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{ Category Archives } Stallforth/Risse

This catagory works for stories about the generation of Papsi and the childhoods of Dita and Gumma

X-Ray found in file

My brother gave me this x-ray to add to the family archives. It is labeled in pencil, “Schrpwunde,” which I have taken to be an abbreviation of ‘Schrapnellwunde.’ If you look carefully, you will see a dense lump at the base of the brain and top of the spine. I showed it to my dentist […]

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Stallforth Brothers and Sisters 1946-1964

I read a file of family letters yesterday. The title of the folder in looping handwriting is “Stallforth Sisters and Brothers.” The letters (about 50) run from 25 May 1945 to June 1949 with one coda written in August 1964. These are my first impressions after leafing through the letters, which are in English, German, […]

Elephants in Africa

Gumma said that one of Papsi’s brothers — Erich, I think — I’ll look in the files to find out for sure — had difficulty establishing himself.  Gumma remembers that he and his family went to South Africa to start a plantation in the bush.  Her uncle went on a hunting trip and was gone […]

I found this card with my grandmother’s handwriting  in a stack of photographs from the 1980s — Woodstock, NY to Anna Maria, FL.  The green 3 x 5″ card with loopy handwriting, is typical of Gioja’s filing.   What these particular odds and ends had in common, I do not know.  The card seems an appropriate image […]

Adie (Estebena Risse)

Adie was Estebena Risse, our great, great aunt.  She was Anita Risse’s sister – twin, I believe.  She brought up Gumma and Dita after their mother died.  They called her ‘Adie Dear,’  and she had been an intimate member of their household since their births.  Both Adie and her sister died of stomach cancer not too […]

Documents in Mary’s Archive

It occurs to me that I have a lot of information about the family in my head to go along with all the letters and photographs that I have snagged from the various house cleanings out that I have helped with over the years. I’ve been snagging things for years. And Gumma snagged things before […]

Stallforth Family Chronology 1912-1941

Timeline for Stallforth Risse Saga   Bernhard Stallforth born 1842 in Hertford, Germany; died 1893 in Chicago, IL   1910-1920 Mexican Revolution Stallforth Family in Mexico from 1870-1912 – Alberto (Papsi’s brother) was there through the 1920s.    1912    (May 20)  letter from Anita to Papsi from The Miramar, Santa Barbara, CA 1912    Female members […]

Gumma Said

Gumma said that when she was born her mother held her up in the rain (does it ever rain in El Paso, Texas?) and named her Gioja. This was just one of the many ways she was different from her very extraordinary sister, Dita. Her sister, Anita Estebana Cecilia etc., had seven names, seven attendant godmothers, […]

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