Oriole had only her great-grandmother’s illegal name, her birth and death dates, and origin in Germany. To find information about a pioneer women buried in 1903 seemed like an impossible task. Fortunately her descendants had a treasured bundle of German papers and letters that, once translated, gave Oriole a firm foundation on which to build. Through travel, helpful archivists, and other researchers, she uncovered the amazing information contained in her creative non-fiction book, For Elise.
Who was the Mrs. Vane buried in the back corner of Criddle Cemetery? She traveled to Germany several times, visited descendants of Elise’s Uncle Friedrich, and came to appreciate Elise’s heritage.
Oriole traveled and did extensive research which was published in the Alabaster Chronicle. For her initial foray to find her German family press the link. Chips of Alabaster 1 2003
A following years of travel yielded more information about the family.
Chips of Alabaster 2 2004
Oriole great grandfather Percy was reputed to have studied music, law, and medicine from the best universities in Europe. His formal education proved that to be overstated. To see the results of my research press the link. Percy-Education