Inauguration Day

The Anderson's will be attending the Inauguration January 20 in Washington DC. If any other family members will be there and would like to get together let them know. Their email address should be on the notification email you received for the Blog update.

Hannah Captures 8th place!

Hannah Anderson, Elisabeth Sharp's great granddaughter captured 8th place on the beam at the Georgia State Level 4 Gymnastics meet. There were about 20 competitors in the group. To read more and see video footage please visit http://www.andersonfamilysav.blogspot.com/

Rob gets Approved to sit for CPA exam

Rob Upson who is married to Elisabeth Anderson who is the daughter of Susan Anderson who is the daughter of Elisabeth Sharp (sorry I got started and got carried away) has been approved to sit for the CPA Exam. He is now done with classes and is just doing Prep work. He is expecting a letter in December from the National Organization with the date.

Congratulations!

Jane McCloud's Funeral April 2007

I was organizing some pictures and found these. I thought they would be a good addition to the Blog.

Family Tragedy

We've had a terrible tragedy in the family. Mickey was in an accident coming down a steep windy mountain road on his bike in Ashland Oregon...see links below to an article and video.. He is in intensive care with severe injuries including a broken neck which has left him paralyzed. John, Sara, and I are here with him at the Rogue Valley Medical Center in Medford Oregon. I can barely see through the tears to write this but I will keep you updated as we know more...please let others know who i have forgotten to include in this email.Keep us in your prayers,

You can now go to a blog (thanks to John!) and post messages and view updates etc. Please let everyone know. Go to: www.carepages.com and sign up as a member and then go to MicksRecovery.

love,
Sandy

Here are some links for you about the accident:

http://www.ktvl.com/news/road_1187598___article.html/downhill_crashed.html

The following is a video (from local TV station). Give it a minute or 2 to
download:

http://www.ktvl.com/video/index.php?bcpid=1138370270&bclid=1155263524&bctid=1855495946

Hannah Grabs 6th All Around

Hannah grabed 6th on Beam, 4th on Floor and 6th All Around this past weekend in Roswell Georgia. There were 15 competitors in her bracket. check out our blog for pictures and more info. www.andersonfamilysav.blogspot.com

Relatives Connect

Dan, Elisabeth and I were in Boston for a wedding and were able to have dinner with Adam Swinson and his wife, Michelle DuBois. Michelle’s mother, Diane, also joined us for great conversation and food. What a joy to get the chance to reconnect with Adam, with whom we had sort of lost touch. Since Michelle is a Brockton Councilwoman, we had some good political discussions. But also, we were able to share memories of the Swinson family, particularly my recollections of visits with Uncle John and Aunt Shirley Swinson when I was young.

We are waiting for Hurricane Omar. Elisabeth and Rob are coming over to spend the night, since their landlord will be staying in their place downstairs from their house. We should be fine, since Cowpet has a generator on site.

Susan

Family Reunion! ? !

At the internment for Elisabeth, the idea of having a Swinson family reunion came up.

Sandy, Pamela and Susan were going to try and look at some options and would defiantly like some help. So If you are interested in helping in any way, please contact one of them or post a comment on the Blog and it will be forwarded on to them.

Different options were the Sons of Norway Lodge or a cruise but again those are just ideas so input is welcome.

Part of the idea is to keep it near the West Coast and less expensive and far enough in advance so that everyone can attend and to get a lot of the second cousins together so they can get to know each other better.

There is a Poll on the right side of the Blog so put in your vote and / or leave a comment and / or contact one of the above so we can get the creative juices working and get a reunion planned.

Also on the right side of the blog is a subscribe and follower button. The subscribe button allows you to enter an e-mail address and you will be notified when the Blog is updated. I tested it and it won't SPAM you. The follower link is if you have a Google account you can sign in and it will add you as a follower.

If you have any ideas for the Blog or would like to help, please let me know. Blogger has made it really easy so anyone can do it!

Elisabeth Ann Swinson Sharp's Internment

Since I wasn't able to attend, I wanted to get input from as many people as possible. Please email me your thoughts on the trip so i can post them and we can get all the different veiw points.

Many family members arrived on Thursday night, September 25th. They were spread out between Poughkeepsie, Fish Kill and Newburgh, NY.

Thursday night, Susan, Dan, Pam, Maryanne, Jackie, Bill and Joyce, Marcotte and Caroline and Elisabeth all met at Charlie Brown’s Restaurant in Fish Kill across from the Marriott Residence Inn where many of them were staying. It was great to see everyone.

Friday, September 26th , everyone was on their own in the morning time. Some met at the Residence Inn to look at photos, etc. Some went out to eat a late breakfast….Cracker Barrel, yeh! It was neat, because everything one would want was right there in Fish Kill where we were all staying…Charlie Brown’s, Cracker Barrel, Starbucks, Walmart, etc.

The committal was that afternoon (the anniversary of Stanley Sharp’s committal next to Ted and Elisabeth’s grave) at 2 pm at the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery. Everyone met at the entrance and then followed one of the men over to the grave site.

Those who attended were:

McLeods: Sandy Ryan, Judith Smith, Mark;

Swinsons: Margie (Uncle John’s ex-wife), Adam (Margie and John’s son), (and wife, Michelle), Maryanne Launse;

Hall: Mary and John;

Sharps: Susan Anderson (and husband, Dan Llewellyn), Jackie, Bill (and wife, Joyce);

DeWitt: Pamela;

Mickens/Martin: Gracie and George.

The Rev. Tyler Jones from St. Paul’s Episcopal Church presided. He told us that he mentioned the Swinson name to several of his West Indian/St. Thomian members, and they remembered Grandpa Swinson. It’s a small world indeed!!!

The service was short, but everyone stayed around talking and taking photos for quite a while. Then at Aunt Mary’s suggestion we all took off for the American Culinary Institute where we ate lunch at the Apple ……Café. (Can’t remember the whole name…Elisabeth?) Some people bought pastry and baked goods to take home. We walked around peeking in windows of kitchens and classrooms. It is a large, beautiful campus, and we all had fun eating, talking and shopping!

Then some went sightseeing or back to our hotels for a rest before dinner. Several members went over to New Paltz to see Hugeunot (spelling?) Street where the old stone houses are. One of the houses, the Elting-Bevier House belonged to Ted Sharp’s Elting ancestor.

Friday night, at 7pm everyone met at the Riverside Station Restaurant, where we ate upstairs overlooking the view of the Hudson River and the Mid-Hudson Bridge. Unfortunately because of the cloudy weather, it was dark by the time everyone arrived. But, it was a good meal and great conversation, some of which was about politics as the Presidential Debate was going on while we were still there. Also, Adam’s wife, Michelle, is a Councilwoman in her district in Boston, so it was very interesting to get to know her and what she does. Susan, Dan and Elisabeth are traveling to Boston the weekend of October 10th for a friend’s wedding, and will be meeting up with Adam and Michelle for dinner.

Elisabeth's Eulogy

Many were not able to make it to Elisabeth's funeral in St Thomas so I have posted the Eulogy from the service.

Eulogy for a Celebration of the Life of
Elisabeth Ann Swinson Sharp
1929-2008
August 2, 2008

by Susan Laura Lugo

Good morning.

On behalf of the entire and very extensive family of our beloved Elisabeth Ann Swinson
Sharp, thank you for your presence here today, and for the deeply thoughtful and heartfelt
remembrances all of you have shared with the family in the last week since Elisabeth’s passing.
More than you will ever know your words have been an uplifting testimony to the remarkable
woman who was sister, mother, aunt, grandmother, great-grandmother, abiding friend, canny
bridge partner, resourceful business associate, generous patron, life adventurer and woman of the world to so many. She touched, molded and nurtured countless lives in her journey through this life.

Permit me if you will to wear two hats today, offering sincere condolences to Elisabeth’s
family and loved ones first in my role as President of the Caribbean Genealogy Library. On
behalf of the members of the Board of Directors, the Honorary Board Members, CGL’s growing
corps of volunteer librarians, and its entire membership, I can assure you that your feelings of
loss are echoed by our own.

Elisabeth was the principal founder and benefactor of the Caribbean Genealogy Library.
She most certainly was the head of our CGL family for the tireless eight plus years she labored to establish and launch this remarkable community and cultural resource for the people of the
Virgin Islands. Her gift was certainly financial but it was also intensely personal. Family history
was a lifelong passion for Elisabeth, an infectious passion she knew could only be fully enjoyed
by being shared with others. A determined advocate for preservation of and public access to vital records, Elisabeth was an active presence at CGL even in her final days. She attended and participated with enthusiasm at Board meetings. She frequently dropped by to assist CGL Cataloger Shirley Lincoln with the translation of German research texts donated from Elisabeth’s sizable personal library collection. As a volunteer librarian, she flashed her engaging smile while offering search strategies and advice to those researchers just beginning their information quest.

Elisabeth was President of CGL for the first five years of its existence, and as past
President she served on the Board during the last three years of her life in the role of Advisor.
From the outset she established and committed her personal resources to a dedicated fund for the library at the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands. She was guide, conscience and
inspiration for us all. The Board will sorely miss her in her advisory capacity but also for her
relentless enthusiasm and encouragement.

An untiring supporter and promoter of CGL, she ardently articulated her hopes and
dreams of connecting families with the past and with each other. Elisabeth’s vision never
wavered, and the library and its research opportunities for our community of patrons remain a
testament to that vision and her legacy to all of us. Therefore, and in respectful tribute to Elisabeth and her remarkable achievements, the Board makes the following pledges to all of you but especially to her family and loved ones:

• The Caribbean Genealogy Library will continue and it will continue to expand its
outreach and services to provide broader access to research resources for family
historians and scholars.

• In all its actions and policies the Board will honor Elisabeth’s memory by striving
to fulfill the mission, vision and values she was so instrumental in establishing for
CGL.

• The organization will remain accountable to its stakeholders and vigilant to the
needs of its patrons.

• And, in the spirit of its principal founder, CGL will explore new and creative
ways to connect with others through collaborations and partnerships to
successfully carry out these pledges.

That is our promise and the pledges we offer in remembrance of her.
[Not read]In deepest sympathy,
Alton A Adams, Jr.
Aimery P. Caron
Katina E. Coulianos
Pedrito A. François
Thyra Hammond
Myron D. Jackson
Susan Laura Lugo
Jeanne O’Day
Michelle Rogers-Bully
Rob Upson

A moment ago, I asked you to permit me to wear two hats. I have unabashedly borrowed
the second one for this occasion from the pool of consoling memories being shared by
Elisabeth’s family this past week. Let me describe the second hat for you. It is a magnificent
piece at once stylish, full of life, joyous, adventurous, even a bit playful. It is the marvelously
and richly pink hat of an anything-but-ordinary woman who could confidently pair it with a
matching pink suit to attend her daughters’ school event. No doubt it was the startling contrast
of Elisabeth’s bluest of blue eyes in that outfit the night of that event that drew fellow parent Pat
Boone’s exclamatory comment upon being introduced to her, “You are the most attractive
woman in the room!”—a comment that may have made Elisabeth blush at the time, but one her
daughters Susan and Jackie recount could still gave her mother pleasure decades later.

There was no doubt about it: Elisabeth was a beauty—at any age as you can see from the
pictures in her memorial booklet. And what a gift she had in her smile . . . with her smile alone
she could disarm the most intractable obstacle—and don’t think she didn’t know its powers!
Throughout her life she demonstrated her ability to use her smile, her charms, her authoritative
and commanding presence to produce results. Put simply, when Elisabeth had her mind set on a
goal, little stood in her way. I don’t think we can blame Pat Boone for awakening Elisabeth to
her natural talents. I’ve heard a lot of these kinds of stories these past few days, from Elisabeth’s
early marriage at 15, to family adventures in Switzerland, to the purchase of the Newport Beach
beach side house that swelled with friends and family for a full summer and more. I’ve also lived
a few of those “Elisabeth” moments myself and I can tell you, her “negotiating” skill was the
stuff of legends.

My friendship with my pink-hatted friend began in the 1990s. I don’t recall the
circumstances of our very first meeting but I know we were both attending meetings of the
Virgin Islands Genealogical Society in those days. In her late 60’s at the time, I remember being
in awe when Elisabeth told me she was using DataBase III format to input, organize and access
her genealogy research. I was a competent but still aspiring computer geek, but I had yet to
experiment with database programs so I was amazed that Elisabeth had taken on this learning
goal so late in life. We arranged to meet at her condo for a demonstration of her data, and we
only stopped talking and exchanging ideas and experiences about four hours later when twilight
finally settled upon us. It was so wonderful to find someone with whom to share my family
history addiction!

We shared so many things as it turned out. Some years before our meeting, Elisabeth had
founded the Immigrant Genealogy Library in Burbank, CA, which has now become one of the
nation’s most prestigious collections of German-American ancestry research materials. At the
time I had just discovered that my maternal ancestry had a strong German component.
Elisabeth’s own ancestry research was heavily German as well, and she had countless resources
and expertise to offer in assistance.

Elisabeth had a home in Los Angeles in the city of North Hollywood. I had lived for a
time in the same city shortly before making the Virgin Islands my home in 1978.
Elisabeth and I shared a reverence for books and information, made manifest by our
frequent acquisitions of outrageous proportions both for our personal use and for the library.
Elisabeth’s passion for solving problems with detective-like skills and analysis was demonstrated
not only in her family history research compilations but in her voracious appetite for crossword
puzzles, bridge, and a lifelong love of learning. Learning anything and everything—my kindred
spirit in that regard, too.

“The first thing I noticed was the clarity of the air, and then the sharp green colour of the
land.” That quote is the first sentence of the book “The House on the Strand” by famed novelist
Daphne du Maurier. Earlier this week I was raptly listening to the rapid-fire exchange of
Elisabeth stories by family members when du Maurier’s name came up. Suddenly I remembered my own mother had du Maurier books on her nightstand by her bed and I remember reading them until all hours of the morning when I was in junior high. What Elisabeth’s family recalled was that she constantly exposed them to ideas and literature and competencies through her own reading selections, like du Maurier’s novels, and her own demonstrated love of learning and exploring. And while I listened amazed that her children, her grown and decidedly adult children, could still remember plot details, characters and place names from The House on the Strand, it was only one of a dozen such books recounted in that evening’s remembrances, one of a dozen different points of view inculcated about faith, life lessons and the world at large. And woven throughout the dialogue and the banter was the primacy and constancy of family.

Du Maurier has been quoted as observing, “All I can say is that I had a very happy
married life and have a delightful family.” Just before her death, I understand Elisabeth
expressed the same feeling to members of her family. Perhaps that is all any of us ever need to
be able to say. And what better way to describe Elisabeth’s life?
The other night I asked a group of family members to distill Elisabeth’s defining
personality traits into one word. “Don’t think about it,” I said. “Just go with it.” The responses
were as varied as the many facets and roles of Elisabeth’s life:

Spiritual.

Generous.

Loving.
Disciplinarian.

Sweet.

Elegant.

Spontaneous.

To these I would add: Curious.

At her core it was intellectual curiosity that motivated her and for better or worse influenced and sometimes trumped other aspects of her life.

In Elisabeth’s lifetime, it was clear that she was the one who made things happen – her
family is in complete agreement on this. She was the instigator, the protagonist in the
developing plot of her life and her family’s story. She had a happy married life and a delightful
family because she made it happen. With equal parts of audacity and confidence, Elisabeth
decided to confront life and see opportunities not barriers.

If you look around you today, you will see Elisabeth everywhere in this cathedral. She
was the moving force behind the family’s donation of the pulpit, and her father served here for
years as Vicar General when Elisabeth was growing up on the island. Her family speaks
respectfully of Elisabeth’s core of spiritualism and I have the sense that while it was grounding it
did not tether or limit her in her approach to life. To the contrary, it seems to have enabled her
and given her wings. I think Life for Elisabeth was like wearing a bold pink hat—to be enjoyed
and experienced and shared with others. Can’t you just picture her now, with her dancing blue
eyes smiling out from under the brim? It makes me wonder what she is about to say. No doubt
she is about to persuade me to do something that I probably didn’t think I ever wanted to do. Oh,
yes, she had a gift . . . she had a gift, all right, and she had the gift of knowing how to use it. She
got things done. All her life she gathered her family and friends around her and gave them this
gift, too, and that is what will endure.
Du Maurier tells us in the novel Mary Anne that “[y]ears later, when she had gone and
was no longer part of their lives, the thing they remembered about her was her smile.”
Indeed. And I shall.

Elisabeth Ann Swinson Sharp's Burial

As many of you all know, Elisabeth Sharp Passed away in July of this year. The funeral was held in St. Thomas and her internment will be in Poughkeepsie New York:

Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery, Route 9, just south of downtown Poughkeepsie
Date: Friday, September 26, 2008
Time: 2:00 PM

Susan would like everyone to get together Friday night for Dinner if you have arrived (Dutch Treat). Restaurants have not be researched yet but please let her know if you plan to attend .

If you have any questions, please contact Susan Anderson.

Jesse Gets Silver!

Photos courtesy of Yahoo sports

Jesse and the Men's Water Polo Team received the Silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Congratulations even though we were all hoping for gold.

The game on TV was great and we saw Jesse many times. JoAnna's family even called us to say they had seen him.

Hannah Gets All Around!

Hannah Anderson won the all around competition at her gymnastics meet Saturday. She was very excited to place making for an exciting season opener.

To see more pictures and video clips of the routines and medal ceremony, visit www.andersonfamilysav.blogspot.com

Olympic Pictures from Sandy in China

Jesse, and my Beijing roommate, Dawn Young (her son is the NBC commentator, Wolf Wigo, 3 x Olympian)















Here's a picture after one of the earlier games of Judy,me,Ned, Jesse, his wife Brittany, and Jacob...(other two on left side next to judy are Brittany's cousins)

Olympic Family Member

Just a quick note from Beijing...Have you heard??? Have you all been watching the Olympics!? Great news for our Swinson family...Jesse Smith and the U.S. mens' water polo...is going for the GOLD!!!!!! U.S. water polo hasn't won a medal since 1988! We beat Serbia last night in the semi-finals 10-5! They played their hearts out!!! We play Sunday at 3:40 pm our time and it's bound to be a very exciting game against Hungary (who has

(Picture from US Water Polo Team Website) won gold the last two olympics). It's also amazing because our current coach (schroeder) was on the team back in '88! Anyway, Judy and I are here in Beijing and sooo excited...Ned had to fly home to take Jacob to start his freshman year at Stanford and now Ned's flying back so he can witness Jesse go for the GOLD!!!Hopefully you can all get a chance to cheer us on and maybe catch Judy and I on TV...check your local listings...all I know is 3:40 pm our time on Sunday will be 12:40 am Saturday in California and 3:40 am Saturday on the East Coast....nbc.com is another way to view or check schedules in your area.Signing out...off to visit the Forbidden City...Lots of Love from Beijing!Sandy

http://www.usawaterpolo.org/NationalTeams/PlayerBio.aspx?ID=17

The Start

This blog is for the family/descendants of John Arthur Swinson and Gracia Minnie Schlie, and the extended families that have grown from their children.

I was compelled to create this blog after procrastinating for the past couple of years by the recent death of my grandmother Elisabeth Sharp. I hope to grow this blog to better help all the family members connect and keep in touch with each other. While we have seen each other in the past, we seem to see less of each other and I have recently discovered the true value I place on family and the relationships with them. I would like to see this blog grow with photos, stories and much more from the past to the current and future. I have worked on ways to be able to secure sections so that we can post e-mails and addresses to better stay in touch. I would like to also eventually open it so that family members can post on it if to say nothing more than to look at their updated site. I have added a link to my family's blog and invite you to look at it.

John A. Swinson was the priest at All Saints Episcopal Church St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands from 1927 to 1953, Canon of the Cathedral, Vicar General and Archdeacon of the Virgin Islands. He was also the founder of All Saints School.

They had seven children: (in no particular order)
Mary Gracia Hall
Grace Martin
James K. Swinson
Jane Mcleod
John Swinson
Dorothy DeWitt Baldwin
Elisabeth Sharp