Genealogical Findings

Over spring break I went to good old southern Indiana to search the local cemeteries for ancestors. To my surprise, I discovered about 10 graves belonging to the Meurer family. The graves were pretty easy to find and I was able to snap photos of all of them. One place I wish I had stopped was Fountain County's Mount Hope Cemetery. I discovered, while doing searches for my great great grandfather William H Hopper, his tombstone at the cemetery along with his wife Mary J Linville. He has been a very hard person to track down since he went by William later in life and Harrison (or Harris) early in life. In the 1920 census, I located him in Covington, IN. along with his son Walter J. Hopper (who is listed on the 1900 census along with my Great Grandfather S W Hopper, thus connecting the two.) It's been a fascinating, yet extremely difficult task of reconstructing the family history. Now if only I could find out where my great great great grandfather, Philipp A. Meurer, was born at in Germany and WHEN he arrived in America.

On the musical front, I have also been toiling away on a new piano sonata. I have the first movement nearly finished - just working diligently on the development section. The work is a bit different than my regular works. I'm really trying to apply the sonata-allegro format in a different way than I've normally done. Will keep you updated!

Genealogy... Planning for School... and a possible new work in the works!!

It has been an extremely hectic last month! I've been working to raise up the other $500 for my housing deposit (have about 1/2 of it saved and am working on the last half now)! I'm SO looking forward to my time at Roosevelt CCPA. I think it will be an experience of a lifetime! Aside from that, I have been plunging head long into finding out more about my family history. So far, I have discovered 2 Jewish lines in my family that hitherto have been hidden in time! The first is on my mothers side and the second is on my father's side! So exciting. Today, I devoted time to my Hopper roots (my mother's maiden name is Hopper). I discovered that my GGG Grandfather Elijah H Hopper lived in Hopkinsville, KY. He was a wealthy merchant. During the Civil War, I found documentation of transactions made between him and both the Union and Confederate Armies for medical supplies! Fascinating history, really. I also discovered in the Christian County, KY marriage records a STARTLING find: A brother or cousin of Elijah, named Jeremiah Hopper, married a Zachariah Duncan in 1811!!!! Yes, that's right, it's a gay marriage! I viewed the actual document and was just aghast at the news! Musically, I've been pretty much in a dry spell. I think it's probably due to all that has gone on the past few months. I'm going to hopefully begin work on a series of piano miniatures that I've been gestating for a while now. I'll keep you guys (and gals) abreast of any new works!

Dad - 1 year later

Tonight is the evening before the 1 year anniversary of the death of my father. To commemorate the anniversary, I will be spending the weekend with my family in Indianapolis. It's amazing to look back at the past year and see how much things have changed in my life. 1 year ago today, I only *dreamed* of getting back in school. Today, I am not only back in school but in the fall will be transferring to a very good music conservatory to study with an amazing teacher. 1 year ago today, my life lacked clear direction. I dreamed of various projects and complained about how I would do them. Today, my life has a clear direction and I am now working on those projects that I complained about a year ago. I think a lot of the changes this past year have been largely due to the rammifications of my father's death. When I heard the news that morning, it clicked something in my brain and made me realize that life is too short AND one must make the most of it. I decided that morning to go back to school AND today, I am grateful for that decision. Dad, thank you for giving me the impetus to do good in my life. I promise I will not let you, nor I, down. I know you are smiling down upon me. I will always love and remember you!

Genealogy...

When I'm not in class, writing music, or studying, I like to delve into genealogical research. For the past few years, I've been painstakingly piecing together the history of my family. My mother's side was fairly pieced together from my grandmothers work years ago - but there were lots of gaps AND lots of assumptions made based on oral family history. My father's side was largely unknown - all we knew was his dad, my grandfather, was from New Jersey! Doing the research today, I realized that I've done a lot of research and the results are amazing. I think that might make a good book one day!