52Ancestors52Weeks Week 40 Theme: Preservation...............The Burrows and the Hansens Took a Road Trip to Virginia City

     October is National Family History Month! Since October of 2001 families have been encouraged to think about their family histories and origins, and ways to honor them. The theme for this week is preservation.  This prompt got me thinking about how my family has preserved our history in the last several generations, and how we preserve it now.  

   I recently found this photograph in the Bob Hansen Family photo album.  The location of this photograph tells a story, as well as the grouping of family members.  The Burrows and the Hansens were very proud of their family history and the unique connections between Virginia City, Nevada and Grass Valley, California. This was one way they shared and preserved their family history for future generations.  They took a multi-generational road trip........

  This picture was captioned by Alma Goins Hansen, who probably took the picture as well.  She wrote: "Lucy Burrows, Bob, Mother H, Skip, Jack, Dad Hansen, Gay...Geiger Grade Lookout     Road to Virginia City".  Lucy Burrows was the wife of Roy Burrows; they lived in Reno where their 13 year old daughter Gertrude died of appendicitis in 1930 and Roy was in the construction business.  Roy was an older brother of my Great Grandmother, Vere Burrows Hansen (Mother H. in the picture).  Bob and Jack were two of three sons of Vere and John Hansen (Dad Hansen in the photo).  Bob married Alma Goins, and their children were Skip and Gay; they lived in Reno as well where Uncle Bob was also in the construction business.  The John Hansens, as well as Jack Hansen, lived in Grass Valley, as did my Grandfather Harold Hansen, who was not on this particular trip.  So, three generations of family were on this trip exploring family history.  It must have been quite a day!

  I love the candid feel to this picture. I'm not sure what Uncle Jack was thinking of Skip at this particular moment....he was probably worried Skip might go backwards down the steep drop offs that Geiger Grade is famous for!  Uncle Jack probably drove his parents over the hill (over the Sierra Nevada mountains to Reno) in one of his fancy cars, as he loved to buy a new car every year or so. Vere was always very interested in family history and was the family archivist all those years ago.  Her origins were very important to her and she made sure everyone else knew the family history also.  She probably thought you were never too young to get in the car with your family and visit the cemetery. 

  Geiger Grade is the curvy, steep and very scenic 20 mile route from Reno, Nevada up to the mining town of Virginia City, Nevada. The summit sits at 6,889 feet and provides spectacular views of the Truckee Meadows.  My own family has driven that route many, many times to visit the unique mining city, ride the train and wonder about the stories I had heard of family who lived here at one time.  However, quite a bit of detail was lost (to me at least) of the more important details in this narrative.  I was not taken to Virginia City as a young child (that I can remember) and only experienced the area after moving to Reno from Grass Valley as an adult.   I have been rediscovering those details in the last few years and making sure they are preserved beyond just the oral stories and visits to cemeteries.  I too value my family history! 

 

This picture was taken the same day as the above picture.  

    Pictured are Lucy Burrows, Bob Hansen, Jack Hansen, John Hansen and Vere Hansen.  This picture was taken sometime before John Hansen died on April 10, 1945; probably around 1940 and right before Bob and Jack enlisted in the war.   I was glad to see Lucy Crampton Burrows in these pictures.  Her family history revolved around Virginia City, as well (see my post from October 12, 2020 Roy Burrows). She probably provided quite a bit of oral history that added to this trip, as she was born in Virginia City in 1884 and spent her early childhood there.  

  Uncle Bob moved to Reno after his high school graduation from Grass Valley High School in 1926.  He loved exploring the area and probably learned about family history from Uncle Roy and Aunt Lucy.  

Virginia City photo taken around 1930 by Bob Hansen from the Bob Hansen Family Album.  This looks like the view was taken down C Street towards Carson City.  You can see the St. Mary in the Mountains Catholic church steeple on the left in the distance. 

  Even before this particular trip other family members would make a day of it and visit the town and cemetery to remember family buried there.   In fact, I shared this story of another relative, Alta Powers, who had quite the adventure at the cemetery in Virginia City in 1935 when she went to place flowers on Harriet Hurd's grave (see February 20, 2021..How a Weird Tale Solved a Family Mystery).  Unfortunately, this bit of information was not handed down to the next generations as they (and I) had been searching for this particular gravesite for years. Which goes to show, oral history is very, very fragile. 

3 June 1935 Nevada State Journal

Margaret Hansen Boothby (Mom) with Gay Hansen in the photo booth at the Bucket of Blood Saloon in Virginia City, Nevada.  Around 1944-45? Another trip to visit the cemetery, and some new memories made with cousins. 

  I have previously posted quite a bit of history and the results of my research on the Burrows and Hurds who lived and worked on the Comstock during the silver mining boom in the late 1800's.  That part of our family history has never been formally researched or written down up until now. Auntie Claire made a good start by constructing a family tree, back when the internet was just starting to be a  useful tool used by genealogists.  I have been working to flesh the tree out with more research,  organize the many pictures that were saved from this branch of the family, and present it all to my children and other family  members so that it becomes meaningful and personal to their own lives.  That's what preservation means to me. 

  Preserving family history is on on-going and ever-changing process.  My goals are much different than the goals of the family members in the above pictures.  I am continuing the work started by my Auntie Claire who was the "keeper of the stuff" many years ago, and by my Great Grandmother Vere Burrows Hansen who kept everything to begin with (we are so very lucky!).   It seems that now I am the "keeper of the stuff".  So, what do I do with it all?  I am working to digitize,  archive and store all of our  pictures and documents (and there are a lot!) so that my grand children and great grandchildren can enjoy them and wonder about them  as much as I have over the last few years.  I am working to document those few precious cherished items handed down that tell certain stories themselves before they are gone.  I am in the process of doing much more research and writing down family history, as well as the memories and stories of family members who are able to contribute.  And the best part of preserving all this is that I get to share it with family (and friends) through email, texting, blogging and social media.  Those are things that were certainly not available way back when! But, in the end, I would like to change it all back to print form.  Something tangible for future generations.  I am not sure I trust technology!  And who knows where technology will take us in the future?  How will my great grandchildren be documenting my life? Who will be the "keeper of the stuff"? More things to ponder. 

  How do we preserve family history?  In my family, we have honored family members by visiting the towns and places where they lived and the cemeteries where their final resting places are.  We have passed down pictures, cherished items and oral histories.  My personal preservation efforts have utilized even more modern methods with the help of technology.   But, in the end, I still do go visit cemeteries every so often.  When my grandchildren are a little bit older,  we can even all go together.  After all, it is  a family tradition! 

These pictures were taken from a very recent fall visit to the Knights of Pythias Cemetery, located on Nevada Street here in Reno.  It is the final resting place for Lucie A. Burrows, her parents Lena Koehler and Henry Crampton,  and her daughter Gertrude Burrows who died so young.  I hope their stories will not be forgotten. 

  Relationship Reference: Me->Margaret Hansen Boothby (sister Claire Hansen Clark)->Harold Hansen->Vere Burrows Hansen m. John Hansen

Sons of Vere and John Hansen:  Jack, Robley (Bob) and Harold Hansen