I left off my last blog with the intention of communicating with two sisters, my great aunts, Germaine and Rosemary Door– Two women that practically hold the key to my heritage. I obtained their number and was able to briefly speak with Rosemary this past weekend. She is 93 years old and currently living in Detroit, Michigan with her sister Germaine. They are quite remarkable. They still Ski and tend to their horses; she told me that there was not a day that passes where her age dictates the way she lives. What a treat it was to speak with her. She was able to provide some additional information off the top of her head, which I will share here. However, she plans to mail me more information from her archives she has stowed away that will hopefully arrive this week. I am excited to learn more about Paulina Byllott as well as other figures of my family. Furthermore, I am excited to learn more about Rosemary and Germaine themselves and continue to develop this new found familial relationship.

After much confusion trying to calculate the genealogy. Paulina Byllott is my great, great grandmother. Paulina Byllott traveled to America from Germany with her widowed mother and brother in 1886. Unfortunately, her brother passed at an early age due to a tragic drowning accident. She was a humble, prayerful woman who married August Byllott in 1887. They had four children: Paul, Aloise (my great grandfather), Sophie (Rosemary and Germaine’s mother), and Rosanne. Paulina was a housewife and August was a blacksmith for a ship building company, following in the steps of his father who was the ship captain of couple of vessels that traveled around Europe.

Paulina received this necklace because her and August were benefactors of St. Bonaventure Monastery. The Gothic influenced monastery is a complex of religious buildings located in Detroit, Michigan. The Monastery was established in 1882. Initially it was intended to serve the Catholic Clergy and churches in the area but it also provided aid for the poor, especially during the Great Depression where the monastery was providing up to 3500 meals per day through its soup kitchen. The Capuchin Friars who presented her with this gift were monks whose mission was to attend to simply and directly to the spiritual and other basic needs of the people, especially those of the poor and disenfranchised, promoting justice for all. Apart of their mission was “partnering,” which supported the idea of sharing gifts and responsibility to fulfill the mission of the monastery. With that said, Rosemary believes that the monks gave this necklace to her in gratitude for her faithful dedication and monetary donations. The significance of the beading pattern is still a mystery. I have searched high and low to figure out what the particular name for that beading design or it relationship to anything sacred importance, but I have come up empty handed. Along with this necklace, August and Paulina’s name was engraved on a plaque and placed above one of he windows in St. Josephs church, which was attached to the monastery. Unfortunately, I do not have any photographs of that.

From what I was able to obtain Paulina, as I mentioned earlier, was humble and prayerful. She had a number of friends and was very well known among the clerical community. She became widowed in 1940 when August passed away. Fifteen years later she passed away in 1955, in her late 80’s from a combination of heart problems and old age. However, she was never bed ridden. Rosemary said she passed peacefully in her sleep one evening that year.

Although there are still gaps to fill pertaining to the character of Paulina and her necklace, I feel rather satisfied with what I have been able to learn so far. The element of mystery that this object has, I believe to a certain degree, transcends the true physical and personal reality of the object. I understand the benefits and importance of being able to thoroughly understand the ins and outs of an object; its physical implications and applications, its relationship to the world and those surrounded by it, etc. However, with our inability to travel back in time it is impossible to witness, first hand, the interactions that were made with an object at a given time. I apologize about the cliché I am about to pose, but this mystery leaves room for our imagination’s. I find with this situation particularly I am able to combine the foundational story of who Paulina Byllott was along with the picture of the necklace and meditate, more so fantasize about the relationship between my great great grandmother and this beautiful necklace in a more vivid and intimate way…Where did she wear this necklace? What is it worn for clerical occasion or daily? Did she wear it at all? How did she react when she first received it? Why was this necklace given to Sophie, then to Rosemary and finally to my mother and not originally to Rosanne her other daughter? Did she receive any other merit for her dedication? I could probably pose another handful of questions that will remain unanswered.

Despite my rant I am intrigued though I will be receiving more information and once it is in my possession I shall post it here to share with you all.