Amalia Harding was born in Tsarist Russia before the Bolshevik revolution ushered in communism. She was the daughter of Conrad Harding and the former Marie Barbara Ditter, direct descendants of the first group of 115 Hessian families - a total of 83 surnames - to emigrate in 1767 upon accepting the offer made by Csarina Catherine the Great to people of the csarina's native land. These intrepid pioneers were the original settlers of the village of Frank, in Saratov, along the banks of the Volga River. The original spelling of the family surname was Hartung; it segued, first, into Hardung, and eventually, into Harding.
When she was nine months old, Conrad and Barbara immigrated to the USA with baby Amalia and her sister, three-year-old Marie. The little family headed for Nebraska to join other family members who had already turned their backs on the oppression imposed by the Russian government to live in the golden land that promised freedom and opportunity to those willing to put forth the effort. Conrad, being a master carpenter and woodworker, provided very well for his family as a US citizen.
When she was about age 17 or 18, Amalia left the safety of her parents' home to make her mark on the world. As happens in most lives, love walked in and stole her heart. So long career; hello marriage and motherhood.
James Lanty Henderson was a third generation American, named in honor of his paternal grandfather. His Henderson great-grandfather had emmigrated from Ireland to Pennsylvania before 1790. James was 17 years older than Amalia. He had had a short-lived marriage that had ended almost as quickly as it began. When he met the teen-aged Amalia, he was already in his mid-30s.
On October 20, 1919, Amalia and James Henderson were married in Council Bluffs, Iowa. They set up housekeeping in nearby Lincoln, capitol of the state of Nebraska.
Amalia's and James' first children were identical twins, both of whom died not long after birth. Their third child, Elenora Arleen, arrived the following year but she, too, died, living only two months. In 1925, Amalia and James finally welcomed a child who survived, Norma Barbara. Four years later, Amalia gave birth to her first son, Jerald Lanty.
In 1931, during medical treatment after a serious accident at work, doctors discovered that James had developed a cancerous condition. After a long, painful last illness, James died on the 2nd day of January 1932. He left behind his 30-year-old widow, their 6-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son. He was laid to rest alongside his father in Oak Creek Cemetery in Raymond, Lancaster County, Nebraska.
On January 23, 1932 in Seward County, Nebraska, Amalia married James' distant cousin, John Edward McNeil, a 49-year-old widower with three sons. The newlyweds moved to neighboring Otoe County where they became the parents of another son, Duane - quickly nicknamed "Bud" - in 1933. In April 1937, the birth of their last child, daughter, Beverly Kay, completed their family.
During the 1940s, John and Amalia and their four children left the Nebraska plains for the sunshine, orange trees, ocean breezes and swaying palms of Los Angeles, California. Their children were brought up there.
John died after a long illness in 1957. Amalia would live another nine years.
Late in May 1966, on the return leg of a trip to Nebraska where she visited her aging widowed mother, Amalia died from injuries sustained in an automobile accident near Needles, California.
Amalia left behind her daughters Norma Halvorsen and Beverly Valentine, sons Jerald Henderson and Duane McNeil, step-sons John, Jim, and Bob McNeil, and 13 grandchildren. She was also survived by her mother, Barbara Harding, who followed her in death 18 months later; sisters Marie Ingram, Pauline Sherman, and Freda Young, and brothers John and Jacob Harding, as well as 11 nieces and nephews.
Amalia Harding's life was hampered by incredible difficulties and heartbreak that would have impeded most people's earthly journey. With gratitude, devotion, and fortitude, Amalia raised her children to hold her adopted country in the same high esteem that she learned at her parents' knees. Fluent in four languages - German, Russian, Dutch, and English - and living in a land where most people were challenged by the intricacies of the rules of English grammar, Amalia refused to teach her children any language other than English. English is, after all, unofficially the dominantlanguage of the U.S.A.
When she was nine months old, Conrad and Barbara immigrated to the USA with baby Amalia and her sister, three-year-old Marie. The little family headed for Nebraska to join other family members who had already turned their backs on the oppression imposed by the Russian government to live in the golden land that promised freedom and opportunity to those willing to put forth the effort. Conrad, being a master carpenter and woodworker, provided very well for his family as a US citizen.
When she was about age 17 or 18, Amalia left the safety of her parents' home to make her mark on the world. As happens in most lives, love walked in and stole her heart. So long career; hello marriage and motherhood.
James Lanty Henderson was a third generation American, named in honor of his paternal grandfather. His Henderson great-grandfather had emmigrated from Ireland to Pennsylvania before 1790. James was 17 years older than Amalia. He had had a short-lived marriage that had ended almost as quickly as it began. When he met the teen-aged Amalia, he was already in his mid-30s.
On October 20, 1919, Amalia and James Henderson were married in Council Bluffs, Iowa. They set up housekeeping in nearby Lincoln, capitol of the state of Nebraska.
Amalia's and James' first children were identical twins, both of whom died not long after birth. Their third child, Elenora Arleen, arrived the following year but she, too, died, living only two months. In 1925, Amalia and James finally welcomed a child who survived, Norma Barbara. Four years later, Amalia gave birth to her first son, Jerald Lanty.
In 1931, during medical treatment after a serious accident at work, doctors discovered that James had developed a cancerous condition. After a long, painful last illness, James died on the 2nd day of January 1932. He left behind his 30-year-old widow, their 6-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son. He was laid to rest alongside his father in Oak Creek Cemetery in Raymond, Lancaster County, Nebraska.
On January 23, 1932 in Seward County, Nebraska, Amalia married James' distant cousin, John Edward McNeil, a 49-year-old widower with three sons. The newlyweds moved to neighboring Otoe County where they became the parents of another son, Duane - quickly nicknamed "Bud" - in 1933. In April 1937, the birth of their last child, daughter, Beverly Kay, completed their family.
During the 1940s, John and Amalia and their four children left the Nebraska plains for the sunshine, orange trees, ocean breezes and swaying palms of Los Angeles, California. Their children were brought up there.
John died after a long illness in 1957. Amalia would live another nine years.
Late in May 1966, on the return leg of a trip to Nebraska where she visited her aging widowed mother, Amalia died from injuries sustained in an automobile accident near Needles, California.
Amalia left behind her daughters Norma Halvorsen and Beverly Valentine, sons Jerald Henderson and Duane McNeil, step-sons John, Jim, and Bob McNeil, and 13 grandchildren. She was also survived by her mother, Barbara Harding, who followed her in death 18 months later; sisters Marie Ingram, Pauline Sherman, and Freda Young, and brothers John and Jacob Harding, as well as 11 nieces and nephews.
Amalia Harding's life was hampered by incredible difficulties and heartbreak that would have impeded most people's earthly journey. With gratitude, devotion, and fortitude, Amalia raised her children to hold her adopted country in the same high esteem that she learned at her parents' knees. Fluent in four languages - German, Russian, Dutch, and English - and living in a land where most people were challenged by the intricacies of the rules of English grammar, Amalia refused to teach her children any language other than English. English is, after all, unofficially the dominantlanguage of the U.S.A.
Amalia Harding was born in Tsarist Russia before the Bolshevik revolution ushered in communism. She was the daughter of Conrad Harding and the former Marie Barbara Ditter, direct descendants of the first group of 115 Hessian families - a total of 83 surnames - to emigrate in 1767 upon accepting the offer made by Csarina Catherine the Great to people of the csarina's native land. These intrepid pioneers were the original settlers of the village of Frank, in Saratov, along the banks of the Volga River. The original spelling of the family surname was Hartung; it segued, first, into Hardung, and eventually, into Harding.
When she was nine months old, Conrad and Barbara immigrated to the USA with baby Amalia and her sister, three-year-old Marie. The little family headed for Nebraska to join other family members who had already turned their backs on the oppression imposed by the Russian government to live in the golden land that promised freedom and opportunity to those willing to put forth the effort. Conrad, being a master carpenter and woodworker, provided very well for his family as a US citizen.
When she was about age 17 or 18, Amalia left the safety of her parents' home to make her mark on the world. As happens in most lives, love walked in and stole her heart. So long career; hello marriage and motherhood.
James Lanty Henderson was a third generation American, named in honor of his paternal grandfather. His Henderson great-grandfather had emmigrated from Ireland to Pennsylvania before 1790. James was 17 years older than Amalia. He had had a short-lived marriage that had ended almost as quickly as it began. When he met the teen-aged Amalia, he was already in his mid-30s.
On October 20, 1919, Amalia and James Henderson were married in Council Bluffs, Iowa. They set up housekeeping in nearby Lincoln, capitol of the state of Nebraska.
Amalia's and James' first children were identical twins, both of whom died not long after birth. Their third child, Elenora Arleen, arrived the following year but she, too, died, living only two months. In 1925, Amalia and James finally welcomed a child who survived, Norma Barbara. Four years later, Amalia gave birth to her first son, Jerald Lanty.
In 1931, during medical treatment after a serious accident at work, doctors discovered that James had developed a cancerous condition. After a long, painful last illness, James died on the 2nd day of January 1932. He left behind his 30-year-old widow, their 6-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son. He was laid to rest alongside his father in Oak Creek Cemetery in Raymond, Lancaster County, Nebraska.
On January 23, 1932 in Seward County, Nebraska, Amalia married James' distant cousin, John Edward McNeil, a 49-year-old widower with three sons. The newlyweds moved to neighboring Otoe County where they became the parents of another son, Duane - quickly nicknamed "Bud" - in 1933. In April 1937, the birth of their last child, daughter, Beverly Kay, completed their family.
During the 1940s, John and Amalia and their four children left the Nebraska plains for the sunshine, orange trees, ocean breezes and swaying palms of Los Angeles, California. Their children were brought up there.
John died after a long illness in 1957. Amalia would live another nine years.
Late in May 1966, on the return leg of a trip to Nebraska where she visited her aging widowed mother, Amalia died from injuries sustained in an automobile accident near Needles, California.
Amalia left behind her daughters Norma Halvorsen and Beverly Valentine, sons Jerald Henderson and Duane McNeil, step-sons John, Jim, and Bob McNeil, and 13 grandchildren. She was also survived by her mother, Barbara Harding, who followed her in death 18 months later; sisters Marie Ingram, Pauline Sherman, and Freda Young, and brothers John and Jacob Harding, as well as 11 nieces and nephews.
Amalia Harding's life was hampered by incredible difficulties and heartbreak that would have impeded most people's earthly journey. With gratitude, devotion, and fortitude, Amalia raised her children to hold her adopted country in the same high esteem that she learned at her parents' knees. Fluent in four languages - German, Russian, Dutch, and English - and living in a land where most people were challenged by the intricacies of the rules of English grammar, Amalia refused to teach her children any language other than English. English is, after all, unofficially the dominantlanguage of the U.S.A.
When she was nine months old, Conrad and Barbara immigrated to the USA with baby Amalia and her sister, three-year-old Marie. The little family headed for Nebraska to join other family members who had already turned their backs on the oppression imposed by the Russian government to live in the golden land that promised freedom and opportunity to those willing to put forth the effort. Conrad, being a master carpenter and woodworker, provided very well for his family as a US citizen.
When she was about age 17 or 18, Amalia left the safety of her parents' home to make her mark on the world. As happens in most lives, love walked in and stole her heart. So long career; hello marriage and motherhood.
James Lanty Henderson was a third generation American, named in honor of his paternal grandfather. His Henderson great-grandfather had emmigrated from Ireland to Pennsylvania before 1790. James was 17 years older than Amalia. He had had a short-lived marriage that had ended almost as quickly as it began. When he met the teen-aged Amalia, he was already in his mid-30s.
On October 20, 1919, Amalia and James Henderson were married in Council Bluffs, Iowa. They set up housekeeping in nearby Lincoln, capitol of the state of Nebraska.
Amalia's and James' first children were identical twins, both of whom died not long after birth. Their third child, Elenora Arleen, arrived the following year but she, too, died, living only two months. In 1925, Amalia and James finally welcomed a child who survived, Norma Barbara. Four years later, Amalia gave birth to her first son, Jerald Lanty.
In 1931, during medical treatment after a serious accident at work, doctors discovered that James had developed a cancerous condition. After a long, painful last illness, James died on the 2nd day of January 1932. He left behind his 30-year-old widow, their 6-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son. He was laid to rest alongside his father in Oak Creek Cemetery in Raymond, Lancaster County, Nebraska.
On January 23, 1932 in Seward County, Nebraska, Amalia married James' distant cousin, John Edward McNeil, a 49-year-old widower with three sons. The newlyweds moved to neighboring Otoe County where they became the parents of another son, Duane - quickly nicknamed "Bud" - in 1933. In April 1937, the birth of their last child, daughter, Beverly Kay, completed their family.
During the 1940s, John and Amalia and their four children left the Nebraska plains for the sunshine, orange trees, ocean breezes and swaying palms of Los Angeles, California. Their children were brought up there.
John died after a long illness in 1957. Amalia would live another nine years.
Late in May 1966, on the return leg of a trip to Nebraska where she visited her aging widowed mother, Amalia died from injuries sustained in an automobile accident near Needles, California.
Amalia left behind her daughters Norma Halvorsen and Beverly Valentine, sons Jerald Henderson and Duane McNeil, step-sons John, Jim, and Bob McNeil, and 13 grandchildren. She was also survived by her mother, Barbara Harding, who followed her in death 18 months later; sisters Marie Ingram, Pauline Sherman, and Freda Young, and brothers John and Jacob Harding, as well as 11 nieces and nephews.
Amalia Harding's life was hampered by incredible difficulties and heartbreak that would have impeded most people's earthly journey. With gratitude, devotion, and fortitude, Amalia raised her children to hold her adopted country in the same high esteem that she learned at her parents' knees. Fluent in four languages - German, Russian, Dutch, and English - and living in a land where most people were challenged by the intricacies of the rules of English grammar, Amalia refused to teach her children any language other than English. English is, after all, unofficially the dominantlanguage of the U.S.A.
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