You're kidding, right?

Well it is time to renew my driver's license.  Oregon has changed their requirements.  I have to prove that I am a US citizen.  The old hospital certificate of birth no longer proves anything.  Plus - I have to prove my name change from my birth, such as my wedding certificate.  Both items must be certified by the state.  Interesting, when I got my original license way back in the 70's  don't remember what I used.  Probably the nice certificate that has my little infant footprints on it with the seal from the hospital.

So.......guess what I get to do?  I get to order my own birth certificate from Iowa of all things! And - I get to order my own Marriage Certificate from Oregon as I only have a copy.  When we got married - also in the 70's - my husband and I lived on 10 acres in a little cabin/shack sort of place.  We had a burn pile.  I went to town and burned everything I could think of.  Wrapping papers & ribbons from the wedding - this and that - and of all things my original Marriage Certificate.  Not meaning to of course.  Back then I ordered a copy, so a copy is what I got.  Not certified.  Not good enough!

I suppose it will be nice to have a certified copy of each.  Don't worry - I live in the city and do not have burn piles anymore. It's a good thing.

Tombstone Tuesday - Hell + man = Hellman

I know - when you go to a cemetery you should bring a tool, right? Well I was so excited and shocked that my husband actually wanted to go with me (first time) to the cemetery to find his Gr Grandparents gravestones. It was a beautiful sunny day here in Portland, Oregon and the weather was nice. Not too hot.

After stopping at the cemetery office where the nice young man showed me the exact row and how many gravestones in to find the gravestones for Karl Ludvig Hellman and his wife Fanny we actually had a terrible time finding the gravestone. We quickly realized some are buried together so you need to count two stones. In other words graves. Then Mike, my husband said "there it is"! All you could see was the word "Hell". How weird. It was amazing he actually saw it. It was an unusual gravestone. Oh dear I did not have a tool. So craftily I thought of the ice scraper in my car. The hard shovel part of it might work to get away the dirt and grass covering the man. Mike worked diligently and excitedly to uncover the "man", thus the name Hellman appeared. It looked like maybe a family member got some cement and carved Hellman in it. It was really narrow and about 2 feet wide.

Mike was really excited. I thought - it does not even say his first name! That did not matter to Mike. He thought the stone was really primitive and cool. There was no separate headstone for Karl's wife Fanny. But there was room right next to him where hers should be. I went back to the office to verify the headstone was Karl's (it was) and if they would have any record of Fanny's headstone. They said no.

So here you go!

Karl Ludvig Hellman - Born January 23, 1875 in St. Karins, Finland, Died February 5, 1927 in Portland, Oregon.
Fanny Amanda (Saren) Hellman - Born September 18, 1875 in Finland, Died March 13, 1919 in Portland, Oregon. Both buried in the Rose City Cemetery in Portland, Oregon.

It was really neat that Mike went with me. Now he will probably go with me to see his other Gr Grandparents gravestones, in Vancouver, Washington. I also requested from the office any other records they had to be mailed to me. They said I should receive it within a week. They needed to open the vault. Cool!