Happy New Year with Vintage Postal Greetings

 

From the archives of Wood family history, two penny postal greeting cards sent to Cleveland in the early 1900s. Cousins, aunts, uncles, siblings all exchanged cards like these to keep connections strong in the Wood family.

May your new year in 2025 be peaceful and bright. 

Wow! Reclaim the Records Got BIRLS Files for Us for Free

Reclaim the Records, that terrific nonprofit fighting to make public records public, won a lawsuit that makes a huge US military veterans' database available to all for the very first time--at no charge. And they didn't stop there. 

Reclaim the Records created not just a neat searchable website for finding US veterans in the BIRLS (Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem), it built in a super-easy, super-convenient process for asking for Veterans Affairs records via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with just a few clicks and an electronic signature.

Read the fine print on the BIRLS site (birls.org) to see what documentation is included in these veterans' records. Also note that you don't have to be a relative or prove any connection to request the records. And be aware there may be a small charge for the records you ultimately want to receive.

In less than 5 minutes, I searched for a cousin's name in the database, found him, checked the details to verify, and submitted a FOIA request. This process ordinarily means writing a request, signing the document, and faxing it to the VA. (In fact, I used the old-fashioned "write a letter and fax" process just a few weeks ago.) Now, thanks to Reclaim the Records, those different steps are automatically built into the streamlined process right on birls.org. 

Today's request through the Reclaim extra-convenient process is the first of many I intend to submit. No doubt the VA will initially be overwhelmed by a tsunami of requests. But it will eventually catch up and oh boy I can barely wait to see what info I get that will become part of family history!

Vintage Christmas Greetings from the Wood Family

 

These colorful greetings are just two of the many penny postal greetings sent to a young Wood relative in Cleveland, Ohio from about 1907 to 1915.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukkah!

Remembering Alex and Jennie's Christmas Eve Wedding

On December 24, 1916, my maternal great uncle Alexander Farkas (1885-1948) married Jennie Katz (1886-1974). Alex, an immigrant from Hungary, was a salesman for Singer Sewing Machines, and would turn 31 years old on the day after his wedding. Jennie, also an immigrant, was 30 years old and an accomplished dressmaker, able to look at a fashion item and sew it up with her own special flair. 

Their wedding was a fun family affair, including Alex's many siblings and their spouses plus a few of Jennie's Katz relatives. The one child at their wedding was Alex's nephew Fred Schwartz, who was only four years old. In the surviving wedding photo, the guests are wearing party hats and smiling broadly. Must have been quite the celebration!

Alex and Jennie got married in what was then the First Hungarian Congregation Ohab Zedek, a beautiful Greek Revival-style synagogue on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. Today, the building is a performance space just a few blocks from the Tenement Museum that illuminates immigrant life in the Big Apple from 1860s-1970s. 

The couple had no children and doted on their many nephews and nieces. Jennie eventually became so successful under the professional name Madame Jennie Farkas that Alex quit his job to help manage her business. After Alex died in 1948, at age 62, Jennie continued to stitch custom creations for clients and also made fashions for special family events. She passed away at age 88 in 1974, deeply mourned by the Farkas family. 

Linking to Digitized Genealogy Booklets

When I began my genealogy journey in 1998, I had access to a photocopied edition of a Larimer family history booklet printed in 1959. My late mom-in-law had marked changes/corrections/additions, giving me a head start on tracing this line. Years later, I inherited the original (a silvery booklet) and now I can see the changes even more clearly. Plus I feel free to mark up my photocopied version 😉

Not all Larimer researchers know about this booklet. If I hadn't had the Wood family's photocopied edition, I probably would not have known! 

Yet this Larimer booklet has been available via Family Search for a long time; only in recent years has it been digitized for easy access by anyone, from anywhere. Now I've been including links to it on Larimer ancestor bios, hoping to help other researchers interested in the family's background. 

As shown above, I included a link to the Larimer book on the MyHeritage bio of Brice S. Larimer. Anyone can follow the link and see the entire book. There are other ways to add such links: as a link along with other sources, for instance.

I also included the link on Brice S. Larimer's profile on the public tree I posted on Ancestry (as shown above). 

Over time, I'm adding this link to other Larimer ancestors and on other genealogy sites, including WikiTree and FamilySearch--making it a snap for others to access the digitized booklet. Despite its limitations, the booklet has plenty of clues for researching the Larimer line. My good deed is sharing the link far and wide.

Good deed is the week 51 prompt for Amy Johnson Crow's fun #52Ancestors genealogy challenge. I've already joined Amy's challenge for 2025. If you want to join, here's the link. 

Looking Back at 2024 Family History Progress

This has been another busy year of genealogy, with many projects and ongoing plans for sharing family history with future generations.

• Bite-sized ancestor bios continue as a major priority, and I'm making great progress. Some bios are quite detailed, some are quite brief (2-4 sentences) but all are intended to keep ancestors' memories alive for the future. The chart at right shows the main surnames I've profiled so far on WikiTree during 2024. No one has posted more bio profiles of Larimer surnames than me! Larimer was the name of my husband's immigrant ancestor back in the 1700s. 
• I've been redoing genealogy research on key ancestors, because new documents, stories, and photos become available all the time. Lots of progress here too, searching not only vital records databases but also newspaper databases for mentions of ancestors. Plus I've begun the process of learning more about my Dad's WWII military service and postwar health, following the steps recommended by Alec Ferretti in his webinar about US military pension records. I'm awaiting a response from the VA about Dad's file, which should have lots of info. 
• Getting rid of unneeded paper in my genealogy files...an ongoing process that has resulted in many trips to the recycle bin. Bonus: I'm following up on details that now have more significance than they did when I first saw a document or photo a decade or more in the past--meaning I'm putting the pieces together and learning more even as I downsize my paper files.
• I'm still telling family history stories, in books as well as orally. This year I created a small (6" x 6") book about my husband's Mayflower ancestors so that descendants will have this important background in writing! One grandchild actually asked a question about it 👍
• Little progress on a project I began two years ago: moving old photos from archival boxes to archival photo albums for the convenience of the younger generation. I want them to be able to browse albums and read captions instead of pawing through archival boxes. Maybe in 2025.
• Cousin connections continue! I've heard from a number of cousins interested in our family tree and with additional info to share. I'm thankful for their assistance.

Remembering Abraham Berk and the Hebrew Sick Benefit Assn of Montreal

 

My grandfather and his older brother, Abraham Berk (1877-1962), left their home country of Lithuania around the turn of the 20th century. They stopped off with their aunt and uncle in Manchester, England, learning a new language and making extra money for their trip across the Atlantic. Both were trained in carpentry and cabinet making, both able to make a living anywhere.

While in Manchester, Abraham fell in love and married Anna Horwich (1880-1948) in 1903. By mid-1904, he was on a ship bound for Canada while she stayed behind, awaiting the birth of their first child. He found a place to live in Montreal and began working, sending for Anna and their daughter Rose in 1905. The couple soon added to their family with three more children: Lily, William, and Irving Isidore.

Incorporating the benevolent association

Redoing my research this week, I discovered a new-to-me legal notice published on Oct 31, 1919 in the Le Canada newspaper, via OldNews.com. 

Abraham Berk, contractor, was one of the people involved in incorporating the Hebrew Sick Benefit Association of Montreal. This association had already been active since 1892, and in fact it was the oldest mutual aid group of its type in Montreal. In 1919 it was being incorporated and as part of the process, the association published a legal notice about the change in status. Abraham was 42 years old at the time, and his wife Anna was 39. 

Buried in the association plot

In 1948, Anna Berk died, aged 68, and was buried in Baron de Hirsch Cemetery in Montreal, in the Hebrew Sick Benefit Association plot. Abraham was also buried there when he died on Dec 11, 1962, at age 85. 

Remembering great uncle Abraham on the anniversary of his death, a man devoted to family. 

Why I Love Address Books Handed Down from Ancestors!

I'm a big fan of scrutinizing address books handed down from ancestors in the tree. Especially since my maternal family tree has three men named Joseph Roth, it's been a challenge to determine who's descended from which Joseph and what the relationships are between the Roth branches. My connection is through a sibling of my great-grandmother who married a brother of Joseph Roth. 

Above, a snippet from the neatly printed loose-leaf address book of Joseph Roth (1858-1945), who was married to Julia Gutfried (1862-1937, name Americanized by others in the family as Goodfried). The book was handed down to a granddaughter who very kindly allowed me to scan and analyze the contents.

Matching names to the tree

I've worked my way through nearly all of this address book, matching the names and addresses to this Joseph Roth's children and grandchildren. This entry for Howard Weinberg initially puzzled me, especially the notation "private."

But I was also missing a spouse for Joseph Roth's granddaughter Vivian Ruth Rethy (1917-1991). Could Howard be Vivian's husband? Bear in mind, the address book didn't get handed down in Vivian's line, it was from one of the other Joseph Roth men in the tree 😉.

At the back of the address book was a list of names and dates. They were birth dates of Joseph's children, their spouses/children, and some in-laws. I matched "Vivian Weinberg" with her birthdate, and below her name was "Howerd __" meaning same surname as Vivian. 

Creatively spelled given name, but now I had a good hypothesis. I researched Howard Weinberg with the birth date in the phone book, and in conjunction with Vivian's name. I quickly found their marriage record and Census documents with street address, etc. 

Occupation and address matches 

Also I found Howard's WWII draft registration from 1940, showing his occupation as an optician. Continuing my search, I came up with a New York City phone book entry for an optometrist/optician in Manhattan, with both business and residence address/phone numbers.

These street addresses and phone numbers are an exact match for the address book kept by Joseph Roth, grandfather of Howard's wife. A bit more research and I had an obit for Howard Leonard Weinberg (1916-1985) who had retired from the Big Apple to Palm Beach, Florida. I'll do descendancy research to try to trace Howard and Vivian's two children.  With luck, more cousin connections are in my future.

Amy Johnson Crow's genealogy prompt for this week in her #52Ancestors series is "Handed Down." 

Remembering the Birth of Twins 105 Years Ago

Today is the 105th anniversary of the birth of my much-loved Mom (Daisy Schwartz Burk, 1919-1981) and her dear twin sister (Dorothy Schwartz, 1919-2001).

Their mother, my Grandma Minnie, dressed them alike when they were young. Although no names are on this late 1920s photo, I believe Mom is on the left and Auntie Dorothy is on the right. 

As shown below in the 1919 index of births in Bronx, New York, Dorothy's birth cert is 14223, and Daisy's birth cert is 14224, confirming that Mom was the younger twin.

Remembering Daisy and Dorothy's birth 105 years ago today. Always in our hearts.

Holiday Gifts with Family History in Mind

There are so many ways to add a family history touch to holiday gift-giving.

At left, a personalized holiday ornament showing a beloved ancestor with name, dates, and the inscription "in memory of" with a dove. 

Below, a woolen scarf from the area of Scotland where my husband's McClure ancestors originated. A few years ago, we gifted these to his siblings for winter wear.

Below, a tall mug personalized with the century-old photo of a cute young lady from the family tree. Our relatives treasure mugs and tumblers with reunion photos and other meaningful family photos from today and yesterday.

Above, an example of adding family photos old and new to personalize a calendar. Calendars like these have been part of my family's tradition for 16 years. A niece actually asked to take over the creative side because she enjoyed the calendars so much! This is her 4th year making the calendar.

Below, an ancestor woodcut (scanned and enlarged from a 135-year-old newspaper) transferred to a T-shirt. My husband wears this one all summer long and we gave shirts to the younger generation, too.

Finally, are you looking for a gift for yourself or a friend/relative who loves genealogy? Please consider my book, Planning A Future for Your Family's Past, a concise guide to organizing, storing, preserving, and sharing family history for today and tomorrow. Thank you!

Happy Thanksgiving from 1913

This holiday penny postcard was sent to my husband's uncle in Cleveland, Ohio in 1913. The eight-year-old recipient might not have been able to read the greeting written in cursive. The sender, living in Chicago, says she has "company just now and will write a longer letter very soon."

I'm not sure about the turkey's unique coloring but I do appreciate how my husband's ancestors stayed in touch for every holiday and in between.

Wishing you and your family a happy and healthy Thanksgiving.

Family History: Ration Book Thanksgivings

 
On Thanksgiving weekend, my husband will be showing these ration coupons to our family and telling the story of how his parents (Marian Jane McClure Wood and Edgar James Wood) needed to bring their ration books to the store when they bought certain foods during World War II. Coffee rationing began in November, 1942, and ended in late July, 1943--spanning a single Thanksgiving. Other foods and items were rationed much longer.

I'm sure the younger relatives will have heard of wartime food rationing but most likely never saw actual ration coupons inside a personalized ration book. These coupons belonged to Marian, whose name and address are on the front of the book. 

Thankfully, the Wood family's ration books survived the past 80 years and are now stored in archival boxes in my home office, to be passed to the next generation along with stories. 

Do you have family history artifacts you can share on Thanksgiving to stimulate conversation and tell stories about ancestors' lives?

Remembering Leona Walaszczyk, Former Director of the Macy's Parade

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Polish-born Lee Wallace (1903-1989) was the head of public relations for Macy's in New York and therefore the boss of the store's hugely famous Thanksgiving Day Parade. In fact, 2024 is the 100th anniversary of this incredible parade!

The Parade always took place around the time of Lee's birthday, November 24th, so I doubt she had time for any personal celebrations. Lee was my aunt Dorothy Schwartz's beloved life partner. 

Walasyk to Wallace

Before I began writing this post, I reviewed my research and looked for anything new. It wasn't so long ago that I found out Lee had Americanized her surname from Walasyk to Wallace. 

Now I've uncovered a 1951 newspaper legal notice mentioning Lee and her brothers and their children. New news about Lee's original surname!

Walaszczyk to Walasyk to Wallace

Published in the Record newspaper of Hackensack, New Jersey, the notice announces that the undersigned will apply for a judgement authorizing them to "assume other names."

Interestingly, Lee was using the name "Leona Z Wallace" as long ago as 1936, when she applied for a Social Security number. I have a copy of that application. I wonder why the family, together, took legal steps to change to the Wallace name in 1951? (Update: A BlueSky follower suggested it might be due to one or more of the Wallace family members intending to apply for a US passport. That sounds quite likely!)

Anyway, by discovering their original surname was Walaszczyk, I was able to find her and her parents and siblings in the 1915 New Jersey Census and the 1920/30 US Census records. Her father Anthony was a silk weaver, as was her mother Frances. Lee's parents never simplified their surname to Walasyk, but her brothers did, and after their parents passed away, they all ultimately switched to Wallace in 1951.

Happy birthday to Leona Z. Walaszczyk (pronounced VALASHCHICK), who headed the most well-known Thanksgiving parade in the United States, with my Auntie Dorothy at her side. 

Did David Light Join the California Silver Rush?

My husband's Bentley ancestors moved from upstate New York to settle in Elkhart county, Indiana in the mid-1830s. William Tyler Bentley (1795-1873) and his wife Olivia Morgan Bentley (1799?-1838) had seven children before she died during a particularly severe winter in Indiana. 

William never remarried. About 1850, he went west to begin farming in Tulare County, California as it became a state. Many of his family members also went to California at that time to farm or raise livestock.

William's daughter Elizabeth E. Bentley (1821?-1898?) married widower Emanuel Light (1815-1897) in Elkhart, Indiana in 1847, becoming a stepmother to his sons David and Eugene. The family moved to California and settled in Santa Rosa, north of San Francisco. As adults, David Light and Eugene Light also became farmers in Santa Rosa (see top left of map).

Then why did David die in Silver City, California in 1863? He was reportedly 22 years old, and multiple news reports of his death only provide a date and a place.** Silver City is in the area now known as Sequoia National Park, a mountainous region that today has no year-round residents. Interestingly, Silver City (bottom right of map) is much closer to Tulare (where William Bentley died in 1873) than to Santa Rosa, where the rest of David's family lived.

Silver City was apparently part of the California Silver Rush. Was David seeking his fortune there? Or was he in Silver City for some other reason? As the map shows, it was more than 300 miles from his farm (and his father and brother), quite a long distance to travel in 1863. 

Remembering David Light (1839-1863), outlived by his brother Eugene Light (1840-1908) and his father Emanuel Light.

**UPDATE: Two wonderful readers recommended doing further newspaper research. Several newspapers, which I looked at previously, indicated Silver City without any state. This matters because other reports of deaths in those papers indicated a state only when the death took place outside of California. 

But! One report, in the Sonoma County Journal, indicated David M. Light died in "Silver City, N.T." which translates to Nevada Territory--the site of lots of Silver Rush action! (Nevada didn't become a state until 1864.)

Since Silver City, Nevada is closer to David Light's farm in Santa Rosa than Silver City, Calif., as shown on map above, it is very possible that David sought his fortune there in early 1863. I'm going to go with Nevada now that I've seen this additional death notice.

Sharing Ancestor Bite-Sized Bios More Widely Because LOCKSS

Another post about bite-sized ancestor bios! Many of my husband's US, Canadian, and UK ancestors served in the military over the years. Researching them over the past year, I prepared bite-sized bios as part of a family history booklet for the family. 

Most of the bios are 4-8 sentences long. I mention parents' names, birthplace, spouse, children, not just military service. Sometimes I include a sentence or two about significant military battles or awards, if appropriate. But even a couple of sentences will help flesh out a bit of the life of each military ancestor.

The next step was to share the bios on multiple websites so these ancestors and their military service is not forgotten. Remember, LOCKSS (lots of copies keep stuff safe).

Bite-sized bios on Fold3

You don't have to subscribe to post a bio on an ancestor's memorial page on Fold3, which is owned by Ancestry and focuses on military records. Searching the Honor Wall of service men and women is free, as is adding a bio. Search the wall using this link. Also on that page is a link to create a new memorial (free) if none shows up in your search. Sharing ancestor/veterans' bios on that site has been an ongoing project for me.

As an example: For my husband's great great uncle Benjamin Franklin Steiner (1840-1924), I added a bio by clicking the add button on his memorial page (see yellow arrow in image above). You can either type it in or copy from a document and paste it in. Once you save it, you can edit if you like by clicking the pencil tool (see green circle on above image). 

Be sure to bookmark or tag the memorials so you can easily return to them later. The tag tool is at top right (orange circle on above image). You can tag with a phrase like "US Civil War" or use a bookmark tag for a later visit.

Bite-sized bios on Find a Grave

Many (but not all) Fold3 memorials include links to the person's Find A Grave memorial. Since the bite-sized bio is already written, it's easy to copy and paste onto that person's Find A Grave memorial. Above, a slightly edited version of the bio I wrote for Benjamin Franklin Steiner's Fold3 memorial is also posted on his memorial at Find A Grave. 

Benjamin's memorial page is managed by someone else, so I submitted the bite-sized bio using the suggest edits function...also indicating that this man was a veteran. The edits were accepted. A small V shows next to this ancestor's name, a visual symbol of military service that any visitor to his Find a Grave page will see.

Wash, rinse, and repeat

You can post bite-sized bios on even more sites. I added Steiner's bio to WikiTree (above), FamilySearch (below), and MyHeritage (at bottom).  

LOCKSS in action! I don't want family history to fade away--I want to perpetuate it for future researchers and descendants.

Book Review: Storytelling for Genealogists

Since my emphasis these days is on writing family history for the sake of future generations, I was drawn to this concise and affordable new book by Doug Tattershall, Storytelling for Genealogists.

Tattershall packs a lot of ideas and info into nine chapters plus a humdinger of a worksheet, and an index. The table of contents includes:

1. Why Family Story? - "We work hard to discover our family tree," writes the author. "But what we really want to know is our family story." So true. Names and dates don't illuminate ancestors' lives. That's why this book is so helpful.
2. How to Tell a Good Story - Engage readers. Then plot a course and find a theme to keep readers interested.
3. The Stuff - Put meat on the bones by researching and interpreting history, biography, and "affective history."
4. Puzzle Pieces - We have facts, but we may also have fiction. How to put the puzzle pieces together in the right way and in the wider context.
5. The Value of Things - Going beyond words to tell the story with images, heirlooms, places, and more.
6. Format - Text, audio, and/or video? Considerations as you choose a format to tell your ancestor's story.
7. True and Good - "You've done fact-finding. Now it's time to spin a tale," the author says, and he goes on to explain how to make the story interesting without getting bogged down.
8. Before You Write - Tattershall recommends outlining first to establish how to organize and present your story, with examples. Yes, outlining really works.
9. Conclusion - "Your family history is a story worth telling, and therefore a story worth telling well." 

Although I would have preferred a little more elaboration on the key points in this slender book, I appreciate and agree with Tattershall's emphasis on telling an engaging story, well beyond names and dates with sources. 

In particular, I recommend his Family Story Worksheet, shown on p. 81. The worksheet serves as a quick-start guide to completing the components needed to spin a tale that will interest the next generation and beyond. 

Storytelling for Genealogists is an excellent, practical, readable book for anyone who wants to bring family history alive through storytelling.

Please note: The Genealogical Publishing Company sent me a free review copy of this book, and it has previously provided free review copies of other books. My reviews always reflect my honest opinions, without regard to any outside influence.

Honor Roll: World War II Veterans from Woodbury, Connecticut

In this second of two blog posts, I'm honoring the men and women from Woodbury, Connecticut who served their nation during the two world wars. This post names those who served during World War II. On Veterans Day, I salute their service with respect and appreciation.

Abbott, H. Ellsworth

Atwood, Gilbert

Atwood, Henry S.

Balch, George F.

Barnes, Randall

Bassett, George C.

Beaurgard, Howard F.

Bennett, Sherwood

Bergensten, L.W.

Bowker, Ruth N.

Bradley, Kenneth A.

Brown, Charles E.

Brunet, Richard D.

Bull, David

Burdick, Edward C.

Burdick, Harold

Burton, William J. Jr.

Bynack, Joseph G.

Cable, George

Cable, Lewis

Carlisle, David

Cassidy, John

Cassidy, Joseph L. 

Cassidy, Marjorie

Cassidy, Paul

Chatfield, Robert

Churchill, Howard

Coats, John E.

Coddington, John

Coey, Albert L.

Cole, Ferris E.

Cole, Ralph E.

Cooper, Earl D.

Cooper, James

Cowles, Paul G.

Crighton, David B.

Cunningham, Harold W.

Daury, Vincent P.

Davidson, James H.

Dawson, John

Decker, E. Norton Jr.

Decker, Robert S.

Dillon, James

Dillon, Richard

Drake, Arthur

Drakeley, Robert L. Jr.

Duda, Casimer

Duda, Peter A.

Dyer, Carroll L.

Elting, Chalres E.

Elting, Stewart E.

Eyre, Alfred O.

Eyre, Harry D.

Eyre, Stanley B.

Farrell, John W.

Faye, Lesley

Fegen, Charles W.

Fray, Robert

Frazier, Charlotte

Freeman, Arthur

Fleming, William

Gardiner, Shirley

Giggey, Kempton L.

Gillis, Carter S.

Graham, Leslie W.

Green Ernest H.

Green, George A.

Green, Robert W.

Griswold, Hobart W.

Hahn, William A Jr.

Harriman, Charles S. Jr.

Harriman, Ellen

Hirsch, Arthur Z.

Hirsch, Charles E.

Hirsch, Clifford B.

Hogan, Michel

Hohimer, Ernest

Hower, William D.

Johnson, Clifford M.

Judson, Donald F.

Karagulla, Selim M.

Kenny, John

King, Arthur C.

Knox, Delmar A.

Koch, Edgar M.

Kozenieski, Llyod

Laukaitis, Anthony

Lavery, James

Leach, John

Leesemann, Frederick W.

Lizauskas, Stanley

Lundin, David J.

Lundin, Frank G.

Lucas, Francis A.

Lyon, Frank O.

Lyon, James G.

Macbeth, S. Alexander

MacCallum, John

Markle, Raymond D.

Mansfield, Paul H.

Manzi, Edward J.

Manzi, Roland

Manzi, Vincent D.

Markham, Fred A.

Markham, Hurlburt A.

Martinson, William F.

Mrvin, Everett D. Jr.

Mason, Howard F. R. Jr.

May, Russell C.

Michaels, Richard W.

Miller, Robert E.

Miller, Vincent A.

Minor, Emerson

Minor, Lewis R.

Morgan, Addis

Morgan, Henry

Morris, George

Morris, Hobart D.

Morris, Vernon H.

Mosavage, Anthony J.

Mosavage, George W.

Munson, Richard

Murphy, Franklin

Nadel, Mortimer J.

Nichols, Joel L.

Nutting, Parker B.

Pastore, William S.

Pearson, James E.

Pearson, Robert R.

Peck, Hiram W.

Petruzzi, Marco

Petruzzi, Michael

Phillips, John

Phillips, Thomas J.

Pinard, Alton H.

Platt, Alfred H.

Pond, Sebastian L.

Pagano, Anthony

Racenet, Amelie H.

Rice, Roy E.

Richards, David K.

Richards, James H. Jr.

Richards, Robert K.

Richardson, Phillip E.

Riese, Frederick K.

Robinson, Waltyer A.

Savage, David W.

Scott, Joseph

Schmidt, Clifford

Sears, Richard A.

Sharp, Charles M.

Shaw, Raymond W.

Sherwood, Albert C.

Sherwood, Charles C.

Shippee, Harold E.

Slattery, Frances R.

Slattery, James J.

Smith, Allen G.

Smith, Burton C.

Smith, Carlton E.

Smith, Edward

Smith, Robert G.

Smith, Walter E.

Snyder, Melvin L.

Somers, Harold

Starr, Robert F.

Stevens, Fannie R.

Strattman, Dwight

Stever, Charles W.

Sturges, Edward B.

Sturges, George R.

Sweeney, Bernard J.

Sweeney, Lawrence

Stockwell, Charle

Taylor, Raymond Jr.

Thomas, Ferris F.

Thompson, David

Thompson, Louise J.

Tomlinson, James H.

Towne, Ernest H. Jr.

Titus, Howard

Travers, Sherwood W.

Underwood, Hiram A.

Underwood, Home R.

Voytershark, Frank

Wallace, Raymond D.

Walston, Harvey D.

Weeden, Willis M.

Weeks, Carnes

Weeks, Carnes Jr.

Westerland, Charles H.

Westerland, Harry F.

Weymer, Russell

Wilson, Herbert R.

Wilson, Robert L.

Walcott, C. James

Wooden, Paul M.

Yurkunas, Kasimir

Honor Roll: World War I Veterans from Woodbury, Connecticut

This dignified memorial plaque honors military veterans from Woodbury, Connecticut who served in the two world wars.

In this first of two blog posts, I'm transcribing the names of men and women who served during World War I, as listed on this memorial. 

Adams, Ralph C.

Adams, William M.

Anderson, Gustave Daniel

Barnes, George H.

Bauch, Harry J.

Beardsley, Howard D.

Bennett, Edson J.

Bennett, William B. Jr.

Bradley, Hubert L.

Brotherton, Frederick L.

Cahill, William P.

Carroll, James P.

Carroll, William J. 

Charter, Legrand F.

Crowley, Jeremiah J.

Dawson, James S.

Drakeley, George M.

Dunlap, Collier W.

Eyre, Alfred G.

Fitzsimons, Dwight

Fitzsimons, Thomas

Foster, Leroy E.

Foster, Ralph E.

Fox, John Jr.

Gibson, Asahel R. Jr.

Gibson, Philo A.

Gorman, Joseph M.

Halstead, Leo D.

Harvey, Robert W.

Harvey, Samuel C.

Hawes, Charles L.

Jackson, Pearlie C.

Karrman, Milton A.

Lathrop, Leslie E.

Leavenworth, Raymond R.

Main, Arthur G.

Mason, Archie D.

Mason, William A.

McDonald, Floyd J.

McDonald, Paul L.

Nelson, Frederick

Parker, Sterling

Parkin, Ernest

Randall, Henry S.

Randall, Louis L.

Reichenbauch, Alfred

Reichenbach, Auguste

Reilly, Bernard

Ross, Frank A.

Roswell, Hubert M.

Salmon, John S.

St. Pierre, Alphonse

Terrell, Eli B.

Terrill, William Gladston

Thompson, Louis F.

Tracy, George F.

Turner, Charles Norman

Tyler, Walter Jr.

Walker, Czar E.

Walker, Edward C. Jr.

Walker, Harold

Walker, Lillian

Willner, Abraham L.

Willner, Ralph L.

Wolfe, Joseph O.

Wooden, Ralph V.

With sincere appreciation for their service to country.

Now on BlueSky Social as Well as Mastodon

I'm transitioning away from Twitter after the US election. 

I'm already posting about genealogy and family history on Mastodon at @MarianBWood@genealysis.social.

Or we can meet on the BlueSky platform where I just began posting at: @climbingfamilytree.bsky.social‬. Very active genealogy community on BlueSky! Below is my profile on that fast-growing social media platform.

Genealogy chats on three platforms

#GenChat continues on Twitter two Friday evenings a month (10 pm Eastern for US genies), plus two Saturday mornings on Mastodon (9 am Eastern). UPDATE: #GenChat will leave Twitter at end of 2024 and relaunch on BlueSky! 

#AncestryHour continues informally on Twitter every Tuesday (2 pm Eastern for US genies, 7 pm for UK genies) but has set up an account on BlueSky at: @ancestryhour.bsky.social.

#GenHour has begun on BlueSky at 8 pm GMT every Thursday--that's 3 pm Eastern for US genies. Hashtag is from @oneplacestudies.bsky.social‬.

Looking forward to staying connected with my genealogy buddies!

Remembering Grandma Minnie 123 Years After Her Immigration

Born on November 10, 1886, my maternal grandma Hermina Farkas Schwartz was the second child (oldest daughter) of 11 children of Moritz Farkas and Lena Kunstler Farkas. She celebrated her 15th birthday on the SS Amsterdam in 1901, en route from Hungary to her future home in New York City.

Growing up in Hungary

Minnie and seven of her siblings were born in Hungary, in an area now known as Berehove, Ukraine. Minnie was sent to school to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic, plus fine needlework. 

Her father Moritz supervised vineyard plantings for his wife's family and also leased land for his own crops. Minnie sometimes rode along with him on his rounds of the vineyard--she loved the outdoors. The family wasn't wealthy but they weren't poor either.

Weather changed everything

One year, Moritz failed to insure his crops and a heavy hail storm destroyed everything before the harvest. He was financially ruined. To make a fresh start (and probably to avoid creditors), Moritz sailed to New York City in 1899. He found work in the garment district, like many Jewish immigrants, and always lived in a tenement or an apartment building, very unlike his former life.

At the end of 1900, Moritz's wife Lena sailed to New York City, leaving their eight children with her family. One year later, Minnie and three siblings were put on a ship to rejoin their parents in New York. The last group of four children who waited in Hungary were finally reunited with their family in New York in 1903. Moritz and Lena had three more children born in the Big Apple. The baby of the family was 20 years younger than the oldest.

Where Minnie lived in the big city

In 1910, Minnie lived with her parents and siblings at 645 E. 6th Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. According to the 1940 New York City tax photo, which I found using Steve Morse's One-Step search form, it was a large apartment building on a street corner, with stores on the ground floor.

In 1920 and 1930, married to immigrant Theodore Schwartz (1887-1965) and the mother of three children, she lived at 651 Fox Street in the Bronx, NY. It was a smaller apartment building located in a more residential area. Grandpa Teddy owned and operated a small neighborhood dairy store, which helped them get through the Great Depression.

In 1940, Minnie and Teddy and their children lived at 672 Beck Street in the Bronx, a nicer apartment building. All their children had graduated high school and the oldest two were in college and working part-time, their youngest child working as well. The couple stood on their feet helping customers at the dairy store day after day, including weekends.

In 1950, Minnie and Teddy lived at 600 East 178th Street in the Bronx, an apartment building with the main entrance on the side street. Two children were married and had families of their own. By this time, Minnie had heart problems and Teddy had hired an assistant for the store. This man eventually bought them out so the couple could retire after a lifetime of standing on their feet for long hours.

Minnie's life and legacy

Minnie grew up to be a capable, complicated woman who defied her parents in order to marry the man of her choice. In a later era, she herself would have had many more opportunities to use her intelligence, talents, and determination. She was an expert with a sewing machine, and made fabulous Hungarian dishes from scratch, including apple strudel with an impossibly thin pastry crust. Though she lacked a warm and fuzzy way with her grandchildren, she worked extremely hard, made her children's education a high priority, and always put family first.

Grandma Minnie died 60 years ago, in 1964. Saddened and physically weakened, Grandpa Teddy died the year after. May their memories be for a blessing.

Where Joseph Jacobs Lived in 1888?

My great-grand uncle Joseph Jacobs (1864-1918) was born in Lithuania and became a naturalized citizen in New York City in 1888. He (and his sister Tillie and his mother Rachel) all lived in tenements after coming to the Big Apple in the mid-1880s.

When Joe became a US citizen in October of 1888, his address was 49 Clinton Street, on Manhattan's Lower East Side, an area crammed with immigrants living in row after row of attached tenements. Many of those tenements are now gone. What about Joe's place?

49 Clinton Street, circa 1940

I used Steve Morse's One-Step tool to quickly and conveniently search the NYC Records & Information Department database of building photos taken for tax purposes, 1939-1941. I wondered whether Joe's tenement was still standing in about 1940.

Shown above is the search form, completed to show the address I was seeking. I specified the year as 1939-1941, selected Manhattan as the borough, and entered the house number "49" and the street "Clinton." Then I clicked to show block and lot, and finally clicked "display single house." The black and white tax photo is at top of this blog post, tenements with stores at street level. The full page of results is here.

Alas, I may not be looking at Joe's actual residence but a replacement. His original residence could very well have been torn down to make way for taller buildings. Current real estate listings for the address suggest the tenement shown at top was built about 1910.

If you're looking for a New York City address from the past, try the Steve Morse search form and also check Google for info about the current status of the building.

49 Clinton Street, circa 2024

Then I pasted the address "49 Clinton Street, New York City" into the Google search box. Up popped a map and a street-level photo. 

Surprisingly, the tenement is still standing and recognizable, as shown by this photo from September of 2024! Fire escapes and stores at street level, similar to the 1940 photo.

Remembering my immigrant ancestor Joe Jacobs on the 106th anniversary of his death in 1918. 

Happy Sweet Sixteen to WikiTree - Free Genealogy Talks!

It's WikiTree's 16th birthday and the celebration includes a constellation of genealogy stars giving terrific, free talks for three days, beginning today.

To see the speaker lineup, click here. 

For more fun activities, see the schedule here.

And a happy sweet sixteen to WikiTree.

Hallowe'en Greetings from 1913 and 2023

 
This colorful penny postal greeting was sent from "Aunt Nellie" (Rachel Wood Kirby) to her young nephew Wally Wood in 1913. 

Note the apostrophe in Hallowe'en, which in earlier years indicated it was the eve of All Hallow's Day (also known as All Saints Day).

My husband's WOOD family used penny postcards like to stay in touch throughout the year, on every conceivable occasion (including Lincoln's birthday and Independence Day).

In 2023, a young relative colored the stacked pumpkins shown at right, now a seasonal favorite proudly displayed on my mantle.

May you have all treats, no tricks, on Halloween! 

Ancestor Word Cloud for Family History Gifts

 
At holiday time or any time, a word cloud made from surnames or given names can be the start of a great bite-sized family history gift. Above, a world cloud I made from ancestor surnames in my husband's maternal line. I chose the shape of a heart to emphasize the family connection and put it on the back cover of a family history photo book.

Here is a different version of an ancestor surname word cloud, using a tree template to symbolize a family tree. The background color can be varied, size/font/color of each name can be varied, direction and number of names can be varied. Also try making a word cloud from given names.

A special word cloud would look smashing on a note pad, scarf, mug, or another item for holiday gifting.

I used wordart.com for the tree word cloud, but you can find other free or low-cost word cloud generators with a simple online search. Have fun experimenting!

FAN Club Includes Military Affiliations

Writing about the military service of ancestors in my husband's family tree, I learned via newspaper items and military records that his 1c2r had served in the Spanish American War: George Ainsworth Larimer (1873-1922). I've written about George before. He eloped with Cora May Lutz (1875-1945) on July 4, 1899 in a surprise move that was seen as a "thunder clap from a blue sky" when revealed months later!

Online search for military unit and war

I wanted to document more about George's military service, so I did a simple online search for the Spanish American War, 1898. This took me to a super-informative site marking the centennial of that war, with names, dates, and photos! I was delighted to discover lots of details about Company C, 157th Indiana Volunteer Infantry--the "Goshen Company" in which George served (because most of the men enlisted from the town of Goshen).

Looking at the names of the men in that company, I noticed someone familiar from hubby's family tree: Miles Powell Bradford (1872-1944). A newspaper search gave me more info, including the snippet shown above, about Miles Bradford being on the sick list as Company C was to be mustered out after the war was over, in the fall of 1898.

Served with future brother-in-law

From previous research, I knew that Miles had married George's sister, Atta Larimer (1875-1936) in 1902. They announced their intention to take the train to Chicago to be married by a minister who had previously led their congregation in Goshen, Indiana. Not a surprise, not a thunder clap. 

My discovery that Miles and George had served in the same military unit opened up a fresh avenue of speculation about how Miles might have met his future wife, Atta. Their home town of Goshen, Indiana had 7,800 residents counted in the 1900 US Census, not a tiny fly speck of a town but not a metropolis either.

Could George have encouraged his military buddy Miles to meet or court his sister Atta? Was the men's military service a catalyst in the romance? Or were Atta and Miles acquainted before the war? Since Miles's father operated a Goshen grocery store, and Miles worked with his father, it is possible they met when Atta shopped there. Lots of possibilities here. 

This situation reminds me that military affiliations can be a really key part of an ancestor's FAN club (friends/family, acquaintances, neighbors) and as such, they are worthy of closer investigation. 

Full House For George and Lucy Before He Sailed to War

Researching military ancestors in my husband's family tree, I was a bit surprised to see that his great-grand uncle George Scarborough Handy (1819-1892) joined the Union Navy despite having a house full of kids.

Born in Dartmouth, Massachusetts in 1819, George married Lucy M. Wood (1821-1902) in June, 1841. They settled in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and had nine children together as he worked as a farmer and a carpenter to support his growing family. At times, it seems he struggled financially: he reported himself to be a laborer with $100 in personal property when enumerated with his wife and 7 children in the 1860 US Census.

Joining the navy

In September of 1861, during the US Civil War, George left his family to enlist with the Union Navy at the rank of ordinary seaman. He served on the Bark Kingfisher, chasing Confederate ships and enforcing the Union's blockade along the Atlantic coast and into the Gulf of Mexico. Scurvy, scarce food and water, and other problems plagued the Kingfisher and other Union vessels constantly on the move.

George had some kind of health crisis because in March of 1862, he was sent to the Naval Hospital in New York with a diagnosis of “deafness and imbecility” as shown in the document above. Among his possessions were 3 jackets, 4 pairs trousers, other clothing, and 1 book. George was discharged due to disability from the Union Navy in April of 1862, and returned home. 

Rejoining his family

Whatever his health condition following his military service, he resumed working as a gas fitter and then as a house carpenter after rejoining his family. He and Lucy had one more child in 1863, who sadly died young. Later in life, George qualified for an invalid pension and after his death in 1892, his widow Lucy received his pension payments until she died of heart disease, age 82, in 1902.

Enumerated as deaf? 

What intrigued me about the hospital transfer was the diagnosis of "deafness and imbecility." To that point, George had been enumerated in the 1850 and 1860 US Census and there was no indication that he was either deaf or imbecilic. Both of those US Census questionnaires have a place in the far right column to show whether a person had such disabilities, but George was not identified in this way. (To see the full questions of each US Census, look at this handy list of viewable/downloadable blank forms at the US National Archives site.)

Was George temporarily deafened by some explosion? Or did he have another injury that caused him to have symptoms of deafness and imbecility? I'll never know...but I do know that he lived to the age of 73, survived by his wife and only 3 of his children.

Full House is the genealogy prompt of the week for #52Ancestors from Amy Johnson Crow.