It was nice to see so many of my Neill, Trautvetter, and Rampley cousins at the very first of this year--the only problem was that it took my uncle's funeral to do it. Many people I had not seen since the death of my Grandma Neill (Ida Trautvetter) in 1994. I always like to get to Carthage and Hancock County. Another relative who left the county told me once that if you are born in Hancock County, you never really leave.
I was surprised to learn that a few of my cousins visit this website on a somewhat regular basis (Hello Pat!). I will have to be careful what I post from now on (grin!).
I think on at least two occasions, I discussed (from memory) how old the Neill siblings (children of Charlie and Fannie [Rampley] Neill) were when they died. For those who are interested.
Cecil 1903-1968--aged 65.
Ralph 1905-1986--aged 80.
Nellie 1910-2001--aged 91.
Herschel 1912-1990--aged 77.
I had never really given it too much thought until I was asked about it.
I remember them all except for Grandpa who died first when I was too small to remember anything. They didn't talk much about the "old days," mainly because times were hard and they didn't have too much. Aunt Nellie told me once that when she was starting college, Grandpa sold some hoghouses he had built and gave her the money to help with her tuition bill. It's a short, one sentence story, but it's still a good one to have.
