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 number of the Swedish church records in…

Surname Saturday: Tolf

I come from a long line of Tolfs. And that’s quite an accomplishment for a Swede! You see, genealogists researching in Scandinavian countries generally encounter the patronymic naming practice early on. Since Tolf was the first name I added to my family tree, I was fortunate not to have the extra challenge of ever-changing surnames. According to Ancestry.com, Tolf was…

She was a Good Christian Lady

From the Batavia (Illinois) Herald, Wednesday 16 January 1901: “Death of an Aged Mother – Died, at the home of her daughters, Misses Christina and Amanda Tolf, on Hueston [sic] St., West Batavia, Sunday, Jan 13, 1901, after an illness of several weeks, Mrs. Elena Tolf, aged 78 years. Deceased was an old resident of…

Reasons to Research

How many names are in your tree? How far back have you gone? If you’ve ever told anybody that you are climbing your family tree, chances are you’ve heard these questions more than once. The answer I’d like to give? Ugh. Why? Because I’m not a collector of names and dates; I collect stories. Some…

August Birthdays

Happy August birthday to my incredibly wonderful husband and to our beautiful granddaughter, to my sister, my paternal grandfather, my uncle Bob, my cousin Bill, my grand-uncle Bud, and my first cousin once removed Faith. Birthdays among my (possibly) German Clarkes: A second great grand-aunt Zora E CLARKE was born in Maryland on the 19th of August…

May Birthdays

Happy May birthday to my favorite grandson, my cousin Alan, grandaunts Barbara and Marie, my granduncle Marv, my 2nd cousins Parick and Sean, my 3rd cousins once-removed Dianne and Judith, and my 4th cousins Mark and Renae. Birthdays among my German Bukmakowskis: A distant cousin Elsie Louise Caroline DOMKOWSKY (Carolina BUKMAKOWSKI’s granddaughter) was born in…