I Went Searching For an Indian and Found I Was a Dutchman

I Went Searching for an Indian and Found I Was a Dutchman.
I've always been interested in history so when my Uncle Wayne gave me some information about our family roots I had to begin changing the way I've always thought about where I came from. We had always been told, "there's Indian blood in our ancestry, we just haven't been able to prove it". I have been surprised to learn that while searching for an Indian link, I found a Dutchman. Now I'm not saying there may not be some Indian blood somewhere but the prospect looks dimmer the more I find out.
I also have had some general prejudices about folks back east, especially areas like Ohio (I grew up in the Woody Hayes era and couldn't stand Ohio State). What a surprise (and God ordained I believe) to find we arrived in Ohio in the early 1800s, my ancestor fought in an Ohio Regiment in the Civil War, and came to Kansas afterwards. That, and some visits to Ohio, has adjusted my thinking.
And the other reason why-to keep communication between the far flung members of my family and encourage them to drop a note so we can keep in touch with the details of their lives. We miss too much by not being there in the day to day workings of life. So, leave a post for all of us.

Saturday, August 27, 2022

Life is Hard

 There are times when exploring genealogy you stumble on a story that grips your heart and causes you to pause.  This is one.  

Our family has two photo albums that get dragged to every reunion and although I digitized them years ago, I am in the process of adding notes and arranging them chronologically as best I can.  I have to refer to my Ancestry.com tree (https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/5599212/family?cfpid=-1065239315 ) frequently. But of the most help is the notes attached to each picture, painstakingly added by Uncle Vic and without such, to me, they would be just faces.  But with the notes come a link to a name and now history is alive.  Thanks Uncle Vic.

Well, anyway, as I'm working on these I come across this picture with the caption "Dee, DeEtte & Children (Warren, and ?").  

Feb 8, 1955. Dale, DeEtte & Children (Warren & ?)
So why the "?"?  Uncle Vic knows the family pictures better than anyone (certainly anyone alive anyway).  Why didn't he have memories of her? That sent me wondering.  I checked my tree and found there was already a Natalie there but no dates or information.  However Ancestry has these handy hints so I started looking at them and found her name was actually Nathalia DeEtte Icke and she was born in 1953 but died in 1960 in Wisconsin.  What could have happened?

Dale was the younger son of Grandma Rachel's brother John Icke (pronounced "Ike") and sister in law Velma.  He was born in 1932 and later joined the Air Force apparently stationed in Japan for a while.  He married Jessie DeEtte Davison in Oklahoma on April 22, 1952.  The picture above was taken in 1955, after the Korean War, and shows a happy family of four.  In 1960 he was stationed at Traux Lake Mills (WI).  Sadly on a Friday evening in early June, not long before her upcoming seventh birthday, Nathalia was riding her bike when an automobile collided with her and she was killed.  One can only imagine the grief of that day and the days to follow.  They took "Our Darling Cissy" back home to Oklahoma where she is buried at Memorial Hill Cemetery in Waynoka.

It would be crass of me to begin philosophizing on such things as I have never lost a child.  I can only imagine that loss.  But I do know it's part of life and people deal with it.  For some it takes years to "get over it"-that thing we call getting on with life without the loss being the focus of each day.  I grieve as I can with those in my family who have suffered this loss, as the Ickes did.  I pray that the Lord will sustain them until that day when the sweet memories of the life lost overcomes the grief of their loss.  
Dale lived on until 2014, a long life of 88 years, and I wonder how many days he thought of her. Most of them I would guess.  Her mother DeEtte and brother Warren are, to my best information, still alive.  I hope this little note encourages them that their family hasn't forgotten the life of their beloved darling Nathalia.
May the promises of eternal life and sustaining grace through our Lord, Jesus Christ, sustain and comfort them until the day of reunion.



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  1. LubberdinkAugust 28, 2022 at 6:28 AM

    Vic Comments Post-Publish: Nathalia: I didn't remember her name then, and I don't think Mom did either. It hurts my heart to remember because it wasn't just a car accident. She was hit by a drunk driver, and it also ended Dale's career with the Air Force. As I recall (and I'm a little rusty memory-wise), After her death; the driver was released or not charged, and he would come drive up through their circle drive honking his horn taunting Dale and DeEtte. (We knew her by DeEtte instead of Jessie). The military couldn't do anything, and the local police wouldn't do anything. (I think the drunk had some political pull). Also as I recall, it was that Dale had to leave the Air Force..., so he left the Air Force, as I recall with 17 years of service. ...I know the part about her being killed by a drunk driver is true. I can only hope that at some point justice came for little Nathalia; and I didn't remember them calling her Cissy, but probably did know it earlier on.
    I believe Dale was following Christ at the time of his death.

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