Postby WildcatOne » Sat Apr 29, 2006 4:44 am
I'm a fifth generation Texan...till me, they all stayed in Galveston. My great, great grandfather came over here to Galveston in around 1850, from Germany. His name was Adolph Von Bockelmann. By the time I was given a name in 1949, our name had been Americanized and shortened to Bockelman. My Dad also Americanized his name from Ramon to Raymond. I was going to be Raymond, Jr., but he named me after his buddy who died in WWII, Johnny Connett. My Grandmother's side of the family was from Abbeville, Louisiana. The Landrys. Benita (my Grandma) was the oldest of 8 kids. She died in December 1995 at the age of 99 1/2. They all spoke French...my Grandma couldn't say "That nice man down the street"...it was "That nice Lutheran man down the street". She was hardcore Catholic...They were all built to last, except for the men. My Grandfather, Ottie Bockelman, died at the age of 35, when my Dad was 3 years old. My Mom's side of the family history is not real clear. My Granddad's family was from Scotland, the McLendons. My Grandmother's family was from Austria, the Luitichs. My grandparents met in about 1917. During Prohibition, my Grandmother was the hat check girl at the Balinese Room in Galveston, and my Grandfather was a musician in the band there. They met, fell in love, got married, and had 4 daughters: Rosebud, Violet, Pansy and Fern. My Mom was Pansy. It was a wonderful party. The last of the 4 flowers to go was Aunt Fern, 2 years ago. She was the youngest. I have a couple of dozen first cousins, a lot are in California, one in Illinois, 3 in Louisiana, and several in Galveston. That's all I can remember right now...things are getting a little fuzzy. If I remember more tomorrow (I mean later today) I'll edit this post...Cheers, WC1
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