Time to introduce my maternal grandparents:
My mother’s father was Ellis Richard Brigham, but he went by Richard (or Dick for short). I never knew him. He passed away the year I turned 2 years old. My mother says he loved to invent things, some of which were pretty good. He only had a 6th grade education, but she tells me he was quite brilliant.
Grandma, Lula Elvera Edberg, was a sweet lady. She and my grandfather lived in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. They were both married to other people prior to being married to each other. Sadly, their marriage ended in divorce as well. My grandfather came from a rough family and he had a temper. In the divorce decree from his first wife, Clara, she states the reason as repeated cruelty. When I asked my mom why her mother married someone with a history of being cruel, she just told me that her mother was very much in love with him.
They had two children: my mother, and her brother, Vaughn. My grandfather developed MS, which was why he passed away at such a young age. Grandma passed away in her 70’s.
I don’t know a lot about my maternal great grandparents. My mother loved her grandpa, Earl Henry Brigham. I’m told he liked to do magic tricks. His wife, Dollie Belle Hills divorced him at some point and remarried. I am told that she died from cancer. My mother has a memory of her in her hospital bed crying that she did not want to die.
My grandma’s parents were Scandinavian. Werner Carl Edberg was from Sweden. Elise Bergithe Svendsen Hall was from Norway. They both emigrated here in the early 20th century. Werner died young too. He had a ruptured appendix and back in those days there wasn’t much they could do to save a person when that happened. Elise was left to raise 4 daughters and one son.
It’s too bad that I do not know more about this side of my family. For any who are reading this, I would suggest that you start now recording as many family stories as you can now. It’s never too late to start.