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Zimmerman Griffin, FredaJ anc FB221023LH

20221105GHLn-
Larry Herbstritt
Admin
· October 23, 2022 at 4:45 PM
· Four years ago on November 1, 2018 I contacted the person whose DNA match on Gedmatch indicated a Figg connection.
What follows are the email replies I received from Freda J. Zimmerman
Last February Freda passed away and I was given the gift of knowing her daughter, Alice Freist.
If you're a descendant of the Figg ancestry, through our great grandmother, Anna M Essex, you will find a great deal of information from Freda about our shared Figg ancestors.
Hello Emma,
I have noticed a DNA match with you on Family Tree DNA and, recently, I found you on Gedmatch.
It appears our shared common ancestors are John Figg Sr & Elizabeth Mitchell.
I'm confused, however, that the person I apparently match with "Jeanne Theresa Harper (Figg)", passed away in 2012.
I'm curious whose DNA it is that matches with me.
I am attaching a screenshot of the match results given by GEDmatch and screen shots take from my family tree. As you will see, I have two links back to John Figg Sr and Elizabeth Mitchell, which might account for our large cM number.
Best regards,
Larry Herbstritt
Dear Larry Herbstritt,
My mother died in 2012 -- she is the "EMMA" to whom you are referring. I handle her DNA. Mother's grandparents were Charles K. Figg (1862-1944) and Emma C. Huston (various spellings).
Mother's mother, Ruby May Davidson, married Edward O Figg on December 25, 1917 in St. Johns Anglican Parsonage, Unity, Saskatchewan, Canada (Registration of Marriage #4872 - 1917; Government of the Province of Saskatchewan Department of Public Health, Registrar General). Well -- the name he has on the marriage registration is "Eugene O Harper" -- but it turned out he was really Edward O Figg and in addition to having another name, he also had a wife and two daughters, Mother's half-sisters Mildred Ernestine Figg ("Millie" 1904-1958) and Gertrude Marguerite Figg (1906-1995).
I met Mother's older half-sisters in the 1950s and later on, lastly "Aunt Trudy" who came out to visit us from the early 1960s (with her husband, Vern Day) to the 1970s, when my then-husband stayed with her when he was on a trip near Chicago where she lived at that time.
Mother's early records show she was born in Canada and on the 1920 U.S. census the family is listed as living in White Bird, Idaho County, Idaho, Eugene Harper age 4, Ruby Harper age 26, wife; and Emma Harper, daughter, 1-3/11 (sic) years old.
According to the 1921 Census of Canada, the family consists of Eugene A Harper, age 35, born in USA, immigrated to Canada 1914; wife Ruby M Harper age 25; Emma W Harper, daughter, age 2; and Wilda Davidson, mother-in-law age 59. At this time they are living in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. On December 9, 1921 the second child, Edith Oriole Harper ("Aunt Edith" to me) was born.
According to family lore, my grandfather went to Canada to enlist in World War I because he wanted to fight and the U.S. was not yet in the war which became known as The Great War and later as World War I. In any case, he called himself Edward O'Day Harper when he enlisted in the "Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force" on September 26, 1916. On that document he named "next of kin" as "Mildred Figg, 19 S 4th St, Terre Haute, Ind., USA, Sister" and gave his date of birth as March 4, 1884. He claimed that his "Trade or Calling" was "Soldier and Moterman" (sic). Mildred, of course, was raised by his parents, Charles K Figg and Emma C. (Huston) Figg. His other daughter, Gertrude Marguerite Figg (who married Vern Day) was raised by his first mother-in-law and her husband (grandmother and step-grandfather of Gertrude).

In the attestation to Canada (referred to above) he claimed to have been in the USA Coast Artillery for 6 years and for three years in USA Inf.10th.
The location on the form is Camp Hughes, Manitoba. He was discharged as "unfit" after a short time.
I have some ideas as to how Grandma met this man, Eugene Harper a/k/a Edward O Figg, but that's too much to write about.
When he enlisted in the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force, he automatically lost his U.S. citizenship, as did his wife, and my mother was born in Canada.

When the entire family moved back to the U.S.A., he became a U.S. citizen again, and automatically his wife (my grandmother) and his children became U.S. citizens by virtue of his becoming a U.S. citizen again.

Back in the United States, he worked as a salesman, but got into some legal trouble and went to prison. I have his prison records, including parole hearings. Life was very difficult for my grandmother during this time. Various records show various records in Spokane, Washington, USA, where I now live. I do not know how Grandma and her two tiny children survived in Spokane at that time -- there was no daycare, for instance. When Eugene Harper/Edward Figg got out of prison after a couple of years, he couldn't get a job and after only a matter of days, he committed suicide. Mother remembered this vividly, as she was six years old. The suicide was written up in the two Spokane newspapers, and I have copies of those articles.

Grandmother (Ruby May Davidson Harper) took his body back to his parents in Terre Haute, Indiana. She was not welcomed, and her father-in-law put some money in her coat for her which she saw her mother-in-law remove. She took her little girls back to Spokane with her. Grandma never mentioned meeting the first wife, or the older half-sisters to Mother and Aunt Edith, but Charles and Emma Figg had a sad life in many ways. Their only other son, Ira Thurman Figg, died the year before, leaving an unhappy former spouse and three children, Mary Jane Figg (1908-1993), John C Figg (1909-1999) and Emma Elnora Figg (1912-1916).

After that, Mother -- previously known as Emma -- was called Jeanne (after Eugene Harper) Theresa Harper. In fact, I was shocked to learn she had once been "Emma", but found out accidentally one time when I found her baby pictures and pictures as a toddler and up to 6 years old labelled on the back "Emma". I asked Mother "Who is Emma?" and she surprised me by saying "Why it's me! Daddy called me Emma, and Mama called me Jeanne".

As a widow in her 20s with two small children and no daycare, Grandma put Mother and Aunt Edith, ages 6 and 3, in a Catholic orphanage in Spokane and went to work. There is a picture of these skinny little girls in dark clothing in Mother's photo album. I asked who was in the photo, and Mother said, "That's the day Mama got Edith and me out of the orphanage -- when she married "Uncle Bill". That was Mother's stepfather, Will Lane Youmans, a divorced man also much older than she. That marriage did not last either.
Grandma was a very hard worker, and had attended engineering school in Minnesota, but for some reason she went to Canada -- to work as a cook at her uncle's wheat farm, I remember hearing, and somehow up there she met the person who was my grandfather, a man who made a huge impression on the family -- my generation -- not by his presence but by his absence.

Mother was a hard worker and a good student, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington in 1940, thereafter teaching school on the high school or junior high school level (English and librarianship were her subjects). She had a marvelous memory and could recite poetry and wonderful things beautifully.

After the Figg grandparents -- Charles and Emma -- died, the older half-sisters, who had been raised by two different sets of grandparents, took turns coming out to the Seattle area where we lived to visit. They brought some Figg family heirlooms, which Mother treasured during her life, and which now reside in my house and my younger sister's home.

I am sure that this man lived a somewhat tortured life, emotionally, psychologically, or whatever. There is a streak of bipolar instability in subsequent generations. Grandmother was a very proper lady -- albeit one who didn't choose wisely when it came to husbands. Mother was born nine months and two days after the date of her parents' marriage, so I imagine Grandma was one of the many women who marry in haste and repent at leisure, so to speak. What to do but go on? His photographs show him to be a dapper gentleman in fine dress, and she grew up on a rural farm in Wisconsin, and was probably impressed by all the wrong signs. Sigh.

Mother passed on March 20, 2012 at the age of almost 93-1/2. To the end she had a fine mind and was hugely self-disciplined. She was ill with cancer for months before her death, and I was surprised when she allowed me to have a DNA sample, and she gladly provided it. It is possible that I should re-label it -- so as not to confuse people since she is no longer living -- but I have been in touch with other Figg family members and always smile that the DNA comes through loud and clear even if her grandparents never communicated with nor recognized her and Aunt Edith as members of the Figg family. Knowing Grandmother, she might have snubbed them if they had made the attempt...once hurt/burnt, always shy, not just twice shy.

So here is the line:
Freda Jeanne Zimmerman Griffin - that's me...daughter of
Emma W(ilda) Harper a/k/a Jeanne Theresa Harper from age 6 to the end of her life (and who married Carl Ernest Zimmerman)...she was the daughter of
- Eugene O'Day Harper who real name was Edward O (Oral) Figg, b. March 4, 1886 in or near Darwin, Clark County, Illinois and died October 11, 1924 in Spokane, Spokane County, Washington state...he was the son of
- Charles K Figg (b May 31, 1862 in Illinois and d. Dec 11, 1944 in Terre Haute, Vigo County, Indiana) and Emma C. Huston (b. October 1866 and died June 17, 1944 in Terre Haute, Indiana)...Charles K Figg was the son of
- Robert Figg (1808-1891) and Melvina Dawson (1813-1902) -- many spelling variations on her first name, by the way...he was the son of
- John Figg Sr (b 1745 in Virginia, d. 12 January 1839 in Nelson County, Kentucky) and Elizabeth Mitchell (B. 1770 Maryland, US and d. September 4, 1852 in Larue, Kentucky, U.S.)

I hope that is not too much information and that I have typed it all up correctly.
On GEDMatch you will find Mother's DNA -- and also mine. As I mentioned, I decided to tag her name both as "Jeanne Theresa Harper Zimmerman" -- the name she carried most of her life -- and "Emma Figg" in order to clarify and, hopefully, to find a few of the Figgs on the family tree, so to speak.

My name is Freda Jeanne (yes, after Mother, Jeanne, and the mostly missing grandfather Eugene) Zimmerman and Griffin is my husband's surname.
If you want to talk on the phone, I live in the Pacific Time Zone and my cell phone (only phone) is 206-915-7490.
Where do you live? How do you proceed down your family tree from John Figg Sr and Elizabeth Mitchell? What is your handle or identification on GEDMatch? Are you on Ancestry? I have a lot of Figg information on my tree, and some of it may be incorrect, as there are a lot of people with similar names -- Robert and John and Millie and Mildred and so on and so on.

Incidentally, my younger sister and her husband were in Terre Haute last Spring and stopped by the cemetery where our grandfather lies under the stone that says "Edward Figg" - near his brother "Thurman Figg".
The inscription on his grave says: "Edward Figg 1888-1924 - The rose still grows beyond the wall - OUR BOY"
I think his parents must have been so heartbroken, and I think he must have been broken in some way also. So sad.

Best wishes,
Freda J Zimmerman Griffin

Dear Larry,
I am very surprised by something I noticed tonight that I never noticed before. When Mother's elder half-sister Mildred Ernestine Figg married for the second time, she said that her father's name was Edward Oriel Figg and her mother's name was Mabel Pre Voe. This is on the marriage license where Aunt Mildred married John Preston Schoonmaker, her second husband (according to the form).
My Aunt Edith's maiden name was Edith Oriole Harper. Apparently she was named after her father -- not a bird, which is what we always thought "Oriole" was! "Edith" was the name of Grandmother's favorite aunt, no mystery there.
It is always a good idea to go over the documents from time to time, because things sort of jump out at you which you might miss otherwise!
I hope your Figg family relatives led somewhat less traumatic lives!
And one more thing...
Edward O. Figg's first wife was Mabel M Horner (1887-1968). Her mother -- Lucia Prevo - was the "other grandmother" to Mildred Ernestine Figg and Gertrude Marguerite Figg. So the two elder daughters were raised in different households, by two pairs of grandparents, who were probably a bit heartbroken and mystified by their teenagers who got married in a rush and had a couple of children they weren't prepared to raise themselves.
Sort of like a lot of grandparents these days! And, losing both their sons - Edward and Ira -- in 1924 and 1923 -- those Figg grandparents apparently hung on to beautiful Millie -- Mildred Ernestine -- carefully. She was glamorous and beautiful and was asked to be in Ziegfeld's Follies -- but didn't accept, or at least that's the family story. She accompanied her second husband, Mr. Schoonmaker, on his career journeys including to South America, but that's another story and I don't really have first-hand knowledge of much of this since I was young (probably 9 years old) when she visited us and just 10 years old when she died.
I see that you are descended through two of John Figg Sr and Elizabeth Mitchell's large family, and yes, it would make sense that that accounts for your large cM number. In any case, Mother was a descendent of another of their children, Robert Figg (1808-1891).
Have you ever read the book "Figg Leaves"? It is rather interesting, together with lots of documentation. It is difficult to sort parts of the family out due to the many people with similar names.
And it's interesting to see that one of the siblings was named Milly, my direct ancestor Robert Figg (1808-1891) next younger sister. My grandfather, Edward O. Figg a/k/a Eugene O. Harper, named his eldest daughter Mildred and she was known as "Millie". Actually, he and his bride (my grandfather Edward O. Figg later known as Eugene O. Harper and his first wife, Mabel M Horner) were teenagers when hey married, and his parents (Charles K. Figg 1862-1944 and Emma C. Huston Figg 1866-1944) raised Aunt Mildred, who was called Millie -- so apparently "Millie" is a family name also.
I think Mother would have been pleased that contributing her DNA would lead to meeting Figgs all over the family tree! I certainly am pleased every time one of the Figgs contacts me about the matches.
Now, I'm curious, on GEDmatch did you see a match between you and me? My own kit number is "A174122 Freda J Zimmerman".
Best wishes,
Freda J Zimmerman
Best wishes,
Freda Z

As for Catholicism, I doubt it. Neither Aunt Mildred nor Aunt Gertrude were Catholic, and nothing that was ever communicated to our family mentioned Catholicism -- or religion of any kind.
I have a photograph of my grandfather standing in his father's saloon in Terre Haute, Indiana. It is the same photograph that appears in his obituary -- cropped carefully to only show a head-and-shoulders photo.
I've been thinking about him a lot this week, and reviewing his enlistment papers in Canada, I noticed that he enlisted twice -- once on September 26, 1916 with the name "Edward O'Day Harper" and listing his daughter Mildred Figg as his sister - signed at Camp Hughes, Manitoba; secondly on November 1, 1916 with the name Edward O. Figg and next of kin as Emma Figg (his mother). In both he lists having served 6 years in the USA Coast Artillery and 3 years in USA Inf [Infantry] 10th. Using that information, I was able to find some of his military records. I'll be able to find more as I continue researching. So far, it appears he was a bit unstable, showing up on the 1910 U.S. census three places: listed by his parents as living at home in Terre Haute; listed as a soldier at Fort Warden, Port Townsend, Jefferson County, Washington [State] -- which is a place I have visited, as it is currently a State Park; and as a prisoner in the Guard House at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Marion County, Indiana. Oh dear. Nothing about that surprises me, but it is truly unfortunate that he lived such a life.
Oh, about Catholicism, it would appear in an obituary where various Figgs were buried, and none are buried in Catholic cemeteries -- and that was extremely important back in those days. No rosaries, no emblems or symbols of any kind.
Where the Catholic orphanage came up was that my grandmother's sister Margaret and brother Frank (also known as Tom) Davidson both converted to Catholicism against the wishes of their father, and much of their Wisconsin relatives' beliefs -- some of whom were German Baptist Brethren ("Dunkards") and had the surname Hoover, among others; and their grandparents the Davidsons, who were Scots Irish Protestants and Masons and very anti-Catholic; and then there was the Catt family, of whom some were Dunkards but others were Unitarians - founding members of the congregation in Menomenie, Wisconsin (west of Eau Claire). Even in the 1950s, when I was a child, some of my cousins were raised Catholic but our family was strongly Protestant.
However, Grandmother cooked for the local Catholic church in Seattle where her sister Margaret, who was disabled from a stroke and divorced, was devoutly involved; their brother Frank died before I was born, and he studied to be a priest but was unable to because of his poor health, so they trained him to be a male nurse and he worked in hospitals - but died from pneumonia in his very early 40s, sadly.
So there goes the Catholicism idea -- but Grandma had a great respect for the education that was said to be had in the Catholic schools, and her favorite cousin had also converted to Catholicism, so apparently in the 19-teens and the 1920s that was a very important thing.
I live in Spokane, which as I said is where Mother and Aunt Edith were in a Catholic orphanage after their father died and Grandma went to work, and from what I can see most of the charity work is done through Catholic Charities. Several groups of Sisters -- Sisters of Providence, Sisters of the Holy Names of Mary and Jesus, and others -- came here in the 1800s and started schools and hospitals. The Jesuits and others came and converted the Indians, and many of the tribes nearby are mainly Catholic. One of the oldest missions in the Inland Northwest is just east of Spokane and Coeur d'Alene. In fact, the French Catholics from St. Louis (Missouri) and from France also sent missionaries -- so if anything, there probably were no other options in those days for taking care of children in need of being safe and educated when their parents could not take care of them.
That Catholic influence was talked about and argued about when I was growing up, with everyone taking sides. Whew! My twin (not identical) sister attended Marylhurst College south of Portland, Oregon, and that was run by the Sisters of the Holy Names, and they have had a huge influence in charity work here in Spokane also.
But...it is late and I don't know where you live, but I must stop going on and on...
I would very much like to know as much as possible about the Figgs, because even if I did not know them, their DNA is carried on through me. I am curious how my younger sister's DNA looks compared to mine -- and want to get my twin sister's online also. It is a little different for every person in the family.
I also have a cousin who is the son of my Aunt Edith -- Mother's sister -- and his DNA is on Ancestry.com. It was sort of amazing to see his DNA pop up one day as a "potential first cousin" (which he is, of course) and with his email address -- so I knew right away who it was! I wonder how they will compare to you? I'll encourage them to upload their DNA to GEDMatch, in any case.
Best wishes,
Freda

This was Freda's last message to me
Dear Larry,
One thing you have in common with me -- and my twin sister (not identical) and my cousins -- is your thoughtfulness. It appears you think about things a lot. Musically, I have played piano since I was very young - about six years old. I love opera as well and have seen dozens of operas, mostly at Seattle Opera in Seattle, Washington, but also at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. There was a Figg who was a music teacher - I don't remember now which person, but a near relative (cousin) to my grandfather. Nonetheless, I do not claim to have a lot of talent -- just love of music and a desire to play as well as I did when I was in my teens. I will be 70 this month, and between 18 and 65 or so I mostly worked. When we moved to Spokane, where we live now, we left my upright piano for one of my granddaughters and obtained a lovely Steinway and I decided to bring my fingers back to a reasonable level of proficiency. It takes a long time, after such a hiatus, but every week there is a bit of improvement! So much for music...
When Mother was ill, it cost several hundred dollars to have a DNA test, and I only had her tested on Family Tree. I'm going to ask them this coming week if there is a possible additional test available that would tell more, as I have been informed that they keep the DNA for 10 years and can perform additional tests. Now Ancestry also has a series of DNA tests, so that's why I am on Ancestry and Mother is on FTdna. I younger sister and her sons are also descendants of the Figg ancestors, and they are on GEDmatch also, by the way.
I think many people wonder if they are "really" related to their parents. Frankly, it was comforting to discover that my parents are really my parents -- biological parents -- although the adoptive and other types of relationships that result in families seem just effective at raising children as the biologically-related families. My 50th high school reunion took place in 2016 and two of our classmates just this year discovered their biological parents. They waited until their adoptive parents had passed on to search out the biological parents, and then they discovered half-siblings and were fortunate enough to meet their biological parents as well, people now in their late 80s and early 90s. It was obviously extremely important for them to see people who looked like them. Some of the "new siblings" accepted them graciously, some did not. And isn't that the way it is in all families, even if you arrive as an infant? Some older siblings welcome the new one, some don't.
I believe we are very much a product of our DNA, our physical attributes, and our personalities are also a result of some mixture of physical and other forces. Some people are nervous and high strung, some are outgoing and others are shy, and how one acts affects how someone else acts toward us. I don't think this is either a good thing or a bad thing, just a thing. Someone - a first cousin - told me the other day that everything he is, is because of things people did to him over his lifetime, especially his childhood. I don't believe that. I think that how people respond to another person's appearance and traits affects the possessor of those traits, but if you don't like the results you have in life, it is part of your own job to figure out how to get what you want, whether that is love or career or achievement in something. It is always disappointing to not be pretty/handsome "enough", or talented enough, or clever enough, or healthy enough, or endowed in some way to achieve what one thinks is the ideal life, but then if one is not satisfied with the way things are, additional self-discipline and work and striving and self-knowledge and accepting the cold and difficult facts of one's own conditions leads to acceptance of reality and understanding that there is always someone who is "more", and eventually through life we realize what is possible to be "enough" for us on an individual basis.
I don't know about carrying memories in the DNA. It's an interesting idea.
One of my nephews - also a Figg descendant - is working on his Ph.D. in a field which requires him to know a lot about DNA. It would be interesting to know what he thinks about your statement. I am not scientifically educated enough to know what he is talking about most of the time, but with his permission you might like to discuss that with him.
Studies have shown that "I.Q." is less of a predicter of success in life than the ability to quash impulsive behavior. Perhaps you have read the studies of the 3-year-olds who were instructed to not eat a piece of candy, and told that if they complied, they would be rewarded with a second piece of candy when the "observer" returned to the room. Following those children over many years, the children who were capable of waiting achieved much more happiness in marriage and success in education and careers than the children who grabbed and ate the candy the minutes they were no longer being observed. I have been thinking about that for a long time, and I tend to agree that possessing just that one extra personality trait is a very useful tool in life -- but those without it must not blame their lack of success on not possessing the trait of waiting thoughtfully, but rather, must recognize the lack and strive for mindfulness and realizing who they are and attempt to overcome their natural trait.
One thing they didn't say was whether children who are impulsive have a better survival and/or success rate in certain professions, such as fighting hand-to-hand, or chasing down prey, or making life-and-death decisions in dangerous situations which literally require immediate action. I wish they had mentioned that.
Clearly every human trait is a result of the traits that allowed the ancestors to survive, so there must be a survival advantage -- but in different situations -- to every trait. In the current technological world, for instance, the traits that lead to success in "high tech" are very different than the traits that led to success/survival in our pioneer ancestors' lives...but it is only a few generations - seven at the most - since this country even became a country. Isn't it interesting, when you think of it?
Now it is late, so that's enough.
Best wishes,
Freda Z
P.S.: The one thing we know about John Figg and Elizabeth Mitchell is that they lived -- and some of our DNA comes from them. There are ways to triangulate data and make educated guesses about relatives, but I don't know how to do that. Do you? Have you been to any of the colonial Virginia locations? Where do you live?
3 Comments

Alice Freist
I cannot read these messages without hearing them read in my mother's musical lilt. Thank you, Larry Herbstritt . I've been missing her hard the last few days, but this helps.
Reply1w
Larry Herbstritt
Author
Admin
All you have to do is look at this photo of Freda and you will, immediately, know you'll like her
Reply1wEdited
Larry Herbstritt
Author
Admin
The post was so long I didn't want to add to it with the list of ancestor names, so here's a screenshot of Freda's connection to our John & Elizabeth Mitchell Figg shared ancestors.
May be an image of text that says
'William Zimmerman HenryJ Zimmerman Carl Zimmerman 1922-2016 Martha Resimius 1872-1952 Schuld KResimius Ethel Manila Nelson Gregers Nelson 1871-1968 Freda ZIMMERMAN 948-2022 Spouse Children Tommy RBeulig Mads Christian Nielsen Kirsten 1684-1734 Maren Pedersen 1874-1965 Ann Edward Figg PEDERSEN Ane Kirstine Nielsen Figg Elizabeth Jeanne Harper Add father Freist Wendy Freist Alice Spouse Children^ Thomas rle Howell Siblings Malvina Huston mother Davidson Thomas Davidson Thomas Davidson William Mitchell father Catherine Wilda" Catt Elizabeth Mitchell 1770-1852 mother Elizabeth 1823
Add father Add mother'
Reply1w

____________________
This photo is from a post.
Larry Herbstritt
October 23, 2022 at 4:45 PM ·
Freda (left), Kitty and Freda's mother, Jeanne Theresa Harper, my Gedmatch DNA match

Larry Herbstritt
October 23, 2022 at 8:28 PM ·
The post was so long I didn't want to add to it with the list of ancestor names, so here's a screenshot of Freda's connection to our John & Elizabeth Mitchell Figg shared ancestors.

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