by Cindy Eriksen
Charlotte Virden was a very strong and independent woman. I also remember her as loving and extremely stubborn. She was my best friend for a large portion of my life. I could tell her anything without judgments.
I used to ask her about her heritage, but, getting information about her ancestors was like pulling teeth. Whenever I would ask her about family history, she would say, "you might find a horse thief or something". Most of all, what I remember about her is the loss I feel now. A day doesn't go by without missing her, sometimes to tears. She was special......she was my great grandma. And, she was truly 'great' to me.
Great Grandma was born in Hygiene, Boulder Co., Colorado on July 27, 1885 to John Wesley Virden and Nancy (Jane) Morrow. She was the youngest of their 5 children, 3 boys and 2 girls: Mark, Henry, Effie, James Burr, Charlotte. When she was 5, her mother died. She spent a lot of her growing up years living with relatives. Her sister, her aunts (Emily Neikirk & Martha Calkins), and she even stayed for a bit in Bodie, Ca with an uncle. I later have found that his name was William H Virden, the oldest brother of her father, and only child of John F Virden and his first wife, Mary Huston.
Although I never got to know my great grandfather, great grandma painted a wonderful picture of him. He left her as a widow for almost 40 years, but, she never stopped loving him and she never even thought of remarriage. (at least that she let me know of...)
In her later years, when I had the honor of knowing her (after all, she was 77 by the time I was born) , she lived in Redding, CA. Until she was 100, she lived alone in a small mobile in a senior park. The last few years before she died, we would get together once a week, go shopping and go to lunch. It was during those times that my children, Troy & Chrystal, got to know the treasure of their great-great-grandma.
Taken about 1983. Great Grandma, Grandma, Mom, myself and my children.
Click the thumbnail to enlarge.