From: Jack R Thompson To: Benjamin Thompson Sent: Sun, Apr 29, 2012 at 2:14 PM Subject: Thanks PS I have dad's picture of his senior class in pharmacy school. Two women. One black. A black woman pharmacist in 1943 had to be quite the accomplishment. On Sun, Apr 29, 2012 at 11:42 AM, Benjamin Thompson wrote: > Fascinating. So Hattie is your great grandmother? Who had scarlet fever? > Benjamin On Saturday, April 28, 2012 at 18:07, Jack R Thompson wrote: Thanks for getting together today. I hope it was as productive for everyone else as I think it was. I haven't gotten through very much but so far I am in stunned amazement. Pictures over a hundred years old. An impressive six page letter from Ralph to Dad in the Navy around the first of February 1944, only about ten weeks before he died so perhaps his last written communication. And how about this news article: Devotion to 2 Sick Children Costs Life Devotion to her children cost the life of Hattie Ahlenstorf, 33, who died in St. Bernard Monday night. Two of her children had scarlet fever and she exposed herself to the malady by nursing them night and day. She contracted the fever and died within 24 hours. I have determined from Ralph and Hazel's wedding book that Hattie was Hazel's mother. Maybe I wasn't paying attention and everyone else knew this kind of stuff? But so far it has been fascinating to me with a long, long way to go. skip --- EDITORIAL NOTES (added at ingest): This 2012 email thread between Jack R Thompson (Benjamin's father) and Benjamin documents the moment the family first reconnected with the story of Hattie Ahlenstorf's death — likely sometime in the early 1910s, given that Hattie was 33 at death and her daughter Hazel was born March 1, 1899. "Hattie" is a standard nickname for Henrietta, consistent with the 1920 marriage record (artifact seabound-acorn) that names Hazel's mother as "Henrietta Kiefer." Three additional documents are mentioned in the email but not yet ingested on this site: - A six-page letter from Ralph Ringgold Thompson to his son Jack (in the Navy), c. early February 1944, perhaps Ralph's last written communication before his April 11, 1944 death - The news article transcribed above ("Devotion to 2 Sick Children Costs Life") — original clipping not yet located - Jack Ralph Thompson Sr.'s 1943 pharmacy school senior class photo, noted by Jack R Thompson as containing "two women, one black" "skip" is the email sender's childhood nickname (Jack R Thompson, Benjamin's father), used informally with siblings; he dropped it in college and otherwise goes by Jack R Thompson.