Folded into the rich context of her life was a secret compartment of memories. They stemmed from childhood in France and followed her across the grasslands of Kansas. How did those memories all meld together? What did they prophesize about the core of her being?
Maria Magdalina Kramer was born in 1828 in a region of France that is nestled near the border of Germany. Her ears heard sprinklings of French and German, and she spoke a smattering of each. Her memories would take her back to the convent school where the nuns taught her how to be proficient in needlework. Exactly when and with whom she immigrated to Manhattan, New York, in the early 1840’s is not known. What did her memory record about that ship voyage across the Atlantic?
Somehow while living in Manhattan, she met an Army private who was stationed at Fort Columbus. Her memories would take her back to that meeting and their marriage…she was 15 years old while he was 25. Her groom was Amos Howell Boultinghouse. He was from White County, Illinois. What did her memory record about their journey in 1843 to his home where they would start their family and farm?
Married for almost 20 years, the couple would be separated when Amos reenlisted to once again be a Army private…the Civil War was pulling them apart. Her memories would take her back to those days with the children on the farm…a woman alone. Amos would return back to his family at the end of the war…unharmed. What did her memory record about their reunion back into each other’s arms?
In 1871, Maria was bound on another journey. Amos had gained a new farmland for the family in Osborne County, Kansas, through the Homestead Act. Why did the family decide to move on westward and leave their adult married children behind? Her memories would take her back to how it felt to be carrying a child as they moved on. What did her memory record about giving birth the day after they arrived in Kansas?
Through the years, Maria and Amos farmed the land…suffered several tragedies…Amos dying of exhaustion eight years before her. Her memories would take her back to those days of hardship and parting from her beloved Amos. What did her memory record about those final days and her final journey?
Taking any of her memories out of context still highlights the richness of her life…my beloved second great grandmother…Maria (Mary) Kramer Boultinghouse.
Once Upon A Lifetime: Tales And Vignettes Of My Ancestors 
We search for every tidbit but sadly can never know much of what our ancestor experienced day-by-day or felt.
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