Grandma Mina

My Grandma Mina Melby 

 was born on October 20, 1857

in Toten, Norway.

When she was young, she developed an infection

in her left eye and the eye had to be removed.

She wore a glass eye for many years.

The glass eye would chip and need to be

replaced now and then,

So when she got older, she tired of replacing the glass eye

and put a piece of cotton in her eye instead.

Mina had red hair, so I suppose

Dodie & I can blame thank her for that.

She immigrated to the U.S. in 1885

and got so seasick that she thought she would die.

She eventually settled in Minneapolis

and was a charter member of

St. Olaf Norwegian Lutheran Church.

It was here, where they were both in the choir,

that Mina met Gunerius Melby.

They were married in 1887.

Mina & Gunerius had 8 children:
George #1, Anna, Rachel, Joseph,
George #2, Benjamin, Thora & Ralph

George #1 & Thora died as young children.

Mina was 47 years old

when her youngest, Thora, was born.

Gunerius died in 1929,

and when their son (my dad, Ralph) got married,

Mina lived with them for a time.

How would you like to be a newlywed

with your mother-in-law living with you?

Uff-dah!

[Mom said it wasn't always so easy,

but she really didn't complain much about it.]

When doing my genealogy, I discovered

some interesting things about Mina's family,

including:

Mina's uncle, Herman Hamborg

was a "celebrity" of sorts.

When Herman was 18 he went to London with Sir John Rice Crowe.

They stopped in Sweden and were entertained

in the palace by King Oscar!

Herman mingled with Charles Dickens

and singer Jenny Lind,
known as the "Swedish Nightengale."

He became a citizen of England and lived there

the rest of his life.

Mina was a godly woman, and part of

her obituary reads:

"...since that time she has suffered

greatly and longed to depart to be with her

Lord, whom she loved and served. 

Her prayer was that her friends

and loved ones would find Jesus

and know Him as their Savior."

Mina was 79 years old when she died on October 20, 1936.

Mina Gaarder Melby - In all the pictures we have of her,

they are taken from the side in order to hide the

glass eye or cotton-ball in the eye.