Author: Laura Aanenson
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Circling the Wagons I Get, but Circling the Headstones?
Why are these headstones in Mauston Cemetery (Mauston Wisconsin) arranged in a half-circle? What does it mean?
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Post-Mortem Picture in Bohemian National Cemetery
the photograph that remains provides a plethora of genealogical clues
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Chicago Daily News Obituaries; 05 Dec 1903
My transcription above is exactly as the notices appeared in the December 5, 1903 issue of the Chicago Daily News
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Family History in the Newspaper; They Were Charged with Bigamy
Not every family tree contains a sensational story like the one below, but black sheep ancestors sure make genealogy interesting, don’t they? From page 1 of the September 18, 1886 issue of the Chicago Daily News; “CHARGED WITH BIGAMY. A Lady from Pennsylvania Has Her Husband Arrested in This City. Henry T.…
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Letters to the Editor Run in My Family
My dad was notorious for writing letters to the editor of his local newspaper. So imagine my surprise (or not!) when I saw this tidbit in the December 11, 1963 issue of the Chicago Tribune: It was written by his mother!
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My Great-Grandfather’s Error-Filled Death Certificate
My great-grandfather James Walton died when my maternal grandfather was six years old. The personal information on James’ death certificate was provided by Alfred Pearson, his wife’s brother-in-law. And much of it is wrong. Alfred got a few things right; James Walton did not have a middle name. And he was male, white and married.…
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Wednesday’s Child; Louisa Potter 1859-1860
Using the cool new Find A Grave app, Husband and I stopped at a dozen or so cemeteries during a recent road trip. Hartwell Cemetery is a small, lovely white-picket-fenced graveyard near Abells Corners and Lafayette Township Wisconsin. Established in 1844, there are many old headstones and the same family names are…
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1915 Obituaries: Dec 2, 5 and 6
The following notices of death appeared in the December 2, 1915 issue of the Minneapolis Journal; “DUNKLEY-Mrs. Anna, aged 91 years, widow of John Dunkley, died Thursday morning at the residence of her daughter, Mrs. F. H. Hale, 2316 Logan av N. She is survived by two sons and three…
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Thousands of Headstones are Sinking into the Ground
More and more cemeteries are going with flat-to-the ground headstones. They are more economical to create and it’s easier to maintain the landscaping around them. But they sink into the soil beneath them. And grass grows over them. And the names are lost to us, sometimes forever. Every fall when we visit the…
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Buried Here But Not; How I Played Hide and Seek on Find A Grave
This year I took over 100 headstone photos in a cemetery where they weren’t. Confused? So was I! I drove through the gates of Memory Gardens Cemetery in the wee hours of May 24th. It was misting and I was rushed knowing the sky would soon give in to the threatening rain.…
where2look4ancestors 