me on April 27, 1965. Yes, the day I was born (and yes, tomorrow is my birthday). And yes, you now know how old I am!  The card says 'girl carlson' and I weighed 7 pound 11 ounces. That is 7 pounds 11 ounces pure CUTE!

High school year book photo. Can I get a whoop whoop -  and a shout out for the cool argyle vest and lack of big poofy hair!

Another school photo. I don't know when this one was taken, maybe 5th or 6th grade? I love the shirt sweater combo. I was way stylie!  Notice how straight my hair was.

Anyhow, we might be exploring the trunk more fully later, but I'll leave you to ponder these gems for now.