I have no stories of this side of the family. Why? Because my grandfather, August Eldenburg, ran away from the family farm in Missouri after they migrated here. He didn't want to be a farmer. He loved the American West and everything about it. So he wanted to be a cowboy and took off for Montana.

Things didn't go well up that way, from the story that was told to me. Grandpa got into a barroom brawl and thought he killed a man. So he high tailed off to New York, where he changed his name to Madden. That's also where he met and married my grandmother, Jennie Lamb.

Things in his family came to a head when one fine day, his brother, Frank, showed up at the door and wanted to see August Eldenburg. Who? Why you must have the wrong house....I can only imagine the conversation that ensued. I don't know how my great Uncle Frank convinced my grandmother and great grandmother (likely the latter didn't take a lot of convincing, as she never liked this Charles Madden anyway....hated the Irish, don't cha know?). I do know my Uncle Ernie was five years old and reported to me that his mother was waiting for 'Auggie' as he returned home - toe tapping, arms crossed and furious - while his grandmother was joyous in her glee - now announcing she 'knew he hed the murk of the davil' on him when they first met - and likely also hoping against hope that soon, either my grandfather would be solidly dead and buried or divorced and out of her hair forever.

But that's not what happened. Instead, per my grandmother's instructions, Auggie had to formally and legally change his name, remarry her and adopt his own children - or he wouldn't so much as meet his maker but wish he could. My grandmother apparently was a force to be reckoned with, Yes, she was a nice woman....who wasn't about to be taken in by anyone. Not even someone who she had married for better or worse. And by God, if he wanted worse, than worse he would get!

He staved off hell on earth by agreeing.

Not that ended his story telling. Ever in love with the West, he continued his stories. According to my Uncle Ernie, he loved nothing better than to tell people he was Native American. I've always been fascinated with that story, as my grandpa was born in Prussia! He surely continued to have a German accent?

In my mind's ear, I always heard, 'Ja! I'm Native American,' spoken in a perhaps lighter German accent, but German accent none the less. And he did this in an era when NO ONE admitted to being even PART Native American! (Certainly not my dad's people...at least not out loud so the world could hear.)

I know much about my grandfather due to stories told about the old man. I know mom and Uncle Bob stayed with the Eldenburgs when they were young and mom continued to stay in contact with them and we'd visit when we were kids. But I really didn't understand the connection. Family reunions out that way have been interesting, as I've heard whispers among cousins inquiring as to who exactly I was and why was I there....to be answered with quiet whispers still loud enough for me to hear, 'Oh, she's Augie's granddaughter....you know.....Augie, the one who abandoned the family?'

Okay...so the split runs deep there abouts.....but what about his family? What about his mom and dad and family who came with him to this country? Of that, I really know nothing. They are a bunch of names without personality. I have some photos. I have some papers, such as this one, sent along via the internet by a cousin....but I have nothing to touch or hold or to really understand who these people were - other than hard working and determined to keep their sons safe and likely away from the Prussian army. They had the money. They had the means. So they left that part of the world for a better and safer life.....only my grandpa apparently had other ideas.