April 28 to May 4 BIRTHS: I first “met” Amanda Sofia Karlsdotter Tolf years ago in a softly lit Family History Center. According to the 1880 census I viewed on the FHC’s microfilm, Amanda and her older sister Frida were working as housemaids in the Geneva Illinois home of a successful local businessman. She was…
On the day I was to sort through a three-ring binder labeled “Ancestors and descendants of Julia Christine Thompson (1888-1964)”, I received an edit request on Find A Grave for Ludwig Charles Ogren, Julia’s brother-in-law. Julia’s older sister Esther Maria Thompson married Ludwig, who was a Swedish immigrant, on the 23rd of February 1918 in…
This day commemorates the successful completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003 and the discovery of DNA’s double helix in 1953. If like me, you are new to the gene pool party, DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid which is the molecule that carries genetic information for the development and functioning of an organism. DNA…
In the March 31 issue of Genealogy Gems, Curt Witcher wrote, “With the recent arrival of spring, may we all feel inspired to intentionally engage in activities that give us opportunities to pursue, preserve and present our families’ stories.” I’ve had the pleasure of attending a number of Curt’s presentations and I always feel energized…
April 21-27 Seeing the places where my ancestors lived their lives was an amazing part of last year’s trip to Scandinavia. BIRTHS: It was an emotional experience being in the spot where “our” cottage stood 154 years ago. Elis Peterssdotter, who I wrote about here, was born at a farm called Skiften in Tånnö April…
I talked about my genealogy binder re-do here thinking I had all my ducks in a row. For the first couple binders, everything was quacking about nicely. Then I hit a few snags. So I made some corrections: Previously I thought this was fine: Then those pesky patronymic names came up and I had to…
One of many treasured memories from last year’s trip to Scandinavia was an overnight visit to Sogndalstrand. A Norwegian newspaper article from 1987 told of a house built there by my 3rd great-grandfather Tønnes Christiansen. It is still standing. Across the street from Tønnes’ house is the lovely Sogndalstrand Kulturhotell which consists of eleven houses…
My 2nd great-grandmother Elisabeth Schmitt had 13 known siblings. One of her younger brothers, Emile, married the daughter of a beer baron in Cincinnati and played an instrumental role in the John Kauffman Brewing Company in the late 19th century. Although I am not related to John Kauffman, I have been interested in his life…
The Chicago Genealogical Society recently coordinated a visit to the Oak Park River Forest Museum. This was a wonderful opportunity for me to finally meet other CGS members with whom I’d been virtually chatting for many months over Zoom. And the OPRFM has a plethora of materials one might use for genealogical research. Amtrak brought…
April 14-20 BIRTHS: 200 years ago this week, my 3rd great grandfather Johan Peter Landström was born in Göteryd parish in Kronoberg, Sweden. He was the sixth-born child of a master blacksmith (mäster smed) and as a young man became a blacksmith himself. Johan raised six sons, most of whom became blacksmiths, and Johan’s only…
Today’s three-ring binder re-do project (sorting, scanning, printing, recycling, future research planning) is focused on a binder labelled “Peder Mysse Tønnesson aka Peter Thompson 03 Jun 1857 – 10 Apr 1938”. Peter is my 2nd great-grandfather. I’ve been piecing his life story together for decades,. While going through the papers in his binder today I…
April 7 to 13 My mother called her grandpa ‘Boppa’. Harry Wilhelm Tolf was my mother’s maternal grandfather born April 7, 1884, in Batavia, Kane, Illinois. Harry’s parents were Swedish immigrants who raised their three children in the far west suburb of Chicago. The family was tightly knit; when Harry’s job took him to the…
I’ve been an Ancestry dot com subscriber mostly on / occasionally off since the nineteen-hundreds. I built my tree on Family Tree Maker. Since FTM works in tandem with Ancestry, changes to one or the other was easy peasy. My free time was limited for a few of those years and my tree would sometimes…
Something wonderful is in the air ~ spring cleaning! Having recently left my 40-hour-workweek behind, I’m all about pulling, purging and perfecting my environment. My digital environment hasn’t escaped the virtual feather duster either; I’m on a mission to bring my genealogy files to a state of organization they haven’t seen for a long time.…
All of my ancestors are interesting to me: strong women, young widowers, trail blazers, determined farmers, gifted children. I love learning about the ones who overcame obstacles, those who found love, the people who traveled great distances and those who stayed put. I’m interested in the geography and history that shaped my ancestors’ lives. I…
where2look4ancestors 