Category: Genealogy
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How to Take Better Headstone Pictures for Find A Grave
“Help us find the ending to every family story.” This is the sentiment behind Find A Grave Community Days, an event in which genealogists and taphophiles everywhere are encouraged to “Help preserve your local cemetery.” I hope you’ll join the cause! It’s an amazing way to pay it forward for…
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Who Do You Think YOU Are?
For decades, I thought I was 50% Swedish and 50% German. Never mind that my maternal grandfather was somehow English. I’m not sure how we overlooked that bit of information, but I continued to believe I was half one ethnicity and half another long after I should have known better.…
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5 Reasons I Love Family History Month (and Why You Should Too)
An entire month to celebrate genealogy? Sign me up! Even Congress understands the importance of family history: On June 27, 2003 a resolution introduced by Senator Orrin Hatch was agreed to in the Senate without amendment and with a preamble by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR S8846-8847; text as passed Senate:…
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Are You My Ancestor?
Along the same lines as my proposed TV show Name That Ancestor, I have a book idea. It’s a take off of the children’s book Are You My Mother? In this time machine fantasy series, we could go back to the date a picture in our collection was taken and…
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Instant Ancestors
The tongue-in-cheek sign by these cabinet card photographs stopped me in my tracks. I’m sure the antique shop owner thought it would be an attention-grabber. It certainly worked for me. Most of the cards were blank on the back. But this card had been a gift, signed by the sender:…
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The Census Mistake that Wasn’t
Something had clearly been erased and a new word written in it’s place. I assumed “farmer” was the erased word. That’s the occupation I most often associated with my 2nd great-grandfather William Penrod CLARKE. And optician? Why would the census taker have written that? William was the second of 11…
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Following the Bread Crumbs Left by My Clarkes
Every person bitten by the genealogy bug knows the danger/value of exploring collateral lines. The Clarke branch of my family tree is a maze of interesting twists and turns. I often learn more about my Clarke direct line ancestors by focusing less on them and more on the people with…
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Two Sides of a Coin
Gustave Mangels‘ sister Louise was a woman ahead of her time. She worked for the Federal Reserve Bank in the early 20th century when women didn’t hold such positions. But all her life she suffered from a mental illness that would eventually overtake her. Rosa Louise Mangels died in a…
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Oh, the Questions I Would Ask
My great-grandfather Gustave Robert MANGELS died on this day 44 years ago. Although I was 13 or 14 at the time, I had never met him. And as I was drafting this post, I started wondering how much my dad had known of his grandfather. Gustave and my great-grandmother Esther…
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They Became Americans
Today is our nation’s Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. It is a day set aside to recognize the adoption of the United States Constitution and those who have become U.S. citizens. I’m proud of the members of my family who made a dangerous trip across an ocean to start a new life…
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