Dare to Air Your Ancestor's Dirty Laundry
What do you do when you discover that one of your ancestors had an embarrassing past and is not the type of person with which you are proud to share DNA?
Do you sweep his or her past under the rug, leaving only a name and date for public display? Do you keep the family secrets buried along with your disgraceful ancestor?
You could do that… or celebrate their eccentricities and shortcomings!
In my previous blog, I heard the audible gasp from family members when I dared to mention DORA. Dora stories are legendary! Keep reading and you’ll find out why.
Today we are shedding any trace of family shame and parading our loved one’s peculiarities and unsavory characteristics. We all have a colorful character or two in our family tree and by the end of this blog you will be searching feverishly for more. Let’s face it, we do our family research for the STORIES.
It is important that we do NOT hold our ancestors to the same moral code of today. It is impossible for us to understand all the circumstances of the day which drove our families to make the decisions they felt compelled to make.
With that being said, the day is finally here!
I’d like you to meet Dora.
Dora the Distracted, an Alsatian immigrant and shrewd businesswoman who bounced from bar to bar on Louisville Market days with her money tucked tightly in the bun of her hair, died 30 Aug 1903 at home in Louisville, Kentucky. She was 66.
Why “Dora the Distracted? Well, she was often distracted by her love for intoxicating liquors… which was legendary! Generations later, those were the ONLY stories which were passed down.
My quest to learn about the life of my great-great-granduncle and aunt, Jacob and Dora Hahn Roederer, didn’t begin until 85 years after Dora’s death and over 100 years after Jacob’s.
With 11 of the 13 children living to maturity and producing 72 grandchildren, there were lots of descendants to contact.
The first Dora descendant I contacted shared this treasured 1870’s picture of Dora and Jacob and proceeded to tell me the infamous “Dora Story”. It goes something like this…
“Dora was a big drinker! She would go downtown to market, sell her produce and hit the bars before heading home. It was not unusual for Dora to get so drunk; she’d pass out. A saloon patron would put her in her wagon and signal the horses to take her home. When she regained consciousness, she realized her money was gone! This prompted her to secure her cash… by wrapping it up tightly in the bun of her hair.”
Interesting and amusing story, I thought, but I chalked it up to one of those embellished family tales that gets more exaggerated with each rendition.
I reached out to another 4th cousin descendant from the Jacob/Dora line, and I heard the same story, nearly verbatim. These two cousins were unaware of each other, yet this was all they knew of Dora.
Hmmm, could there be some truth in these less-than-flattering recollections?
I found another descendant who was clueless of the other two cousins. Again, as soon as Dora’s name is mentioned, out comes the drunk… money… hair tale.
GAME ON! I now am compelled to learn more about this woman!
I HAVE to know that there is more to Dora than her drunken antics that have tarnished her reputation for generations.
Getting to know Dora
Dora, whose real name is Dorothea Hahn, born in Brumath, France in 1837, came to this country at age 15, along with her mother and four siblings.
The family settled in Louisville, Kentucky where she met Jacob Roederer, a German farmer from Diersburg, Germany. A month shy of turning 19, she and Jacob married and immediately started their family. Dora got quite the surprise when 10 months after their wedding she gave birth to twins!
During the prime of her life in 1874, Dora was involved in a terrible accident. She was delivering vegetables to a grocer when a runaway team was headed straight for her. Her horse lurched and threw her right into the path of the team pulling a beer cart.
[I know what you’re thinking – how ironic
The wheels of the cart ran over her stomach, causing serious internal injuries and multiple contusions. The Courier Journal reported, “She was picked up in a senseless condition” and it was unknown if she would survive.
Despite the odds, Dora DID survive and even thrived for nearly 30 more years!
Could this accident be the reason for the 6-year gap between her 11th and 12th child?
Dora experienced multiple tragedies. Her eighth child lived only a few months and she became a widow at 42. Eight years later, her 9-year-old son died of “convulsions”.
Despite these hardships and heartaches, Dora prospered and successfully maintained the large landholdings her husband had acquired. She died with a sizeable estate and many of her children and grandchildren prospered as well.
Are you betraying the family by airing family’s dirty laundry?
If you air an ancestor’s dirty laundry, are you betraying the family? Are you tarnishing your family’s good name?
In my next blog, I’ll share the positive outcomes of airing your ancestors’ dirty little secrets. You’ll soon be celebrating those colorful, eccentric and misunderstood characters you’ve kept hidden in your tree… or under the rug.
Before I go…
One more brief Dora story!
Dora left home for market one day in the pouring rain. The family became worried when day turned to night and Dora hadn’t come home. A search party was launched. Halfway between home and the market lies Tyler Park.
And that’s where they found Dora in the pouring rain, standing outside of her wagon holding her umbrella… over her horse’s head, instead of her own.
Dora’s admirable qualities – search and ye shall find
I recently spent several days doing a deep dive into researching Dora’s life. I looked at my research with a new set of eyes… eyes focused on finding the admirable and note-worthy aspects of her life.
I’m thrilled to report that I found several things about Dora which would make any family member proud. I’ll share my findings and MORE next month when I discuss the Positive Outcomes of Airing Your Ancestor’s Dirty Laundry.
May all your connections be happy ones!
Rhonda