The following obituaries were transcribed from page 6 of the January 30, 1894 issue of the Chicago Daily News; “BAER-Jan. 2[8?], 1894 FRANZ BAER, beloved father of Mrs. Wendelin Seng, Frank Baer and Mrs. Nicholas Hansen, aged 77 years. Funeral Wednesday, Jan. 31, from his late residence, corner Clark-st. and Ridge-av., at 9 a.m., to…
It seemed like the main gates were closed every time I drove past Westlawn Cemetery. I really wanted to see this cemetery and I had hoped to fill a photo request for Find A Grave. This trip was no different – the cemetery gates were closed as usual so, a little disappointed, I went to one of…
In October I visited Calvary Cemetery in Evanston Illinois. It was my first trip to the predominantly Irish Catholic cemetery which was consecrated in 1859. It was also the first time I saw a bas-relief of the deceased on a headstone. Meet Grace O’Dwyer Ryan who was born in Ireland in 1824. Grace died in 1909. Grace has been added…
I’m not related to Catharine, but I would like to help her return to her family. The mystery is her surname – can you make out the spelling? If you are able to reunite Catharine with her family here or on Find A Grave, I will give you an honorable mention as the super sleuth you are!…
If you’ve followed my blog for any length of time, you may already know I’m a Find A Grave contributor. In fact, last year my love of cemeteries and headstone photography upstaged my family history research! I believe Find A Grave plays an important role in the preservation of history, art and architecture. And the people laid to rest…
Looking back on my genealogy-related accomplishments in 2015, my thoughts go first to the one that brought me the most joy. I visited 24 cemeteries this year. Three visits helped with my family history research. Maybe one of the others will help you with yours. If you haven’t yet made your New Year’s Resolutions, please consider becoming a Find A Grave photo…
I’m currently working on a 2016 series of blog posts about Find A Grave
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 seen over and over. One…
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. A short distance in I could…
I was transcribing obituaries for Find A Grave recently and was once again reminded of all the hidden genealogy gems they contain. How many can you find? From page 7 of the March 11, 1892 edition of the Chicago Daily News; “QUINLAN-March 10, 1892, BRIDGET, the beloved daughter of Patrick and the late Bridget Quinlan, aged 16…
