Ada Hampy (1894–1981) is my paternal grandmother’s sister. Ada had a successful career in accounting and business, and was much admired by her family.
Aunt Ada taught me how to tie my shoes. Ada also taught me that cottage cheese could be seasoned—with either salt and pepper or sugar (both delicious, of course).
When I was in high school, Aunt Ada showed me our family Bible, printed in 1867 in Old German Script. She entrusted me with that Bible, sparking my lifelong interest in genealogy and family history.
Ada never married but did her best to keep track of the children of her seven brothers and sisters. In 1968, at the request of her nieces and nephews, she took her best shot at compiling a family tree. Recently, I came across the letter she sent along with the copies of her tree.
She is quite clear that she has not included the recipients’ grand children and great grand children but she does not that she has received a number of birth announcements. She then offers this incredibly valuable tip:
A suggestion to your families, when a new member arrives, put on the Birth Announcements the year, as well as the day of the month. This might help anyone wishing to continue with this family record.
I can’t help but think that Ada was a bit put out with her nieces and nephews who didn’t seem to be able to share information with each other but relied on her to document the Hampy family.