Comments on: Oops! A Lesson Learned

By: Writing the Westward Sagas » Blog Archive » Sharing Family History with Cousins I Didn’t Know I Had

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 22:23:07 +0000

[...] Margaret Smith Cleve, her husband John’s ancestors. An Internet search led her to my post Oops! A Lesson Learned, in which I talked about my ancestor Lorenzo Van Cleve. She left me a comment, and we started to [...]

By: Admin

Admin — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 03:05:28 +0000

Thank you for the information, Becky. I will respond privately to you in e-mail.

By: Becky Van Cleve

Becky Van Cleve — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:12:48 +0000

David,
Hello! I am Becky Van Cleve married to John B. Van Cleve of New Braunfels, Texas. I have worked on Van Cleve Geneology since before my husband and I were married. My father-in-law was Archie Van Cleve. For us the Van Cleve line from Lorenzo is: Lorenzo Dow Van Cleve, Alfondy Van Cleve, Wesley Van Cleve, Archie Van Cleve, John B. Van Cleve and our son JonMikel B. Van Cleve. Alfondy and your Elnora Van Cleve Brown were brother and sister.

I have also researched Lorenzo Van Cleve who worked on the Capital Building of Texas. He, as you found out, built a lot of the furniture for the “original – FIRST – Capital of Texas” and for some of the congressmen and senators. I have many copies of the receipts for this work. He also had one of the first Cabinet Shops in Austin and built a rocking chair that was mentioned in a book by Ima Hogg, daughter of Govenor Hogg.

While he may not have contributed to the current capital building, I feel that he was a major contributor to our great state. He was there!! He was a part of the beginnings of our great state, for whatever reason he chose to come here. I understand that he also built a bed that he traded to Anson Jones that is on display (?) at the Anson Jones museum.

Anyway, years ago, Dennis Kulvecki mailed me copies of the family pages of Elnora’s Bible that he got from you (I think?). Is is still in good enough condition that maybe I could get those copies again – maybe e-mailed to me – ? The copies I received were not real good. I thought that maybe you might be able to scan them on your computer.

Anyway, nice chatting with you and yes, it is important to, as you say, do your research….before telling the story. I’ve never had time to go to Austin to see if any of the furniture he built still exists today. Once, the librarian at the State of Texas Library told me that it is possible.

Also, did anyone in your family ever know for sure just where Margaret “Peggy” Smith Van Cleve died and was buried. Lorenzo is supposed to be buried in or near Bastrop, according to some of Caswell Bell Van Cleve’s children.

Thanks for your page,
Becky Deal Van Cleve

By: Lillie Ammann

Lillie Ammann — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 06:46:27 +0000

What a funny story, David!

Knowing that you juggle a business, writing, speaking, genealogy, and lots of volunteer activities, Iâ€™ve tagged you for a meme. I wrote a post on my blog about life balance, and at the suggestion of another blogger, Iâ€™ve turned it into a meme.

Here are the instructions on my blog:

To participate, write a post about balance in life and link back to this post: http://lillieammann.com/blog/?p=133. Answer any or all of the following questions or simply share your thoughts about life balance.
How do you achieve balance in your life?
What is your biggest challenge in balancing your life?
What are your priorities?
How have your priorities changed over time and why?
What advice can you share to help all of us balance our own lives?

Thanks for participating.