where2look4ancestors

  • Birthday Girl Makes Birthday Cake

    What fun I had making my own birthday cake! Don’t you love the rotary dial phone on the wall?

  • On Downsizing

    We miss this:   We don’t miss this:

  • Carolina Fredrika Tolf 1855-1930

    From page 1 of the Thursday, February 6, 1930 issue of the St. Charles [Illinois] Chronicle: “OBITUARY Mrs. Peter Swanson Mrs. Peter Swanson passed away at her home on Fourth St. south at 10 p.m. Thursday, January 30. Her death was the result of a paralytic stroke which she suffered…

  • Budding Ballerinas

  • Why I Hired a Professional Genealogy Researcher

    I’ve gotten pretty good deciding where to invest my genealogy dollars. Ancestry.com World Explorer provides resources I need when researching many of my ancestors and their FANS. ArkivDigital is my go-to site for Swedish records. My Hamilton County Genealogical Society membership keeps me connected to my Cincinnati ancestors as the Batavia…

  • Pullman Employee Charles Youngberg

    According to the Swedish Husförhörslängder or household examination records 1882 to 1885*: Karl John Ljungberg left Sweden for North America in 1883. He doesn’t appear in the Swedish Utflyttning or moving out records in that or surrounding years, but I can confirm he arrived in America. Americanized Charles Youngberg worked his…

  • Grandpa was a Western Union Boy

    My Grandpa’s family was poor. Really poor. His father died when Grandpa was six years old. His mother took in laundry and cleaned other people’s houses to make ends meet. All the kids got jobs as soon as they were able to work. By able, I don’t mean old enough…

  • Why You Need a Genealogy Success Team

    Nearly four years ago I asked the universe for a virtual Success Team. The universe responded with something a little different than what I had in mind. Something much better than I could have imagined. Instead of the four-person team I envisioned, it’s just Jenny and me. And that is…

  • Signatures of My Ancestors

    One of my favorite genealogical finds is the signature of an ancestor. Imagine my excitement when I saw four at the same time! My 2nd great-grandfather’s probate record contained signatures of all three of his children and that of his daughter-in-law: Jacob Koebe Mueller (1844-1910) was the father of Otto Victor…

  • First Cousin Twice Removed

    What a great smile! That’s the first thing I thought when I saw this picture of Marie Agnes Duha, my first cousin twice removed. Her mother was Agnes Magnheld Clarin (1891-1959), the middle of three daughters born to my 2nd great-grandparents Carl Larsson Clarin (1863-1924) and Bengta Johnson (1866-1895). Marie…