Wanda

[Benjamin]

Hello,

There is a family story that comes from my mom's side (Germanic, but possibly Scottish/Irish waaaaay back) that gets brought up every now and then. I've heard it several times but until I worked on our genealogy, we didn't know the where, when and how of it. In an odd way we knew the "who" because it was tied in with the "unrelated" story but we were not aware of the connection which the new info clarified.

Wanda was born on the 26 Mar, 1902, in Kisielowka, Volhynia, Ukraine (this village no longer appears on maps after 1932-ish, but it was located about 14 km east of current Volodymyr-Volynskyi, Ukraine). The baby was not well from birth. One day, one of the other daughters (either Emilia (6) or Amalia (4), not sure which) was standing in the doorway of the bedroom watching the baby being gently rocked in a simple cradle by a little unknown girl (age 4-5 perhaps?) sitting on a small wooden stool beside it. The daughter went to get her mother and when they returned, the girl was gone and Wanda had died of "convulsions" (possibly seizure) at 17 days old. The little girl was definitely not a member of the family, and has always been considered to be a ghost.

I'll just say I don't know what this "ghost" was (yet?). I believe the story is true since the daughter had no reason to lie. And the story had to come from somewhere. It's one of the very few (and certainly the oldest) paranormal stories in our family that I'm aware of.

Spoiler: The (Unrelated) Rest of the Story

On May 5, 1903, my grandfather Adolph was born in Kisielowka. The political situation was apparently becoming quite dire, so the family decided to leave the continent completely and emigrate to Canada. (Which they did.) But before they could leave (as the story was told to me) the threat of possible war being so great at that time, it was mandated that no male child could leave or be taken out of the country. Apparently "safegaurds" were added to prevent families from attempting a country-wide en masse exodus since these boys would be needed to fight if war broke out. Never-the-less, the family packed up what they could, changed their six week old Adolph's name to Wanda and, since the authorities never checked, they left. I have ship manifests of the father, mother and their "3" daughters (all under the age of 7) leaving Liverpool, England, June 30, 1903 and arriving in Montreal, Quebec, July 11, 1903. Adolph was masqueraded as Wanda the whole way, even when arriving in Canada.

 

[mkrnhr]

The rest of the story is also interesting. A family that is open to reading the signs can take the necessary actions to avoid "trouble" to put it mildly.
From my very limited experience, almost every family has had a few experiences with the so-called "paranormal". That the latest generations live in a sort of a denial of that reality is of course related to the overwhelming materialist dogma in the general and official culture, but maybe also for the lack of genuine communication within families, a result of the postmodern age. Just a thought.

 

[Benjamin]

Thanks mkrnhr.

with the so-called "paranormal"

I realize now that I should have put this word in quotes to begin with.

lack of genuine communication within families

True. I remember, back in the time of kids, we would talk and joke about dreams and nightmares, ghosts, if we believed in aliens, that sort of thing. But approaching the parents on the same topics met with (but not always) "it was just a bad dream", "ghosts don't exist", "there's no such thing as aliens"... Huh. It just hit me. It's like a systemic "denial program" running... to keep us... food? Am I on the right track with this?

As a clarification note, the "never checked" has a dual meaning in a way. The way the story was explained to me by my uncle Ed (whose father was the "Wanda", and whom I get this story from) alluded that the authorities didn't physically check the baby. But the second meaning is more "trifecta" and only makes sense through the documents. The parents could have chosen any girl's name. This whole venture was a bit of a gamble to begin with. So why did they choose the name Wanda? I believe it was to lower the odds against. If the authorities checked the local church records, they would've found that there was a baby born named Wanda. They wouldn't have found the name Adolph because they were not looking for an Adolph. And death records are usually written in a different book but they wouldn't be looking in the death records because "here is a baby named Wanda". There would have been a problem with the age of the baby, but, hey, they made it to Canada so...

I'd also like to clarify that I do not believe the little girl was the cause of Wanda's death. The way the story was told to me suggested that there was no "malevolence". However, if I really think about it, "malevolence" could be masked. Still, in this case, I'm siding against.

 

[Benjamin]

I forgot to mention that, in the realm of taboo topics, I'm a bit surprised that the Wanda story survived at all.

 

[Renaissance]

Might the little girl rocking the baby actually was a past (and passed) member of the family, perhaps an 'elder' daughter who died young (maybe even a miscarriage?) and was soothing her sister's passing? Could be wrong, but the spirit of this girl would seem likely to have some familial bond to the baby to know that she was passing and needed comfort. The story doesn't strike me as something nefarious either, particularly since the baby was not well.

 

[Benjamin]

Your question is a possibility. However, I think the little girl is not a (former) member of the family. Tthe mother had her first child at age 18y-7m (Emilia- lived a long, full life) followed by another girl (Amalia- lived a long, full life) and a boy (Carl- unsure). Miscarriages are generally recorded but I either do not have the document showing one or there wasn't a miscarriage (which is how I'm leaning because after calculating, the time between those 3 births gets "cramped" if one is added). I checked my tree, went back a generation on both the father and the mother's lines, looked at all their siblings (20 in total), and there are only several weak possibilities (2 girls (mother's siblings) died at age 2-ish, which is still a possibility since I'm guessing at the age of the "phantom" girl). I can go back further but with almost no info other then direct line members (no siblings) I've got nothing to work with. Finding documents online from out of the Ukraine are... few.

was soothing her sister's passing

I like this. Interestingly, it's also the impression I get. When I remember the story being told to me, the whole thing has a very gentle aura about it.

I had always treated the "phantom" girl as an "outsider". But your thought of the two girls being possibly related in some way feels... calm and even more touching. Let's go with yours.

 

[Yupo]

They say little children see spirit forms more readily than adults.

 

[Yupo]

I don't mean to hijack your thread, but it occurs to me that the name Wanda is associated with interesting stories. Anyone else aware of any Wanda Weirdness? Just wondering.

 

[Lilou]

My Great Aunt was named Wanda. She was a wild one! Owned a small tavern with living quarters upstairs! She liked to smoke her cigs and have a few. And she loved to dance.

I have fond memories of visiting Aunt Wanda at her tavern. Not your typical "Grandmother". She passed away of a sudden heart attack at a ripe old age while at the Grand Ol' Oprey in Nashville, Tennessee. Doing what she loved. Not really weird, but she was sure a firecracker! Loved her energy.

 

[Debra]

Wow, this is such an amazing and detailed amount of Ancestral information. Thank you for sharing this.
I would like to offer another angle of viewing this " ghostly visitation", please keep in mind, these are from my own experiences with "visitations" of another girl, and several times, an older lady.
@Benjamin wrote:

One day, one of the other daughters (either Emilia (6) or Amalia (4), not sure which) was standing in the doorway of the bedroom watching the baby being gently rocked in a simple cradle by a little unknown girl (age 4-5 perhaps?) sitting on a small wooden stool beside it. The daughter went to get her mother and when they returned, the girl was gone and Wanda had died of "convulsions" (possibly seizure) at 17 days old.

In several of the C's transcripts, as well as other "channeled" information, the topic of "nodal" points, as possible death dates have been mentioned.
Perhaps the "little unknown girl" WAS Wanda, from an alternate, other timeline, an alternate life where "Wanda" went and gave love and affection to "Herself" and possibly only remembered it, in a "dream"?
Her "sacrifice" of life, as the baby Wanda, possibly saved the whole family, as her identity(the baby Wanda) was used to rescue Adolf.

I myself have experienced several incidents, similar to seeing/hearing someone in my childhood.
They have all been strange out of time experiences, that have stuck with me for my entire life.
As I have reflected on these "times" I have come to think that they have all been Myself, from several "present"times, over the past few years, going back to nodal points, in the "past" and comforting, encouraging and healing "myself" of some very harsh and traumatic memories.
Just a few more bits of "maybes" for what it's worth.

 

[mkrnhr]

The spirit helping in the passing of the little baby doesn't have to be necessarily a sibling or family relative from the actual life, it could be an ancestor, a close individual (spouse, son/daughter) from a previous life, or even maybe a close relative at the soul level. There are many possible possibilities. OSIT

 

[Benjamin]

Thank you Debra.

Wow, this is such an amazing and detailed amount of Ancestral information.

This is the "power" of doing one's genealogy. I support anyone who decides to delve into theirs. If they give the documents the respect their ancestors deserve, the end result is an excellent personalized encyclopedia.

Yes, I vaguely remember reading about nodal points but I will have to go over the material again. It was part of the smear (my newbie post reference).

Thank you for sharing your idea. This is truly mind-bending stuff! And all I can say is maybe. I will say that, after visualizing the situation with your idea applied, it doesn't feel quite right. The original story feels less... "heavy/constricting/... narcissistic (perhaps?)" then this. That being said, I realize now I need to keep an open mind, which is sometimes difficult for me to do.

Cheers!

 

[Benjamin]

I've been thinking how it's never occurred to me before that spirits can show empathy towards others who are suffering. And I mean this in the way of the Wanda story rather then "angels from heaven bestowing blessings upon the poor and infirm who believe". The Wanda story seems more wholesome somehow. There's no "worship" or "selling point" or even any "expectation" of one gaining power over the other. It's just one spirit helping another. I can't think that Wanda demanded help or even asked for it from the little girl. How could she? She was 17 days old! (I can't help but wonder if there is a contemplation zone element at play here. Would Wanda even be aware of it? I doubt I'm aware of mine. Aww heck, I don't even know how that works yet.)

Thinking about this from a slightly Christian angle, I have to wonder if the family thought the spirit girl was an angel. It is interesting, however, that the original story does not describe any shining light, halos, feathery wings, white robes, choir songs, or thick locks of flowing golden hair.

Just sayin'.

 

[Benjamin]

@Debra

"heavy/constricting/... narcissistic (perhaps?)"

I realize that the "narcissistic" description was a judgment. Please disregard.

 

[Renaissance]

I realize that the "narcissistic" description was a judgment. Please disregard.

I didn't see it as a judgment, just that you were able to look at something in a different and less constricting way. That's a good result of sharing your story and networking!