Ludwig Friendley

Well as some of you know I haven't been coming around these parts lately. See, I've been side tracked I must confess to where even my reading has taken a hit. I have been putting together my sons family tree. A hefty challenge since much of my wifes family are unfamiliar to us. To quote my grandfather, "Well if at first you fail get back on that bike before I kick your f***ing ass." Well he didn't say that but if you knew him you would know it sounds just like him.

Upon researching my wifes geneology I found interesting things. On her fathers side it starts with Ludwig Friendley born in 1725 in Pennsylvania. Her grandmothers side are mostly from England and planted themselves in Utah, and many of them were mormon. Her grandfathers side was full of farmers, tanners, and such from Kansas. There was however a Viola C Berry who is my wifes great great great grandmother. Her father was Ludwig Friendley and one record shows Ludwig Friendley as being George Washingtons bodyguard (so to speak) for six years during the revolutionary war. I have to do some searching to double confirm this claim, but given what I've been able to confirm up to this point has been factual. We shall see, and we may never truly know. I would love to be able to tell my son that his distant relatives job was to help general Washington though. I know God calls all men but it can't hurt knowing you have men of courage and integrity in your geneology. It's a confidence thing.

Some of my sons relatives (Ludwigs children and grandchildren) look like they set up a church as well. Now I have to tell you I almost totally abandoned this project based on what I was learning from my side of the family. Lots of drunks and scam artists. My great uncle Odean pushed his sister Elaina out a two story window just because he wanted to. She developed seizures from it and later died at the age of 35 from having a seizure in bed. Her head got caught in the bars and she broke her neck. My great uncle Odean also helped my great aunt Opal hang herself in a cemetary bathroom. She had cancer from what I hear and wanted to end it. Odean was promised money if he helped her. My great uncle Norman was said to have robed a couple of banks. My great aunt Alys was a Jehovah Witness at one point but also a Quaker. She charmed snakes in some of her religious practices. During world war 2 Alys was in Europe and went blind. She was in Greece and told my mother that she saw something so horrible that she developed hysterical blindness and never saw again.

Getting back to Odean!!! This guy was a true scam artist. He used to pretend to preach the word of God I was told to rob people of their money. A couple of his sons were murdered early in life as well. My mothers cousin Patricia told me, "You could see the devil in his eyes. He was pure evil." My great grandmother Hannah called my aunt mary (her grandaughter) to take her to the hospital after Odean did something to her when she wouldn't give him money. My great uncle Robert (whom they called mud turtle) once got so mad he picked up a shot gun and started firing through the floor when he knew the family was below. He was called mud turtle because if you visited the bars in Sterns Minnesota you would eventually find a drunk named mud turtle. My grandfather was the sane one and he beat his children with crow bars. My family for the most part are a long line of trailor trash straight out of Norway. Things look more promising from my grandmothers side. I'm traveling down that road next but from what I have so far is great. Real God fearing and great people.