where2look4ancestors

Category: Genealogy

  • 1912 Obituaries: October 7

    October is Family History Month. I’m often awed by the genealogical clues hidden in obituaries, which is why I post them here and share them on Find A Grave. The image on the left is a snip from the Deaths column that appeared on page 20 of the Chicago Daily News on…

  • The Sisters

    In May I visited Bohemian National Cemetery in Chicago. It’s an amazing place with winding lanes, mature shade trees, and lots of unique and interesting headstones. To me, the most interesting feature about Bohemian National was the sheer number of memorial portraits. This is the first cemetery I’ve been to where so many headstones had pictures…

  • Burials Unknown

    Most obituaries include the name of the cemetery in which the recently departed will be buried. Not always though. And that can be frustrating for genealogists searching for an ancestor’s final resting place. I found a dozen such obituaries recently. I found cemeteries for a few on FamilySearch and added those to Find A Grave. Maybe…

  • Ice Delivered by Horse-Drawn Wagon

    There’s a picture of a horse-drawn ice wagon on the Brooklyn Historical Society Blog today. It’s their Photo of the Week post which goes on to explain how ice was harvested from frozen ponds and delivered to individual businesses and home. Interesting information about the day-to-day lives of our ancestors. It was particularly interesting to…

  • Waking with the Dead

    Coffee in hand, I head to my desk and start typing. Last name. First name. Date of birth. Date of death. Cemetery section. Photo number. Rinse and repeat. A second cup of coffee. More names. More dates. Lives begun. Lives ended. People buried alone. Families reunited for all eternity. Infants…

  • Stories under the Stones

    Albert W. Schroeder and his wife Julia are buried in Chicago’s Mount Olive Cemetery. Their headstones were among 600+ photos I took for Find A Grave in that cemetery in April. The emblem on Albert’s headstone intrigued me. If the dates on his headstone are correct, Albert was only 19…

  • Mother and Daughter Share Death Date

    Coincidences abound in my family tree. But this one made me do a double-take. My grandmother and her mother died on the same date – July 2nd – 29 years apart.

  • Happy Camera Day!

    This is a reminder to celebrate Camera Day by snapping a picture or two – of a loved one, your current vehicle or the place you live. Save those precious photos to a place your descendants can find them in 50 years. Imagine how much the value of your snapshot will increase over…

  • Peter Swanson 1848-1937

    From the July 1, 1937 edition of the St. Charles (Illinois) Chronicle; “PETER SWANSON The passing of Peter Swanson of 1042 4th street south Friday, after an illness of several weeks, removes an olden time and respected resident who has lived in this vicinity for nearly 70 years. Mr. Swanson…

  • No Mention of the Children

    “The many friends of Mrs. Mary E. Schmitt will learn with regret of her death, which occurred at her home, on Calhoun street, early yesterday morning. Mrs. Schmitt was the daughter of the late John Kauffman, the brewer, who founded the Kauffman Brewing Company, and wife of Emil[e] Schmitt, general…