Happy September birthday to the leaves on my family tree including my eldest incredible grandson, my nephew Zach, my uncle Ernie, my grand-uncle Fran, my cousin Michael, and to Andrea – my first cousin once-removed, Branden and Tyler – my first cousins-twice removed, and Joseph – my 4th cousin once-removed.

September births from the roots of my family tree include:

My German Bukmakowskis:

• Fredrick DOMKOWSKY (23 Sep 1878) is a first-cousin thrice-removed, the child of my 2nd great-grandmother’s sister Carolina BUKMAKOWSKI. While not technically part of my roots, I find the DOMKOWSKY story interesting because the entire family legally change their surname from DOMKOWSKY to MANGELS, my 2nd great-grandmother’s married name. Why would a nephew want to change his name to that of his aunt’s husband? Could there be another link between the DOMKOWSKY and MANGELS families?

My Swedish Carlsons:

• A first cousin twice removed, Edward H CARLSON (17 Sep 1904) is a first generation American, born to Swedish-immigrant Carl Magnus CARLSON. Carl hosted the family New Year’s Eve party for many years and coupled the celebration with that of his birthday which was January fifth.

My (possibly) German Clarkes:

My 2nd great-grandfather William Penrod CLARKE (16 Sep 1858) was born in Funkstown, Washington, Maryland. His mother died when William was 12. He and his 10 siblings were scattered among relatives, friends and neighbors.

As a young man, William moved from Maryland to Springfield, Clarke, Ohio where he met and married Mary Ella LITTRELL. The couple had one child before moving to Chicago where William worked as a machinist. Later he farmed in Michigan where this picture was taken.

William’s brother Harry Orville CLARKE (02 Sep 1877) also settled in Chicago as did their brother Elmer Eugene CLARKE. Elmer’s 10 children included Clifford Morgan CLARKE (22 Sep 1894) and Edna Jeanetta CLARKE (03 Sep 1906).

Birthdays among my Swedish Landstroms:

• I don’t know very much about my 2nd great-granduncle Gustaf Adolf LANDSTROM (24 Sep 1855) except that he was born in Norra Sandsjö, Jonkopings, Sweden and died at age 35 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.

Birthdays among my (possibly) German Littrells:

• Another 2nd great-granduncle, Henry Charles LITTRELL (14 Sep 1856) was born in Salem, Roanoke, Virginia. He was the oldest brother of the aforementioned Mary Ella LITTRELL.

Birthdays among my Swedish Petersons:

• My 3rd great-grandmother Johanna Kristina ANDREASDOTTER (29 Sep 1836) married Peter Johan JOHANISSON in 1864. Following Swedish naming practices, their children’s’ surnames were PETERSSON and PETERSDOTTER.  Five of Johanna’s seven children immigrated to the United States where they would all use the surname PETERSON.

Birthdays among my French Schmitts:

• My 2nd great-grandaunt Anne-Marie SCHMITT (04 Sep 1844) was born in Hellimer, Moselle, Lorraine, France. Her family immigrated to Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio when Anne-Marie was 10. She married Carl PLUM about 1867 and moved with him to Chicago, Cook, Illinois where they raised eight children including Julius Jacob PLUM (05 Sep 1878).
• Anne Marie’s nephew Arthur J SCHMITT (07 Sep 1882) remained in Cincinnati where he was born and made a name for himself in the banking industry.
• Another nephew Jules Arthur DROLL (22 Sep 1884) was also born in Cincinnati. He relocated to Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio where he died in 1960.
• Anne Marie’s sister Sophia SCHMITT, who lived in Cincinnati for her entire adult life, had three September-born children; Clara BIEDINGER (30 Sep 1873), Albert Joseph BIEDINGER (16 Sep 1877) and Emil Julius BIEDINGER (28 Sep 1883).

Birthdays among my Norwegian Thompsons:

• My great-grandaunt Esther Maria THOMPSON (11 Sep 1886) was a first-generation American, born to a Swedish immigrant mother Maria Fredrika PETERSON and a Norwegian immigrant father Peter THOMPSON. Esther married Swedish immigrant Ludwig Charles OGREN and moved to Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio where they raised their adopted daughter Ruth OGREN.

Birthdays among my Swedish Tolfs:

• My 2nd great-grandaunt Carolina Fredrika TOLF who immigrated to Geneva, Kane, Illinois and married Peter SWANSON had a September baby, Ernest Carl SWANSON (09 Sep 1881) and a September grand-baby Ruth SWANSON (20 Sep 1916).

Birthdays among my Manx Waltons:

• Roie WALTON (30 Sep 1908) was one of five siblings my grandfather lost during his childhood. I can only imagine the pain my great-grandmother felt when she lost this child to bronchial pneumonia when he was just 1 year, 8 months, and 28 days old.

Are any of my ancestors in your family tree too?

If so, please contact me at where2look4ancestors [at] gmail [dot] com.