Category: Genealogy
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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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Killed by the Cars
As much as we’d like to think the 19th century was a kinder gentler time, the truth is that everyday life was filled with close calls. People frequently dashed out of the way of fast-moving horses, streetcars and trains. And, as is reported in the article below, they weren’t always…
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Get to Know the Cemetery Caretaker
Several unrelated couples in my family tree eloped from Chicago to St Joseph Michigan. One day I asked my great-uncle (his mother was 1/2 of one of those couples) why? Uncle Fran said it was a lovely beach resort community and that people would not only elope to St Joseph,…
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New Collections in Ancestry
I booted up my computer to draft a blog post about my Schmitt ancestors for this Surname Saturday. While things were warming up, I checked email. And found this: 54 is a large number of new hints, which in itself is interesting. More interesting however, are the hints that stem…
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Name That Ancestor
I’m addicted to I really enjoy watching genealogy-related shows like Who Do You Think You Are?, Finding Your Roots, Genealogy Road Show, and History Detectives. I have an idea for another show Ancestry dot com could host. I’d call it Name That Ancestor. Here’s how the show would work: Ancestry…
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Labor in My Family Tree
Otto Victor MUELLER was the son of Elise SCHMITT and Anton BIDENHARN. He was adopted (informally I surmise) by Elise’s second husband Jacob Koebe MUELLER. A wonderful snippet about Otto appeared on page 5 of the October 6, 1905 Suburbanite Economist [Chicago Illinois]; “Otto V. Mueller, a former Englewood business…
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Chicago Daily News Obituaries; 18 September 1886
Ancestors who die between census years can often be difficult to trace. Perhaps the following obituaries, published on page 6 of the Chicago Daily News on September 18, 1886 will be of some help to genealogists doing research in the Windy City. The names of the deceased (including a dozen…
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Documenting a Source that Isn’t
Last week I mentioned a sourcing “opportunity” I had. It could complicate citing the marriage of my great-grandfather Alfred Jacob Mueller’s parents on the timeline I am preparing about his life. While drafting this post and attempting to document the aforementioned marriage, I relived the steps I took long ago…
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