where2look4ancestors

  • Carl Tolf 1767-1827

    My 5th great-grandfather Carl Tolf was a master blacksmith (hammarsmedsmästare) or in the words of Google Translate a “blacksmith’s hammer champion“. Carl lived primarily in Lindefors Bruk, Svenarum, Sweden for 60 years. He was born on this day in 1768 – that was 247 years ago. I have located a…

  • William John McBane 1877-1938

    Could William McBane point me toward Jacob’s birthplace in Switzerland? Talk with me about my family tree and there’s a chance you’ll hear me go on and on mention that I’m obsessed with interested in finding the birth place of my 2nd great-grandfather Jacob Koebe Mueller. Without this specific piece of information, I…

  • Mom in the 1940 Census

    The census taker made a number of errors on this record. For example my mother is listed as the son of her parents rather than their daughter. And at just seven years old, she had already attended school for seven years: But the record still provided some interesting information. Particularly when…

  • 10 Traits Every Genealogist Must Have

    Wondering how to make the most of your family history research this year? As with all genealogical research, you must begin with yourself. You’ll need: A sense of humor Misspelled names, poor indexing, out of print reference books. What’s a family history researcher to do? Laugh and the world laughs…

  • Fun with Genealogy Files Part 3

    I’ll bet you’ve been wondering how my genealogy filing project is coming along. 🙂 You may remember that in Fun with Genealogy Files Part 2, I shared my desire to create virtual place holders for each of my direct line ancestors that matched my paper file place holders. I also…

  • Peter August Tolf 1858-1929

    Happy birthday to my 3rd great-grandfather born on this day 157 years ago! The parish register of Births (Födde) and Baptisms (Döpte) [in] Svenarum [for the] year 1858: Pehr August was born on the 1st day of the 1st month and was baptized two days later. In the column following the new…

  • 1894 Obituaries: December 20

    Deaths reported on page 7 of the December 20, 1894 issue of the Chicago Daily News included Mary Ann Adams, Belinda A Brookes, John Cadigan, Eddie Cashion, Elizabeth Carroll (nee McLeanan), Margaret Carey, Bridget Coffey (nee Murphy), Marie Cleary (nee Prentergast), John Flahterty, Fannie Freese, Patrick J. Hogan, Honora Kennedy,…

  • Unexpected Deaths in 1894 Chicago

    P. McCondelle died in the county hospital after falling from a Blue Island Avenue cable car. On the same page the death of a 62 year old man named Leonard (is this his first name? his last name?) also died unexpectedly.  

  • Merry Christmas!

    May Merry Christmas oft return to all our friends most dear, God bless you all and send you all a prosperous New Year!

  • Batavia News Travels to Chicago

    I found it interesting that news from Batavia (roughly 30 miles west of Chicago) was reported in the Chicago Daily News via Elgin Illinois. It’s a reminder to thoroughly search ALL the newspapers in a wider geographic area when I’m on the trail of an elusive ancestor.