What instruments did your ancestors play?

I am blessed: my great-grandmother's family left behind a number of instruments that they played - a mandolin, a banjo (an 1889 Fairbanks & Cole parlor banjo that I recently had refurbished), and a violin. When I wanted to learn guitar, my mother took me to the attic to show me these instruments (point of information: never store instruments in the attic unless it is climate-controlled), along with her ukulele from her youth. I selected that one, but later dabbled with the mandolin and learned the banjo. When I play the mandolin & banjo I think about my great-grandmother and her music background (she was raised in a family where there was a conservatory in which the family entertained and enjoyed music events). Maybe it's hereditary.

I was talking to my friend, Diane Wright, about knowing what musical instruments were in the family and she shared the following with me about her own grandfather:
How great to have the photos of George's instruments. If you don't have the instruments of photos of them, you might still be able to learn what instruments your ancestors played by checking the tax lists and/or estate inventories. Because music can be very personal to people, their instruments are also likely to have been cherished elements of their lives, so learning about them may cause us to feel that much closer to these special people.

If you have a story about your ancestors' musical background & would like me to share it here, send it along (especially welcome are photos of old instruments . . . and even more welcome if they are shown in the hands of the musicians).

Best wishes in your roots pursuits!

Wordless Wednesday, 2 September 2009 - The Hollander girls

Mamie & Emma Hollander, Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Tombstone Tuesday, 1 September 2009 - Aunt Mamie

Mary Eva Hollander was christened Maria Eva, named for her paternal aunt, Maria Eva Hollaender Meyer (from Edesheim, Bavaria, Germany). She never married. Throughout her life she knew many suitors, but none was good enough (but she always kept the jewelry they gave her). Instead, she devoted her life to taking care of her parents and handling the family business - Hollander's Human Hair Emporium. She and her older sister, Emma, were inseparable in their younger years and then, again, after Emma's husband died. Mary Eva, known as Mamie to her friends and family, was close to Emma's daughter and her family and I remember Aunt Mamie as being one of the people who was a major character in my growing up. I still remember her listening to her beloved Milwaukee Braves (radio broadcasts of the games) and enjoying a beer (one of Milwaukee's products, of course).

b: 12 December 1877, Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (christened in St. Mary's Catholic Church, 10 February 1878, Milwaukee; Mary Eva Hollaender Meyer was her godmother) and d: 28 August 1964, Wauwatosa, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (buried in Forest Home Cemetery, 8 September 1964, Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin).