Ancestors on my mothers side

When you are young you really don't give much thought to your ancestors.  The older I get the more I think about my family lineage and where I came from.  I wouldn't have life without them.  I'm bound to them.  I come from them, they are all present in my body and my DNA.

Even though I can't hear their voices, I can see the pain and joy in their eyes in these pictures.

This picture is my moms Grandpa Charles Henry Frederick Gartner as a little boy with his mother Elizabeth (Dahl) Gartner and his father Henry Maxmillion Gartner.  They are my moms maternal family.   

This picture is my great - great grandpa Henry Maxmillion Gartner.  I learned a fun fact that we share the same birthday! I'm sure he was a great guy based on that fact alone!

This is my Great Grandparents Eva (Johnson) and George William Butts II.  They are my moms paternal family.  They lived in the family farm in Johnstown, Ohio on County Line Rd.  Little did I know my life would take me to Johnstown to live for almost 13 years. They had 12 babies! Can you imagine? The picture below was the house they raised all those babies in.

When all the kids lived here they didn't have water inside or a bathroom.  They had to climb a fence and go through the pig pin to get to the outhouse.  If they wanted water they had to go outside and hand pump the well.  I will never complain again! It gives me a lot of insight on my Grandpa and why he was the way he was.  He was a very hard working man that never graduated from high school.  He did very well for himself!  He told me I should work hard, save my money and buy my house with cash. That's how he did it! He bought rental properties with cash too.  For a man with an 8th grade (school) education he was extremely smart with his money!  He retired from B & O Railroad and I am so glad he got to meet my three children! We lost him too soon but don't we always feel that way when we have to say goodbye to loved ones?

This is one of my moms uncles.  She has lots of stories about him.  This is Alvin and he fought in WWII and was a Merchant Marine.

This is my Grandpa John Butts with my mom and Alvin. Such a cute picture.

It's heartbreaking that Alvin took his own life.  I look at these pictures and he seems happy and was very good to my mom.  He left behind a wife and a son. You never know what people are dealing with on the inside. I'm sure the war took it's toll on him but sadly will never really know what happened. I'm grateful for his service as well as many of my other great Uncles. 

This is my beautiful, fun and hardworking mother as a happy little baby.

This picture is my Grandpa Butts and Grandma Carlotta.  Sadly Grandma died at the young age of 33 (same age her mother was when she died). I have only visited her at her gravesite but have always felt connected to her.  She was pregnant when she passed away which made her passing even more painful. 

I have so many pictures, articles, letters and information to see that were left and passed down through the generations on both my parents sides of the families.  I Feel a sense of responsibility to honor them and keep their memories alive.  It's important to pass down this information so the young ones coming up understand where they come from.  We owe our ancestors our lives for without them we wouldn't have life!