My zeal for tracing ancestors started with this man, my grandfather. I never knew him. He died years before I was born. Family stories painted the picture of an intelligent, talented, yet enigmatic man. I wanted to know more...and thus started a decades-long love affair with genealogy.
I still don't know where he was born! It was December 30, 1865, but "somewhere in Ohio" is the sum total of the fruits of my labor. Perhaps it was somewhere near Alliance where his parents, Zadok Sherpy [anglicized] and Amy Miller Sherpy attended college to become teachers. Who knows? I do know that I will never stop searching, and herein lies the draw of genealogy--it is truly the thrill of the hunt! I know the solution to the mystery is just around the next bend, so I will stay the course.
NOTE: Allen Miller Charpier is the great grandson of William Miller and Rebecca Bradford Miller. In 1904, he married my grandmother, Elfrieda Nowotny, in New Braunfels, Comal County, Texas. He was the school teacher... she was one of his pupils. Their son, William Travis Charpier, is my beloved father.
I love this picture!
ReplyDeleteMy great grandmother's parents! What a treasure to see this picture! Allen's violin hangs on the wall in my aunt's sitting room. Thank you so much for sharing this.
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